I have written a couple of times about Thomas Phelippes, a spy and encrypter in the pay of the great spy-master Sir Francis Walsingham. I have often thought he would be a great character in a novel – and having read and loved all the Shardlake novels by C.J. Sansom set in the reign of Henry VIII, before Walsingham had come to the fore under Queen Elizabeth I, I could imagine it would be really popular and successful.
Quite by chance I came across a writer I hadn’t heard of before,although he has written many novels, Rory Clements. He has written a series of novels about an Elizabethan spy, John Shakespeare, William’s brother, ‘Martyr’, ‘Revenger’, ‘Prince’, ‘Traitor’, ‘The Heretics’, ‘The Queen’s Man’ and ‘Holy Spy’.
I have the first in the series, and can’t wait to get reading… not least in case Thomas gets a mention!
Lois Elsden 