Product Description

England is close to war. Within days the axe could fall on the neck of Mary Queen of Scots, and Spain is already gathering a battle fleet to avenge her.

Tensions in Elizabeth I’s government are at breaking point. At the eye of the storm is John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham. When an intercept reveals a plot to assassinate England’s ‘sea dragon’, Francis Drake, Shakespeare is ordered to protect him. With Drake on land fitting out his ships, he is frighteningly vulnerable. If he dies, England will be open to invasion.

In a London rife with rumour, Shakespeare must decide which leads to follow, which to ignore. When a high-born young woman is found mutilated and murdered at an illicit printing house, it is political gunpowder – and he has no option but to investigate.

But why is Shakespeare shadowed at every turn by the brutal Richard Topcliffe, the blood-drenched priest-hunter who claims intimacy with Queen Elizabeth herself? What is Topcliffe’s interest in a housemaid, whose baby has been stolen? And where do two fugitive Jesuit priests fit into the puzzle, one happy to die for God, the other to kill for Him?

From the splendour and intrigue of the royal court, to the sleek warships of Her Majesty’s Navy and the teeming brothels of Southwark, Shakespeare soon learns that nothing is as it seems . . .

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38587 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Review

”Clements has a real feel for the Elizabethan period...he understands the religious challenges and historical events that shaped 16^th century politics and amidst it all he has devised a thrilling plot. An excellent start to a new series”

(Lancashire Evening Post, Pam Norfolk )

’A cracking plot full of twists right up to the last minute. I look forward to the next’,

(Sunday Express, Rory Clements )

'Beautifully done . . . alive and tremendously engrossing'

(Daily Telegraph )

'A colourful history lesson . . . exciting narrative twists'

(Sunday Telegraph )

‘Enjoyable, bloody and brutish’

(Guardian )

'An engrossing thriller'

(Washington Post )

'An excellent debut'

(Publishers Weekly )

'Captivates and carries one along through the strength of its plot and its intelligent main character'

(Dallas Morning News )

‘The joy of this book is the way it interweaves commonly known history with the story. The atmosphere and attention to detail will commend this book to devotees of the period’

(Crimesquad )

About the Author
Author Rory Clements has had a long and successful newspaper career including being Features Editor and Associate Editor of Today, Editor of the Daily Mail’s Good Health Pages and, most recently, Editor of the health section at the Evening Standard He is now writing full-time in an idyllic corner of Norfolk.

'I have a healthy obsession with the 16th century,’ says Clements. ‘I love the world as it then was, the characters, the conspiracies and the extraordinary resolve of people who were willing to cast themselves adrift into uncharted oceans with no way of knowing whether they would ever return. I wanted to explore, too, the contrast between the barbarity of men like the licensed sadist Richard Topcliffe and the humanity of William Shakespeare, the glitter and glamour of Elizabeth’s court and the squalor of the streets. So different and yet so similar to the world we now inhabit with its religious tensions and great movements of people.'

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Customer Reviews

Thrilling historical murder-mystery
Set around 1587, the historical period of Martyr is a fascinating and important time in English history, a turbulent period that would see the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, Sir Francis Drake preparing to go to war against the Spanish Armada, and the widespread anti-Papist sentiments and witch-hunt of Jesuits creating an appropriate environment of fear and suspicion in which to set an exciting thriller. It's in this setting that John Shakespeare, chief intelligencer in the secret service of Sir Francis Walsingham, is trying to uncover the perpetrator of the gruesome murder of one of the Queen's cousins, a man he suspects might be linked to a plot to assassinate Drake.

The novel is filled with relevant period detail, descriptions of the seamier side of London and authentic characterisation, with religious differences and political intrigue colouring the actions of those who continue to practice the Catholic faith and those who want to see it outlawed. The conflict of interests comes into play most effectively in the character of John Shakespeare, duty bound to follow the Queen's orders according to the harsh legislation of the day, but finding himself in murky territory and dangerous company, his allegiances challenged by a dangerous adversary with less scruples and more questionable methods. This all makes for an excellent read, bringing the historical characters and political intrigue of the period fully to life while in the process delivering an exciting murder-mystery thriller.

Excellent start!!
I really enjoyed this book and recommend it strongly. If you've tried CJ Sansum then this novel, set about 50 years later, will not disappoint. It's well-written, full of period and yes, at times reflects the violence prevalent in the 1580s not least that meted out by government agencies, especially the notorious Richard Topcliffe. The atmosphere of uncertainty everywhere is strong, not least the hounding of Catholics in the wake of Mary Queen of Scots. There are all sorts of strands to the plot but I found at all times that the book was easy to read. John Shakespeare makes for an interesting main character and is likeable in his quirky way. I wasn't sure at first if I could take him seriously, given his name and that he'd 'recently arrived in London from the Midlands'. It's fairly well known that his somewhat better-known younger brother had no elder brother called John, so I'd have liked some sort of explanation from Clements at the end. Why choose this rather eye-catching surname at all?
Never mind, the book is a good one and I hope it does become [as publishers tell us] first in a series, but then if it doesn't sell, we all know that's not likely to happen which would be a shame. Deserves wide readership!