Mom's Tree House

I have always been a fan of the  whole Tudor Dynasty and their stories, the Showtime series “The Tudor’s and now I am a fan of C.W. Gortner.  I loved this book! It has been a long time since a  book has captivated my interest and  The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner  managed exactly to that. This book went way beyond my expectations and  I now have read a  historical fiction novel written with such expertise that allowed me to keep up with a story full of so many twists and turns, surprises and mystery.

In this first book of a chronicle series, we meet  Brendan Prescott. Brendan was found as a newborn and was taken into the Dudley household by their herbalist and nurse, Alice. Years later,  Brendan  is brought to the court of Edward VI to serve as squire to Lord Robert Dudley  but, soon  finds his  loyalty put to the test as he discovers Young Edward is dying and the Dudley’s plan of keeping Henry VIII’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth from  reaching the throne.

Brendan dicovers that Lord Robert is planning to wed Elizabeth as to gain his own power of becoming king while his father, John Dudley plans to marry off  his youngest son, Guilford, to Lady Jane Grey,daughter of Henry VIII’s sister, Mary and put them on the throne instead.

 Brendan soons finds himself working for William Cecil in protecting the princessess. Yet, no one is really sure who’s side is on. In all, Brendan vows to protect , Princess Mary, the next heir to become crowned and her sister, Elizabeth.  While Brendan is working to help the sisters, he discovers secrets about his own past, his mother and the mysterious birth mark of the rose he carries.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I even lost sleep reading this book as I wanted to finish it. It was engaging  with plenty of twists of spies and counter-spies, intrigues, deception, treachery and near-death escapes. I read it in only three days and left me yearning for more. I learned that this book was originally published as The Secret Lion later re-edited to become the The  Tudor Secret. Since reading this book, I have now also read The Last Queen, which I enjoyed even more. C.W. Gortner style of writing and storytelling is compelling, and I can’t wait for what lies ahead for Brendan as he continues his adventures in Tudor Court.

About the Author

C.W. Gortner is the author of the acclaimed historical novels The Last Queen and The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. He holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis on Renaissance Studies from the New College of California. In his extensive travels to researchhis books, he has danced a galliard in a Tudor great hall and experienced life in a Spanish castle. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights and environmental issues. Half-Spanish by birth, he divides his time between Northern California and Antigua, Guatemala.

The Tudor secret is the first book in Gortner’s The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles series.

 You can visit the author online at  www.cwgortner.com or his blog at http://historicalboys.blogspot.com/.

4 Responses to “Review of The Tudor Secret By: C.W. Gortner”