Deze Britse auteur specialiseert zich in historische fictie, en creëert meeslepende mysteries die zich afspelen tijdens het Elizabethaanse tijdperk onder het pseudoniem Fiona Buckley. Onder haar eigen naam duikt ze in de levens van de Engelse koninklijke familie en verkent ze familiesaga's door de eeuwen heen in haar 'Bridges over Time'-reeks, die loopt van de elfde tot de negentiende eeuw. Haar werk biedt lezers een diepe onderdompeling in het verleden, met levendige weergaven van historische omgevingen en levens.
Sir William Cecil has a mission for Ursula Blanchard. She must visit group of recusant women led by Abbess Philippa Gould. They possess an ancient book that the Queen's advisor is eager to get hold of. But two of Sir William's previous emissaries vanished without trace in the search. What happened to them and will Ursula suffer the same fate?
When her manservant is arrested for the murder of a neighbor, Ursula is determined to prove his innocence, but after a second death occurs, her investigation draws Ursula into matters of espionage and affairs of state.
January, 1576. Widow Ursula Blanchard is in no position to refuse when Sir Francis Walsingham decides she must wed Count Gilbert Renard in order to build a strategic alliance with the French. Soon after the count arrives at her country home to pay court, one of Ursula's household staff is found dead. An accident - or something more sinister?
"July, 1579. Called upon to help a family friend who is horrified at the return of her errant husband after an absence of thirty years, little does Ursula realize that her involvement in the Harrison family's domestic dramas will lead to a case of cold-blooded murder."--Publisher description.
May 1589. When a strangled corpse is found and Ursula Stannard learns through her connections at Court that English vessels are being plundered by a trio of mysterious ships, she once again takes on the mantle of secret agent. But with someone willing to kill to protect their secrets and a bounty of golden cargo at stake, Ursula is in danger ...
February, 1586. When the queen's spymaster learns that Ursula is to visit her relatives in Devon, he asks her to find out what has happened to two of his local agents. On arrival in the small village of Zeal Aquatico, Ursula discovers that both spies in question have met with mysterious - and fatal - accidents. Or is there more to it than that?
March, 1588. As King Philip of Spain amasses a vast fleet of warships ready to invade England, Queen Elizabeth and her advisors seek a possible alliance with the Duke of Parma, Governor of the Netherlands. Ursula Stannard finds herself plunged into a hotbed of intrigue and rumour at the Duke of Parma's court, a place where no one is to be trusted.
April, 1590. Ursula Stannard, the queen's half-sister and occasional secret agent, is summoned back to her childhood home, Faldene House, after Sir Francis Walsingham's funeral. But her return puts those closest to her in grave danger. Ursula's foes, the Mercer brothers, are set on revenge, and they'll go to any lengths to achieve it . . .
The eleventh enthralling adventure to feature Ursula Blanchard, reluctant spy in the service of Queen Elizabeth I. February, 1571. Ursula is once more plunged into affairs of the state when she escorts her foster daughter Margaret to the Netherlands to meet her suitor. The queen’s spymaster, Sir William Cecil, learns that the wealthy Italian banker Roberto Ridolfi will be hosting their forthcoming wedding – a man who he fears may once again be plotting to put Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne. But Ursula is also about to come face-to-face with her greatest enemy – and the exiled Countess of Northumberland is not the only figure from Ursula’s past to put in a surprising appearance.
1581. When Ursula Blanchard's 9-year-old son is snatched away while out riding, she must agree to undertake an impossibly difficult and dangerous mission if she is ever to see him again. Can she rely on her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth, for help?