Full of convincing historical facts of the Tudor period and intertwined with rich authentic drama this is Philippa Gregory at her best.  She writes quite brilliantly about the massive power struggle between Elizabeth and Mary, and a girl under the employ of Robert Dudley, called Hannah whose twisted loyalties are portrayed so well.  Full of realism, wonderfully heart-warming and brimming with love and betrayal this is sure to have you reading long into the night.

Synopsis

At a time when an innocent woman could be burned for heresy or strangled for witchcraft, to spy on the Queen for love of a traitor was the most dangerous choice of all.

Into a Tudor court on the brink of treason comes Hannah, a young Jewish girl on the run from the Inquisition. Sworn into the service of handsome Robert Dudley, she is sent as a Holy Fool to spy on Princess Mary Tudor, the forgotten heir to King Edward's throne. Instead of the tyrant of popular legend, Hannah finds a woman waiting for her chance and only wanting the best for the kingdom - while her sister Elizabeth waits to take advantage of any mistakes, and longs for her death.

Caught in the lifelong enmity between the rival daughters of Henry VIII, torn between her infatuation with Dudley and duty to her family, thrilled by her own rare gifts, but scared of the unknown, Hannah must find a safe way through dangerous times. Times in which she is both key witness and key player, when the wrong religion is a death sentence, science and magic are one, and true love can mean death.

Reviews

'A rich brew of passion and intrigue' Daily Mail

'The kind of pleasure only a born storyteller can offer' Independent on Sunday

'Gregory has taken the story in which we all know the protagonists and the hand history dealt them and has infused it with an extraordinary sense of suspense, drama and surprise' Sunday Express

About the Author

Philippa Gregory was our Guest Editor in October 2011 - click here - to see the books that inspired her writing.   Philippa Gregory was an established historian and writer when she discovered her interest in the Tudor period and wrote the novel The Other Boleyn Girl which was made into a tv drama, and a major film. Now, six novels later, she is looking at the family that preceded the Tudors: the magnificent Plantaganets, a family of complex rivalries, loves, and hatreds. She lives with her family on a small farm in Yorkshire where she keeps horses, hens and ducks. Visitors to this site, Philippa Gregory.com become addicted to the updates of historical research and the progress of ducklings. Her other great interest is the charity that she founded nearly twenty years ago: Gardens for The Gambia. She has raised funds and paid for 140 wells in the primary schools of this very dry and poor African country, and thousands of school children have been able to learn market gardening in the school gardens watered by the wells. The charity also provides wells for womens’ collective gardens and for The Gambia’s only agricultural college at Njawara. A past student of Sussex university, and a PhD and Alumna of the Year 2009 of Edinburgh university, her love for history and commitment to historical accuracy are the hallmarks of her writing. She also reviews for the Washington Post, the LA Times, and for UK newspapers, and is a regular broadcaster on television, radio, and webcasts from this website, Philippa Gregory.com. Photograph © copyright Sven Arnstein More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation