Blois, 1705. The château of Duc Hugo d’Amboise simmers with rivalry and intrigue. Henriette d’Augustin, one of five mistresses of the duc, lives at the château with her daughter. When the duc’s wife, Duchesse Charlotte, maliciously undermines a new mistress, Letitia, Henriette is forced to choose between position and morality. She fights to maintain her status whilst targeted by the duchesse who will do anything to harm her enemies. The arrival of charismatic tarot reader, Romain de Villiers, further escalates tensions as rivals in love and domestic politics strive for supremacy.

In a society where status is a matter of life and death, Henriette must stay true to herself, her daughter, and her heart, all the while hiding a painful secret of her own.

Praise for The Orange Grove

“A historically authentic and intelligently crafted period drama that’s romantically stirring.”

– Kirkus Reviews

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“[The Orange Grove] vividly recreates the lives, loves and fears of aristocratic women at the turn of the 18th century. Intrigues, jealousies, and the terror of being dependent on the whims of a selfish duc…the ladies of the chateau are brought alive in Kate Murdoch’s fascinating second novel.”

– Pamela Hart, author of The Desert Nurse

“The Orange Grove reveals all the elegance and exquisite intrigue of the French court, seen through the eyes of the women. Mistresses and wives, duchesses and daughters – their lives and fortunes depend on their skills at plotting, spying, and manipulating – each other. Their interwoven stories are vivid, fabulously vicious, and always compelling.”

– Kelly Gardiner, author of Goddess