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children (despite numerous rumors to the contrary), sacrificing her body and her heart for her country; she was arguably as alluring as Anne Boleyn yet never fell prey to the pitfalls that Anne paid for in blood; she displayed the fickle, silver-tongued wit that catapulted her mother to fame, coupled with the cruel, sometimes tyrannical temperament that transformed her father into a monstrous figure. Yet unlike Anne, whose tragic destiny overshadows her intense joie de vivre, or Henry, whose golden splendor is muted by the horrors of his later years, we tend to forgive Elizabeth’s foibles and her mistakes, indeed even her bloodiest blunders; we forget her carcinogenic eccentricities and look past her capricious excesses, because we recognize in her a nobility of purpose, a single-minded drive to succeed, no matter the odds. We feel that we know her, intimately.

Elizabeth excelled in a time when few women could. Though she owed a debt to those who paved the way before her—such as the formidable Isabella of Castile and the flint-hearted Eleanor of Aquitaine—and she shared her stage with such unforgettable ladies as the embattled Catherine de Medici, queen-mother of France, and her own cousin, the flighty, irresistible Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth transcended even these legends to become a mythical heroine in her own right, a figure apart from the porous mortality of her contemporaries—autonomous, instantly recognizable, inimitable, and uniquely unforgettable.

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The Elizabethan Secret Services

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Elizabeth’s London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London

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The House of Tudor

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Edward VI: The Lost King of England

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The Uncrowned Kings of England: The Black History of the Dudleys and the Tudor Throne

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Sir Francis Walsingham: A Courtier in an Age of Terror

Reading Group Questions

1. The Tudor Secret takes place during the succession crisis of 1553. What did you discover about England at this time? Who were the major players and what were their motivations?

2. Religion plays a crucial role in the story’s conflicts. What were the main issues between Catholics and Protestants? Were their conflicts based on actual religious differences or larger political power struggles? Do you see any parallels to today’s religious divides?

3. Brendan Prescott is a fictional character with a secret. Like many servants of the time, he is entrusted with his master’s private information. What were some of the possible repercussions he could have suffered for his actions? If you had been in his place, what might you have done?

4. The jewel featured in the book is based on an actual jewel shown in a painting of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk, and her husband, Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk. Both Mary Tudor and Mistress Alice end up with different pieces of this jewel; why do you think the jewel was broken into pieces? If it was done at Mary’s request, what message do you think she was trying to send?

5. Lady Dudley hides secrets of her own. What are they? Did you understand her reasons for doing what she did? What does her character tell us about the role of noblemen’s wives in the sixteenth century?

6. Brendan carries a clue to his past with him all along. Why doesn’t he understand its significance until the end? What part of his past does he fail to solve?

7. The death of Edward VI remains shrouded in mystery. Do you find the author’s hypothesis plausible? If not, why?

8. Elizabeth Tudor is one of history’s most popular figures. Why do you think she continues to exert such fascination, so many years after