The Spymaster’s Daughter by Jeane Westin
I am delighted to share with you a guest post by author Jeane Westin and details of a giveaway made possible by Jeane’s generosity. We have two copies of her latest novel, The Spymaster’s Daughter, to give away to two lucky commenters!
Conditions of Entry
For your chance to win a copy of The Spymaster’s Daughter you must be subscribed to On the Tudor Trail’s newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on our homepage).
Then simply leave a comment after Jeane’s guest post between now and October 7, 2012.
Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email.
Good luck!
The Hidden Life of Gloriana’s Spies by Jeane Westin
Frances Walsingham, countess of Essex, and her son Robert attributed to Robert Peake the Elder, 1594.
As a writer of historical novels (this was my eighth), I begin a book with the idea that we have only the barest outlines of people’s lives who lived centuries ago. It’s the hidden life I’m after because that’s the stuff of fiction. Getting from the known to the unknown is what I do with every book, what every historical novelist does…start with an outline of what really happened and leap into the dark. The Spymaster’s Daughter is a novel about Lady Frances Walsingham Sidney, the only child of Sir Francis Walsingham. He was Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster and the man who saved her from assassination and England from a return to Catholicism, an invasion by Spain and, he thought, the return of heretic burnings. He built the largest spy organization in the world, reaching as far as Constantinople, burrowing into the Vatican and even the Spanish king’s court. He had spies all over London, including playwrights Christopher Marlowe and possibly even Shakespeare. Walsingham had immense power and used it ruthlessly. All this time, he was very ill, suffering from kidney failure for which the physicians of that time had no clue and so they gave him bull’s broth, thinking to transfer a bull’s strength to their patient. What they transferred was obviously a powerful desire to rid England of the danger of Mary, Queen of Scots. Who was Lady Frances, my heroine? We know she was married at sixteen to Sir Philip Sidney, the great Elizabethan poet who wrote Astrophel and Stella (Starlover and Star) containing over 100 love sonnets…to another woman. What was her life like at a court where everyone knew this and lived on gossip? We also know that after Sidney died from a war wound Frances later married the Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth’s last great favorite. (And Essex was Stella’s younger brother!) Elizabeth was furious. This is an emotional tangle of hearts in the dangerous era of the great Tudor fight for the future survival of the English nation. Where would the daughter of the spymaster fit into this world? Since I was once an Army cryptographer at the Pentagon, I imagined Frances Sidney as an intelligent woman who was drawn to the excitement of spying. I find this easy to believe. A father’s talent passes to a daughter as easily as to a son. This was the case with my Lady Frances. Naturally, in a time when women’s lives were arranged by the males in her family, her father was opposed to his daughter working with codes and putting herself in danger. And, as with today’s daughters, Frances found a way to use her talents. She also found forbidden love with a lowborn spy, a servant in her own household. I centered the adventures of my book on the Babington conspiracy and the part that my Lady Frances and Walsingham’s chief decoder, Thomas Phelippes, played in the entrapment of Mary, Queen of Scots and the disruption of Sir Anthony Babington’s plot to assassinate Elizabeth. A forbidden love, my hero in the torture dungeons of the Tower of London, my lovers wild ride to spy on an imprisoned queen and the top secret world they lived in…all are pieces of the novel’s puzzle made from history’s facts. And all ruled over by the fascinating Gloriana.
Visit Jeane Westin’s official website here.
Having read “Elizabeth’s Spymaster” on Sir Francis Walsingham, I am curious to read how his daughter followed in his footsteps.
Looks a fantastic book, I have been looking at it on Amazon. I would love to read it, I love all history books, the more I can get, the better! Anyway thankyou very much for your generosity no matter who wins!
Would love to read this book. Great Post, can`t wait to read more of this story.
It look like a fabulous book, and I would love reading it. My favourite period in history is the Tudors. Thank you so much for this giveaway 🙂
I would love to read this book, the topic is really interesting!! 🙂 Thank you for the opportunity!
wow!! I love reading about the lives of everyday Tudor women. I love their strength, committment & passion. In an age where men ruled a woman’s life from birth til death, it is very satisfying to learn that those women are truly no different to us. They too wanted to shake off society’s constrants & live their lives to the fullest! Their ranks include some of the very 1st pioneers for women’s rights. I believe we have a lot to be thankful for… these women were great!
Looks like a wonderful story! Will add to my wishlist…..thanks for the giveaway chance!
Sounds a very intriguing and interesting story of a spirited women, would definitely love to read it as The Tudors are my favourite historical topic!
Thank you for a great giveaway and good luck with sales xx
This book looks intriguing! Hope I win! Thanks for the contest!
Seems to be a very interesting book. Thank you for doing this give away.
I’ve read Elizabeth’s Spymaster too and it whetted my appetite to know more about the Tudor spy network – this looks like a great read!
I’ve read ‘The Tudor Secret’ by C.W. Gortner and I was fascinated by Francis Walsingham’s spy network. Jean’s post has me intrigued and I would love to learn more about his daughter and his spy network.
Look forward to finding out more about these interesting characters from the past. Thank You Jeane and Natalie.
great article. so was Francis in love with a woman? I think Elizabeth was the best queen to sit on the throne.
Walsingham was a power to be reckoned with, it was a good job he was on Elizabeth’s side if you think about it. It will be interesting to read how close his daughter came upto his expertise. Very intriguing.
You had me at, “Getting from the known to the unknown…” I have not read one of your books yet, but would love a chance to do so. Sounds like a treasure find!
I wasn’t even aware that Walsingham had a daughter, much less that she led such a rich, complex life so full of intrigue and passion. This one is going on the Kindle this weekend!
As to the vast spy network that Walsingham created, I did not realize just how far-reaching and powerful it truly was. Thank you so much, Mrs. Westin for this intriguing look into the world of Gloriana’s spies!
Thank you all for entering and a BIG congratulations to Debbie Fenton and Dawn, randomly selected as our winners. Ladies, please email me your postal address 🙂
Fantastic! I am delighted and very much look forward to reading the book. Thank you Natalie and Jeane x
Many thanks, Natalie and Jeane this is a lovely suprize, I can’t believe how lucky I am and can’t wait for the ‘postie’ to arrive.
Yippee!!! ‘Postie’ has been…received my book on Wednesday 17th Oct. Only took a week to get all the way from New York…Amazing. Many thanks, again, to you both, this will help pass away some of the long dark winter nights that are fastly approaching us here in Scotland 🙂
Book received with great thanks. Looking forward to delving in. Thanks once again for this giveaway ladies.
You are most welcome Debbie! 🙂