The Favorite Sister — Sheila Bishop

The story of the downfall of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. The story of Essex's last five years of triumph and disaster greatly affected his much loved sister Penelope Rich. Forced into a legal marriage but bound by a youthful betrothal to the man she really loved, Essex had protected Penelope from the consequences of a scandal. But as Essex plunged into the political quagmire, Penelope's devotion to him fore-shadowed a terrible climax.

Penelope Devereux, radiant beauty of her time, is twice betrothed -- first as a child to the rebellious Lord Mountjoy, and later to Sir Philip Sidney, one of England's greatest poets and soldiers. A tumultuous moment in history robs her of one man and claims the life of the other.

Virtually sold at the crest of her youth to the beastly Lord Rich, whose jealousy drives her into the arms of Mountjoy, the only man she ever loved, Penelope is faced with the almost insoluble dilemma of being bound to one man and in love with another...

Also published as Penelope Devereux