My Contrary Mary (The Lady Janies)

Long live the queen: The authors who brought you the New York Times bestselling My Lady Jane kick off an all-new historical trilogy with the classy, courtly tale of Mary, Queen of Scots—perfect for YA fantasy and romance readers.

Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?

Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Eðian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head—or a tail. 

Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn after the king meets a suspicious end. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis face a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

With a royally clever sense of humor, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows continue their campaign to turn history on its head in this YA fantasy ideal for fans of A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.

• Shapeshifter Romance: Being Queen of Scotland is hard. Being a mouse is harder. Especially when it’s a secret that could get you beheaded.
• Friends to Lovers: Mary and her betrothed, Prince Francis, have always been just friends. But as they’re thrust onto the French throne, navigating treason and conspiracies, their “just friends” arrangement gets complicated.
• Found Family: Mary isn’t alone at court. With her four best friends (all also named Mary) by her side, she has a loyal crew to help her sneak out, shoot arrows, and survive the vipers’ nest of the palace.
• Hilarious Historical Retelling: If you think you know the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, think again. From the authors of My Lady Jane comes another laugh-out-loud tale that turns a historical tragedy on its head.

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the Unearthly trilogy, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, The How & The Why, and With You All The Way. She also writes the Jane books with fellow authors Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton: My Lady Jane, My Plain Jane, My Calamity Jane, My Contrary Mary, My Imaginary Mary, and My Salty Mary. Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing (although please don't refer to her as "Dr. Hand," because that sounds like a cartoon supervillain.) She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog, and a mountain of books.

Brodi Ashton received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. She lives in Utah with her family. She is also a coauthor of New York Times bestsellers My Lady Jane (now streaming on Prime!), My Plain Jane, and other books in the Lady Janies series (Harper).

Jodi Meadows wants to be a ferret when she grows up and she has no self-control when it comes to yarn, ink, or outer space. Still, she manages to write books. She is the author of the Incarnate Trilogy, the Orphan Queen Duology, the Fallen Isles Trilogy (Harper), and the Nightrender duology and Bye Forever, I Guess (Holiday House). She is also a coauthor of New York Times bestsellers My Lady Jane (now streaming on Prime!), My Plain Jane, and other books in the Lady Janies series (Harper).

Her books have been selected for Junior Library Guild, Kids' Indie Next List, Bookshop Best of, Publishers Weekly Best of, Kirkus Best of, Booklist Best of, Bustle Best of, YALSA Best of, nominated for Tome Society and Young Adult Virginia awards, as well as other honors and selections.

She lives in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.