The story of Elizabeth the First and her two secret sons as told in the ciphers of Francis Bacon, concealed within the plays he and his friends wrote under the name of 'Shakespeare'. The original Royal Shakespeare Company, in fact!

Two rival queens. An infamous playwright. And a deadly plot for the crown. London, 1600. With no legitimate heir to Queen Elizabeth's throne, and no clear successor with her modern vision of a civilization that thrives in peace and diversity, England is in a supremely perilous moment. Elizabeth's foes understand the power of a poet's voice to shape popular opinion, and force esteemed playwright William Shakespeare to write a script detailing the history of Queen Elizabeth and the catholic Mary Queen of Scots that will tumble the nation into civil war. Faced with a terrible dilemma, Will must navigate a dangerous path through the corridors of the wealthy, the refuse-filled warrens of London and the byzantine world of Elizabethan politics as he tries to save both his family and his own legacy.

Cecile awakens in a beautiful garden with no memory of her past. She has fallen under the beautiful Spider Queen's spell, and is unaware that the queen's henchmen are now looking for her! Cecile soon discovers that she is, indeed, the princess of a kingdom that is in desperate need of her help. She takes heroic action! Confronting the Spider Queen, and all her deceptions, she learns what it really takes to be the princess of Belamor.

This “vivid” historical mystery series debut captures “the light and dark of Elizabethan England . . . its squalor and splendor, filth and riches, intrigues and delights” (New York Journal of Books). When a brutal murder threatens the sanctity of Queen Elizabeth’s court, it’s up to a hot-tempered spy to save the day. The court of Elizabeth I is no stranger to plotting and intrigue, but the royal retinue is thrown into chaos when the Queen’s youngest and sweetest lady-in-waiting is murdered, her body left on the high altar of the Chapel Royal in Whitehall Palace. Solving the murder will require the cunning and savvy possessed by only one man. Enter Nicholas Holt, younger brother of the Earl of Blackwell—spy, rake, and owner of the infamous Black Sheep tavern in the seedy district of Bankside. Nick quickly learns that working for the Queen is a mixed blessing. Elizabeth—salty-tongued, vain, and fiercely intelligent—can, with a glance, either reward Nick with a purse of gold or have his head forcibly removed. When a second lady-in-waiting is slain at Whitehall, the court once again reels with shock and dismay. On the trail of a diabolical killer, Nick and his faithful sidekick—an enormous Irish Wolfhound named Hector—are treading on treacherous ground, and only the killer’s head on a platter can keep them in the Queen’s good graces.

The Elizabethan court is beset by traitors at home and abroad as spies, rogues, and would-be usurpers of the throne vie for power. England, 1586. Tensions rise as threats to the realm abound. Traitors are plotting for Mary Queen of Scots to depose Elizabeth I and take the throne. Rumors of a Spanish invasion by sea mount daily. And the body of one of Sir Francis Walsingham's agents is found floating in the Thames as other agents face enemies armed with crossbows and vials of poison. Nicholas Holt, a spy in Walsingham's employ, narrowly averts the same fate while setting off in pursuit of the killer--or killers. And when he surprises a suspect in the company of a Spanish agent, he believes he's close not only to solving the case but preventing an act of high treason. But soon, the attacks begin to threaten Nick's circle of friends. As those he loves face mortal peril, Nick must unravel the tangled plot, all the while steering a careful path through the fierce rivalry between Walsingham's agents and those of the Queen's favorite, the upstart Earl of Essex. Now it's a race to the breathless conclusion as Nick desperately searches for the answers that can save the day--and a vestige of loyalty that can save his own life.

"The Agents of the Crown returns with this riveting novel following the original MI6 agent as he is assigned a dangerous mission to recreate a weapon from antiquity. As she travels through Waltham Forest, Queen Elizabeth I is ambushed by masked gunmen who leave her carriage riddled with holes before disappearing into the night. The Queen's Private Secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham, is tasked with finding the perpetrators, about whom they know precious little. But someone alerted the gunman to the route of the Queen's carriage, and Walsingham knows that the assassins will not stop until she's dead. Only one man can top the plot, loyal friend John Dee.