Gloriana's Torch

Gloriana's Torch

by PatriciaFinney (Author)

Synopsis

1587 and the Spanish are preparing to launch the Armada, their Holy Enterprise of England, to rescue the English from heresy and Elizabeth, their Witch-Queen. Ex-soldier David Becket, now responsible for the Queen's Ordnance but struggling to deal with his tortured past, discovers that large quantities of gunpowder are going astray. Can someone in the heart of the English government be selling it to the Spanish? Unaccountably he is plagued by vivid dreams of England invaded, an alternative story where the Armada is victorious. Simon Ames, Becket's old friend, has been captured by the Inquisition in Lisbon as he attempts to elicit vital information for the Queen. His wife, Rebecca; a black slave, Merula, and Becket are permitted to rescue him on one condition. They must also infiltrate the Spanish fleet and unravel the riddle of the Miracle of Beauty. But Simon has been sentenced to work as a galley slave on the Armada and, chained to an oarbench, is now bound for England. Patricia Finney's brilliant reworking of the Armada story is an imaginative tour de force. Thrilling, intricate and inspiring, this is a tale of gods, of courage, of love, and, ultimately, of redemption.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 544
Edition: New Ed
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 05 Aug 2004

ISBN 10: 0753818043
ISBN 13: 9780753818046
Book Overview: FIREDRAKE'S EYE and UNICORN'S BLOOD, the previous two books in the trilogy received great praise: 'Historical fiction in the same league as Rose Tremain's RESTORATION', Cosmopolitan 'Swiftly moving and deftly woven, this courtly tale is as engrossing as it is improbable', New York Times Enduring fascination with the world of Elizabeth I and her court The BBC has optioned the rights for FIREDRAKE'S EYE and UNICORN'S BLOOD

Media Reviews
REVIEWS 'A substantial and historically-satisfying book' tangledweb.co.uk, spetember 2003
Author Bio
Patricia Finney has been writing since she was seven. Her first novel, A SHADOW OF GULLS, was published when she was eighteen and won the David Higham Award. Since then she has had a variety of jobs which have included editing a medical journal and writing a weekly TV preview column in the LONDON EVENING STANDARD.