NAL Trade
Featuring: Sir Francis Walsingham; Lady Frances Sidney; Elizabeth I
416 pages ISBN: 0451237021 EAN: 9780451237026 Kindle: B007K3E42K Trade Size / e-Book Add to Wish List
THE SPYMASTERS DAUGHTER is an intriguing mix of fact and
fiction giving insights to the world during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I.
The Queen's spymaster is Sir Francis Walsingham who has
assembled an intelligence-gathering network in service to
her majesty Queen Elizabeth I. His only daughter, Lady
Frances Sidney, is unhappily married and wants to work with
her father's network. But, she's a female and in these
Elizabethan days they do not become spies. With her wit and
fiery nature she does manage to become one of the queen's
ladies-in-waiting, and in doing so secretly begins the work
she longs to do. She decodes messages between followers of
Mary Queen of Scots, proving herself to her father's spies
and beginning her days of secrets and intrigue.
Unfortunately for Frances she attracts the attention of two
men, her lowborn servant Robert Pauley and Robert
Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, though she is still married
to poet Sir Phillip Sidney. And even when she is widowed
after her husband's heroic actions in Holland, the Queen
refuses to allow her to marry either man. Robert is beneath
her status as a hero's widow and Essex, belongs to the
Queen. Essex and her father plan for them to marry, sealing
his fate as he later faces the Queen's anger.
I found THE SPYMASTERS DAUGHTER a very interesting book
with its historical facts intermingled with fiction. Women
and children during this time period were known to have
little say in their futures and were more often than not
bartered to add to the family wealth. The author took the
true facts of Sir Francis Walsingham who was considered the
greatest spymaster in Tudor England and he did have a
daughter who was indeed married to the poet Phillip Sidney
and Earl of Essex. Historians considered Frances only a
shadow behind her illustrious father and gave little play
to the spying that she is shown to do in the book. Ms.
Westin simply questioned "what if" and came up with a very
appealing storyline. With the fictional turn she was able
to allow Frances many moments of happiness and the ending
that fiction romance readers need.
In the court of Elizabeth I, the daughter of the queen’s
powerful spymaster becomes a secret agent, and plays a
dangerous role in saving her country from its ruthless
enemies.
In Tudor England, traitors are everywhere and the queen’s
spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, is assembling the
greatest intelligence-gathering network in the world.
Walsingham’s only daughter, Lady Frances Sidney, is smart,
courageous, and unhappy in love. She longs for the
excitement of decoding encrypted messages and setting traps
for those working for rival Mary, Queen of Scots. But
Frances's father refuses her any opportunity to contribute
to the desperate effort of keeping England safe.
Then Elizabeth, impressed with Frances’s fiery spirit, calls
her to court as a lady-in-waiting, and Frances seizes the
chance to prove herself. Soon, she wins the trust of her
father’s de-coders and begins her secret work, thrilled with
the freedom to test her talents. But her peril is compounded
as her beauty and wit also attract the romantic attention of
two men, one the reckless Earl of Essex and the other her
own brilliant but low-born servant, Robert Pauley. And when
Frances uncovers the most dire plot of all, she will risk
her father’s condemnation, her heart’s longing, and her very
life to safeguard her queen.
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