My Lord the Fox: The Secret Documents of Anthony Woodcott Concerning Queen Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn: A Novel

Two areas of inquirythe parentage of Elizabeth I of England and the mysterious death of Lady Dudley, the wife of Elizabeth's alleged paramourare woven in a web of political intrigue in this historical novel set in the 1500s. Elizabeth's powerful secretary, Lord William Cecil, is the master intriguer. Through the daybook kept by Anthony Woodcot, a trusted relative who acts as Cecil's secret agent, we follow the machinations of the statesman known as ""the fox.'' Cecil uses the impressive evidence that accumulates regarding Henry VIII's putative fathering of Elizabeth in combination with suspicions about the death of Amy Robsart, Dudley's wife, to entrench his position of power. This innovative detective story, rich in history and expressed in the idiom of the period, features two powerful men vying for control of the Queen, providing interesting speculation for Tudor buffs. ( June 20)