Betrayal has many guises . . . London, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and England is taking its first faltering steps towards a future as a global power. Nicholas Shelby--reluctant spy and maverick physician--and his companion Bianca Merton are settling into a life on Bankside. But in London there is always a plot afoot . . . Robert Cecil, the Queen's spymaster, once again recruits Nicholas to embark on a dangerous undercover mission that will take him to the back alleys of Marrakech in search of a missing informer. However, while Nicholas hunts for the truth across the seas, plague returns once more to London--ravaging the streets and threatening those dearest to him. Can Bianca and Nicholas' budding relationship weather the threats of pestilence and conspiracy? And will Nicholas survive the dangers of his mission in a hostile city to return safely home?

The Angel's Mark London, 1590: Amidst a tumultuous backdrop of Spanish plotters, Catholic heretics and foreign wars, Queen Elizabeth I's control over her kingdom is wavering. And a killer is at work, preying on the weak and destitute of London... Idealistic physician Nicholas Shelby becomes determined to end these terrible murders. Joined in his investigations by Bianca, a beautiful but mysterious tavern keeper, the pair find themselves caught in the middle of a sinister plot. With the killer still at large, Bianca finds herself in terrible danger. Nicholas's choice seems impossible - to save Bianca, or save himself... The Serpent's Mark London, 1591. Nicholas Shelby, physician and reluctant spy, returns to his old haunts on London's lawless Bankside. But, when spymaster Robert Cecil asks him to investigate the dubious practices of a mysterious doctor from Switzerland, Nicholas is soon embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens not just the life of an innocent young patient, but the overthrow of Queen Elizabeth herself. With fellow healer and mistress of the Jackdaw tavern, Bianca Merton, again at his side, Nicholas is drawn into a sinister world of zealots, charlatans and dangerous fanatics... The Saracen's Mark England, 1593: Five years on from the Armada and Elizabeth's kingdom seems secure. But there is always a plot afoot... Robert Cecil, the Queen's spymaster, needs Nicholas Shelby - reluctant spy and maverick physician - to embark on an undercover mission once again. One that he can't refuse, if he wants to keep Bianca Merton safe. Crossing the seas to Marrakesh in search of a missing informer, Nicholas hunts the dingy back alleys and dazzling palaces for the truth. But his search reveals a deadly conspiracy, one far more difficult to survive than he'd ever imagined. And back in London the plague has returned, ravaging the streets and threatening everything he holds most dear...

These images, which reached a broad and socially varied audience across Western Europe, appeared in virtually all artistic media, including illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, metalwork, and tapestry.".

Through the use of several illustrations from illuminated manuscripts and other media, Resnick engages readers in a discussion of the later medieval notion of Jewish difference.

'Historical fiction at its most sumptuous' Rory Clements 'S. J. Parris fans will be pleased' Publishers Weekly From the bestselling, CWA Historical Dagger Award-nominated author of The Angel's Mark comes a gripping and atmospheric new mystery . . . ______________ The Elizabethan world is in flux. Radical new ideas are challenging the old. But the quest for knowledge can lead down dangerous paths... London, 1594. The Queen's physician has been executed for treason, and conspiracy theories flood the streets. When Nicholas Shelby, unorthodox physician and unwilling associate of spymaster Robert Cecil, is accused of being part of the plot, he and his new wife Bianca must flee for their lives. With agents of the Crown on their tail, they make for Padua, following the ancient pilgrimage route, the Via Francigena. But the pursuing English aren't the only threat Nicholas and Bianca face. Hella, a strange and fervently religious young woman, has joined them on their journey. When the trio finally reach relative safety, they become embroiled in a radical and dangerous scheme to shatter the old world's limits of knowledge. But Hella's dire predictions of an impending apocalypse, and the brutal murder of a friend of Bianca's forces them to wonder: who is this troublingly pious woman? And what does she want? More praise for S. W. Perry's Jackdaw Mysteries: 'Engaging' Sunday Times 'Beautiful writing' Giles Kristian 'Brilliantly evokes the colours, sights and sounds of the Elizabethan era' Goodreads review 'Gripping, packed with twists and turns!' Goodreads review 'Spellbinding . . . I fell in love with every character' Goodreads review

This book explores the ways in which discourses of religious, racial, and national identity blur and engage each other in the medieval West. Specifically, the book studies depictions of Muslims in England during the 1330s and argues that these depictions, although historically inaccurate, served to enhance and advance assertions of English national identity at this time. The book examines Saracen characters in a manuscript renowned for the variety of its texts, and discusses hagiographic legends, elaborations of chronicle entries, and popular romances about Charlemagne, Arthur, and various English knights. In these texts, Saracens engage issues such as the demarcation of communal borders, the place of gender norms and religion in communities' self-definitions, and the roles of violence and history in assertions of group identity. Texts involving Saracens thus serve both to assert an English identity, and to explore the challenges involved in making such an assertion in the early fourteenth century when the English language was regaining its cultural prestige, when the English people were increasingly at odds with their French cousins, and when English, Welsh, and Scottish sovereignty were pressing matters.