by Martin Stephen (Author)
Thief. Informer. Double-dealer. Whoremonger. Drunkard. Gambler. Will Shadwell may not be the most moral of men, but to Henry Gresham - gentleman, scholar, courtier, spy - he is invaluable. For in the dark days of the reign of King James I a man must know his enemies to survive; Shadwell, by hook or more often by crook, is one of his best sources. Then Shadwell is brutally murdered and Gresham is summoned to London by the man he fears most: Robert Cecil, the King's Chief Secretary, and Machiavellian master of a sinister network of spies. Cecil wants Gresham to discover the truth about Sir Francis Bacon's private life, but when Gresham begins his investigations, he finds that he is the one who is being watched ...As Gresham continues to do Cecil's bidding with ever increasing trepidation, his enquiries into Shadwell's death uncover a plot so audacious it is scarcely believable: a catholic uprising, a violent insurrection, and a trail of gunpowder underneath the Houses of Parliament ...
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Publisher: Sphere
Published: 24 Oct 2002
ISBN 10: 0751532592
ISBN 13: 9780751532593
Book Overview: From the court of King James to the deadly underworld of Jacobean London, Martin Stephen's superb debut novel is as rich in atmosphere as it is in tension. A thrilling tale of gunpowder, treason and plot.