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Stella Riley
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The Black Madonna (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Stella Riley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 404 ratings
B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree & 2023 Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Gold Medallist.
As England slides into Civil War, master-goldsmith and money-lender, Luciano Falcieri del Santi embarks on his own hidden agenda. A chance meeting one dark night results in an unlikely friendship with Member of Parliament, Richard Maxwell. Richard’s daughter, Kate – a spirited girl who vows to hold their home against both Cavalier and Roundhead – soon finds herself fighting an involuntary attraction to the clever, magnetic and diabolically beautiful Italian. Hampered by the warring English and the quest itself growing daily more dangerous, Luciano begins to realise that his own life and that of everyone close to him rests on the knife-edge of success … for only success will permit him to reclaim the Black Madonna and offer his heart to the girl he loves. From the machinations within Parliament to the last days of the King’s cause,
The Black Madonna is an epic saga of passion and intrigue at a time when England was lost in a dark and bloody conflict.

Stella Riley is the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medallist for Historical Romance and proud to have been awarded 14 B.R.A.G. medallions.
“Engrossing read from start to finish.”
“Brilliant writing by a brilliant storyteller.”
“Historical fiction at its best.”
“Oh, what a story! There's the civil war, a mystery, and the personal romances of the Maxwell siblings. This book is well worth the read for history buffs who like a little romance and mystery thrown into a historical timeline.”
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    Roundheads & Cavaliers
  2. Print length
    622 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    May 30, 2013
  5. File size
    4.7 MB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D4CF3LM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 2nd edition (May 30, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.7 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 622 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 404 ratings

About the author

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Stella Riley

Stella Riley

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Winner of 4 gold medals (Readers' Favourite 2019, Book Excellence Awards 2020, Global Book Awards 2022, Book Excellence Awards 2023) and 14 B.R.A.G. Medallions, Stella Riley lives in the beautiful medieval town of Sandwich in Kent.

She is fascinated by the English Civil Wars and has written six books set in that period. These, like the 7 book Rockliffe series (recommended in The Times newspaper!) and the Brandon Brothers trilogy, are all available in audio, narrated by Alex Wyndham.

Stella enjoys travel, reading, theatre, Baroque music and playing the harpsichord. She also has a fondness for men with long hair - hence her 17th and 18th century heroes.

Visit Stella at https://stellarileybooks.co.uk for all the latest information on her books and her 'Who's Who' and Extras pages.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
404 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this historical novel fascinating, with one review highlighting its masterful weaving of history and politics. The book features passionate romances, with one customer noting the absence of gratuitous steamy scenes. Customers praise the character development, with one review particularly appreciating how the author ties together characters and events. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as vividly drawn.

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26 customers mention "History content"24 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the historical content of the book, describing it as a fascinating novel with absorbing details, and one customer notes how the author masterfully weaves history and politics throughout the narrative.

"...I enjoyed the complex and interwoven plot arcs of these relationships and Luciano’s investigations, his change from detached cynicism to embrace..." Read more

"...The dialogue is intelligent, with a lot of humor. The plot is fascinating and I never once got bored or hoped she would hurry up and get to the..." Read more

"...in this in addition to the H and h. This book is well worth the read for history buffs who like a little romance and mystery thrown into a..." Read more

"...But somehow Riley made the stories so compelling that in the end my doubts didn't matter. She brings the 17th century to life...." Read more

17 customers mention "Romance"14 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the passionate romance in the book, describing it as a fine historical romance, with one review highlighting the tale of betrayal, intrigue, and love, while another notes the absence of unnecessary steamy scenes.

"...in the focus are the Maxwell family, Richard and Dorothy, a wonderful, loving, warm couple and their adolescent and young adult children - and their..." Read more

"...His voice is gorgeous, romantic, suave, and smooth. The writing is brilliant. The dialogue is intelligent, with a lot of humor...." Read more

"...There's the civil war, a mystery, and the personal romances of the Maxwell siblings...." Read more

"...one could hope for with all the flavors I enjoy, including - loyalty, passion, respect, lovely dialogue between the lovers - when they're finally..." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one customer noting how the author skillfully ties together the characters and events, while another highlights the remarkable strength of characters in times of adversity.

"...daughter Kate, a late blooming beauty but intelligent and a strong character...." Read more

"...Since I am now so invested in these fascinating characters, and what will happen to them, I will continue reading the remainder of the books in the..." Read more

"...of this civil unrest serves as an excellent backdrop for the personal stories of Riley's fictitious characters, in particular heroine Kate Maxwell,..." Read more

"...She presents you with a deft and masterful weaving of history and politics, culture and action and romance...." Read more

12 customers mention "Readability"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book wonderful, with one customer noting it's the first book of a series and another mentioning it's worth the wait.

"...in the focus are the Maxwell family, Richard and Dorothy, a wonderful, loving, warm couple and their adolescent and young adult children - and their..." Read more

"...An excellent, excellent read. I can't recommend it highly enough. Don't miss it." Read more

"...Luciano was one of the best flawed hero I've come across in quite a while (I think I'm in love), his knife wielding Turk bodyguard Selim was a hoot..." Read more

"...I am biased but in my opinion this book is so worthy of the higher rating." Read more

11 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive3 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting its vividly drawn picture and another highlighting its rich setting.

"...history aspect that tells the events of politics and war in a vividly drawn picture and especially the strong and loyal relationship between Kate..." Read more

"...The writing is brilliant. The dialogue is intelligent, with a lot of humor...." Read more

"...Beautiful characters, just the right descriptions of clothing and setting. I really loved it and will go on to the next one in a series...." Read more

"...The explicit details are so unessesary and never add to a plot, if anything they detract and cheapen the story into semi-porn...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • noagnes
    5.0 out of 5 stars A heady dose of history and romance
    Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is the first volume of the author's series following the history of the English Civil War through beautiful and passionate romances. In this book, we see the beginning of the actual war with the events leading up to it. The characters in the focus are the Maxwell family, Richard and Dorothy, a wonderful, loving, warm couple and their adolescent and young adult children - and their story as defined by the tumultuous political events and their romantic relationships. Richard Maxwell is a member of the Parliament trying to redress the grievances from the absolutist rule of the King, but he is less keen to allow religious fanaticism to shape politics and to lead to extremes - which happens in spite of his efforts. The heroine is his eldest daughter Kate, a late blooming beauty but intelligent and a strong character. The hero is a very unusual man: an Italian moneylender and goldsmith, Luciano, needed and despised by the English aristocrats, but motivated by his own personal quest of finding out the truth of his father's fate who had been executed for treason. They have an instant attraction and strong affinity to each other, but a controversial relationship: Luciano is considered socially unsuitable to Kate and he thinks he can’t settle down in marriage before fulfilling his avenging quest. As the novel follows the political events and the early stages of the Civil War, we see the development of the romance between Kate and Luciano, the ill-fated and slowly disintegrating marriage between Eden Maxwell, an officer int he Parliamentary army and the fundamentally selfish Cynthia, a daughter of a royalist family; the story of the other Maxwell siblings, and Luciano’s sister Gianetta
    I enjoyed the complex and interwoven plot arcs of these relationships and Luciano’s investigations, his change from detached cynicism to embrace the friendship of the Maxwells and the love of a good woman; the history aspect that tells the events of politics and war in a vividly drawn picture and especially the strong and loyal relationship between Kate and Luciano. The beautiful jewels described were an added bonus. I heartily recommend this story to fans of historical romance!
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Crazygirl
    4.0 out of 5 stars well written bit with some explicit bits
    Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 for 2 reasons:
    1) too much political stuff. It read like a history book most of the time. A lot could have been left out to still convey the plot
    2) Explicit sexual content. Primarily there was one long detailed sex scene. I can't say exactly how detailed as I skipped several pages, but if I have to start skipping, it is too explicit and unnecessary. In addition it was outside, and although I'm not positive which month itt was in, it seemed that it was in very early spring and super early morning I think. It would have been too cold. Then another later scene having sex (although not too detailed) in a closet while under siege was absolutely ridiculous.

    Otherwise the plot was very good, the book well written and developed. I'm not sure if I will read more of this author though, due to the explicit scene. The explicit details are so unessesary and never add to a plot, if anything they detract and cheapen the story into semi-porn. At least that is my opinion.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Bibliolatry
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the BEST books I have ever read!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Although I had high expectations to begin with, because I have never read a Stella Riley book that didn’t deserve 5 stars, The Black Madonna managed to surpass even those high expectations.

    I have waited for 3 years to read the series because I was fairly certain that Alex Wyndham might one day narrate it, so when Audible released the audio, I decided to finally start the series. Alex Wyndham is the best narrator I have ever heard—and he was stellar! His voice is gorgeous, romantic, suave, and smooth.

    The writing is brilliant. The dialogue is intelligent, with a lot of humor. The plot is fascinating and I never once got bored or hoped she would hurry up and get to the point. There were no foolish misunderstandings or miscommunications. All of characters were believable and fully sketched.

    As an American, I wasn’t that familiar with the English Civil War, and while I learned a lot, it wasn’t dry or boring. There was the perfect blend of history, mystery and romance. I can’t express how much I loved it!

    Since I am now so invested in these fascinating characters, and what will happen to them, I will continue reading the remainder of the books in the series, and just have to listen to the audiobooks when each one is released.

    I can’t recommend this book and the author enough!
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • jdyshw
    4.0 out of 5 stars reasonable romance in a well drawn setting
    Reviewed in Australia on September 29, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I found it difficult to rate this. The background of the events that lead to the Civil War was interesting and detailed and how it affected the central family in the novel well drawn. I found the central romance troubling, firstly because I do not like revenge plots and secondly because it reminded me too much of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles, where the tortured hero and practical heroine were far better drawn. But Kate was a likeable character as was the rest of her family. And it was nice to have a reasonable romance set in this time period.
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  • avidreader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant writing by a brilliant storyteller
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I had already read 'the Marigold Chain' prior to buying 'the Black Madonna' and I am now reading 'a Splendid Defiance'. How I am enjoying these books! For some reason, I didn't come across Stella Riley's books in my younger days, which is surprising because I have always read historical fiction, particularly those which refer to specific events or times; I am thrilled to have found them on Amazon. Stella Riley is a master of this genre - her research is detailed and concise, and her storytelling sweeps me away. Her fictional characters blend seamlessly into real characters from history and the romances are so sweet and believable; there are no misunderstandings, no flouncing, just a slow growth from a grudging attraction to a deep love, and the overcoming of various obstacles along the way. This is mixed in with actual events, starting from the first English Civil War through to the Charles II reign [the Marigold Chain] and the information I gleaned along the way has fleshed out the whole period for me, which I thought I knew reasonably well and now find I didn't!

    Stella Riley tackles her characters and their situations head-on. They can be difficult, distant, keep people they love at arm's length - but their actions and interractions are entirely believable. Also, which I think is quite unusual, characters may be killed off for any number of reasons, and not in order to despatch a villain, which is something one expects. Without giving the game away, an absolutely wonderful, sweetheart of a character dies in this story - quite took my breath away, since it was unexpected despite the circumstances. Wonderful books which keep you enthralled, but make me read at a slower rate than I normally do because there is so much information to absorb. I believe there is a fourth book due out later this year, which I think is called 'the Lord[s] of Misrule'. Can't wait!
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  • Beatrix Fitze
    5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn’t put it down
    Reviewed in Germany on June 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is one of the most interesting and exciting books I’ve read. From around chapter 2 onwards I couldn’t put it down! Set just before and during the English civil war it gives fascinating insights into the political happenings of the period together with an interesting story full of relatable characters. I’m moving straight on to the next in the series!
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  • Caz
    5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping saga of intrigue, revenge, romance and civil war.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Stella Riley's work, so anyone reading this could be forgiven for thinking that the five star rating was a foregone conclusion. And perhaps it was - I've always found her writing, characterisation and storytelling to be of consistently high quality, and The Black Madonna is no exception. But in fact, I'd venture to say that she's set an even higher bar with this book because it is, without doubt, a really superb example of how to craft a compelling piece of historical fiction.

    The events of The Black Madonna take place between 1639 and 1646, in the run up to and during the events of the "first" English Civil War.

    In it, we follow events as seen through the eyes of the members of the Maxwell family and their friends and acquaintances; and along the way take in romance, politics, family dilemmas and a years old mystery and quest for vengeance.

    Richard Maxwell and his wife, Dorothy are a happily married couple with five children (and how lovely it is to read about an older couple who are still very much in love and attracted to each other). Richard is a member of the Commons, and while he is frustrated by the King's actions in (among other things) levying taxes to fill his coffers without the support of Parliament, he does not adopt an anti-royalist stance either. Rather, Richard is a good, honest man who wants the best for his family and his country; and who doesn't want to take sides, but eventually finds he cannot do otherwise.

    Running alongside the momentous political events of the time, we are drawn into the life of the Maxwells and all the ups and downs that family life entails. Eden, the eldest son, falls in love with a woman who is completely wrong for him; Amy the middle daughter is an inveterate flirt who is going to get herself into trouble if she's not careful and Kate, the eldest daughter is sometimes far too forthright and clever for her own good.

    Add in to all that the mysterious Italian goldsmith and usurer, Luciano Falcieri del Santi - a man with the face of an angel, a mind like a steel trap and a tongue like a razor-blade - and the stage is set for a truly gripping read.
    The fate of the Maxwells becomes bound up with that of del Santi when Richard and Eden Maxwell rescue Luciano from a severe beating one night in the murky backwaters of the City of London. Thereafter, Richard and Luciano strike up an unexpected, yet very genuine friendship, which is one of the joys of the book; and which brings the latter into closer contact with Richard's family. The youngest son Toby, is riveted by the goldsmiths' art and wants to be apprenticed to del Santi, while Kate, finding herself utterly fascinated and reluctantly drawn to him, is trying desperately to resist what she thinks can only be a stupid, girlish infatuation.

    Luciano, however, is not the man for her (as he tells her several times) - he has no room for emotional entanglements in his life. He is, of necessity, focused on his business and, as we later discover, on finding the person responsible for his father's execution for treason several years earlier. He knows his quest is a dangerous one and is therefore reluctant to involve anyone else in it, although he eventually admits to himself that he needs help and therefore confides in Richard.

    It is, however, impossible for Luciano to avoid the growing unrest in England and the tensions between King and Parliament erupt into Civil War.

    Stella Riley handles her large cast of characters with aplomb once more and again skilfully integrates her fictional storylines and characters with actual events and historical figures.

    Her research is impeccable; and although I will admit that, especially in the first few chapters, I felt a bit overloaded with background detail to the extent I felt the need to go and look up a few things! - once the setting has been established and we have been introduced to the Maxwells, the Langleys, del Santi and assorted other characters, things take off and the book became hard to put down.

    The multiple plot strands are woven very skilfully together. The war progresses, initially in the King's favour, but inescapably, the tide begins to turn; Luciano begins to close in on his quarry and becomes a target; and the Maxwells are plunged into danger and tragedy. Amid all this is the slow-burning romance between Kate and Luciano, an attraction they are both desperate to deny. Their exchanges throughout the first part of the book are ascerbic and sometimes deliberately hurtful as Kate, desperate to hide her feelings, tries to repel him; and Luciano, who isn't the least bit fooled, tries to warn her off. But the thing is - the more the reader sees of them - apart and together - the more it becomes apparent that these two are a matched pair; intelligent, quick-witted, passionate and - in their own ways - unique.

    Luciano's reluctance to become involved with Kate is as much due to the fact that he has to focus all his attention on his business in order to repay a massive loan from his uncle as it is about his fears for her safety. In the original version, there are hints that he feels more for Kate than he lets on, but for the most part, he plays his cards very close to his chest. In the ebook version, the author has made a number of small changes and added some new scenes which give the reader more of an insight into how Luciano is thinking and feeling that I think are a truly valuable addition to the romance and to the story as a whole.

    On a side note, I particularly enjoyed seeing glimpses of some of the characters featured in Ms Riley's earlier novel A Splendid Defiance - the thirteen year-old Abigail Radford near the beginning, and later, members of the Banbury garrison and Captain Justin Ambrose.

    As the Maxwells story continues, the war escalates and the King's fortunes begin to worsen; and things come to a head for Luciano and Kate at the ill-fated siege of Basing House. The Black Madonna has it all - adventure, romance, heartbreak (I don't mind admitting that there were a couple of real "lump-in-throat" moments), tenderness and humour. It's a real page-turner and I honestly didn't guess the identity of the bad guy until fairly close to the end.

    I'll finish by saying that I've waited over twenty-years to get my hands on a copy of this book, and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped.

    Brava!
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  • amanda churchill
    4.0 out of 5 stars A relaxing read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A gentle read, historically interesting. Has a nice blend of intrigue. A good book for a day at the beach. I enjoyed it.
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