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C W Gortner

(Christopher Gortner)

aka Christopher Gortner

C W Gortner holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California, as well as an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. After an eleven year-long career in fashion, during which he worked as a vintage retail buyer, freelance publicist, and fashion show coordinator, C.W. devoted the next twelve years to the public health sector. In 2012, he became a full-time writer following the international success of his novels.

Genres: Historical, Historical Mystery

Series

Spymaster Chronicles
   1. The Secret Lion (2004)
     aka The Tudor Secret
   2. The Tudor Conspiracy (2013)
   3. The Tudor Vendetta (2014)

Novels

   The Last Queen (2006)
   The Confessions of Catherine de Medici (2010)
   The Queen's Vow (2012)
   Mademoiselle Chanel (2015)
   The Vatican Princess (2016)
   Marlene (2016)
   The Romanov Empress (2018)
   The First Actress (2020)
   The Steal (2021) (with M J Rose)

C W Gortner recommends

The Accidental Empress (2015)
Allison Pataki
"A glorious novel about a misunderstood empress...With a sumptuous sense of history and evocative attention to detail, Allison Pataki conjures the rebellious, glamorous spirit of Sisi of Austria."

The Lost Season of Love and Snow (2018)
Jennifer Laam
"This hauntingly elegant tale of love and tragedy in Imperial Russia, as seen through the eyes of Pushkin's much-reviled wife, sweeps us up into the fatal glamour and deceptions of an era, the peril of choices, and one woman's resilient struggle to discover herself."

Ecstasy (2018)
Mary Sharratt
"Alma Mahler’s unexpected, often heartbreaking journey from muse to independence comes to vivid, dramatic life. Sharratt skillfully evokes turn-of-the-century Vienna and the musical genius of the era, returning Alma to her rightful place in history as both the inspiration to the men in her life and a gifted artist in her own right."

Beyond the Ghetto Gates (2020)
Michelle Cameron
"With vivid clarity and keen historical insight, Michelle Cameron sweeps us into the unusual setting of Italy during the Napoleonic invasion, and the plight of two courageous women of different faiths, who must fight for their right to love and live during a time of tumultuous upheaval."

Tsarina (2020)
(Tsarina, book 1)
Ellen Alpsten
"Intrigue, rivalry, and sumptuous decadence leap to vivid life in this fascinating story of Peter the Great’s second wife...conjuring the gorgeous marble of the Winter Palace and deprivation of Russia in the 18th century, the perilous ascent to power of the first woman to rule as empress is a gripping and unforgettable journey."

Leonora in the Morning Light (2021)
Michaela Carter
"Michaela Carter invokes the bohemian intrigues of artistic pre-WWII Paris, and the terrors that ensued, in her riveting story of Leonora Carrington’s tumultuous affair with celebrated painter, Max Ernst. . . . Vivid and colorful as her canvases, this novel depicts the conflicted heart of an artist, and a survivor who refused to admit defeat."

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