The Rebel Heart
(2006)Henry Gresham and the Earl of Essex
(The second book in the Henry Gresham series)
A novel by Martin Stephen
It is 1598, and Elizabeth I is growing old. Her Court shivers with intrigue as to who will claim the throne when she dies. Will the Spanish attempt to invade once more, will Scotland's King James take the crown - or will the Queen's favourite, the upstart Earl of Essex, prove a surprise successor?
One man who has inside knowledge of Court is the young Henry Gresham. Commanded by Robert Cecil to deliver a mysterious letter to Scotland, and ever watchful of the Earl of Essex's increasingly erratic behaviour, he soon becomes swept up in a battle for power that takes him to all corners of the British Isles, and dangerously close to death.
'Henry Gresham is a hero for all seasons.' Val McDermid
'Martin Stephen writes utterly gripping novels... swashbuckling action, a very endearing hero in Sir Henry Gresham, and also a marvellous evocation of the yells and smells of seventeenth-century England.' Jilly Cooper
'A rollicking tale of passion, treachery and derring-do - and the history is impeccable.' John Clare, Daily Telegraph
'[an] intricate and exciting page-turner of a novel... Henry Gresham is a wonderful creation and so authentic of his time...[he] moves among the highest but is equally likely to be found in the alleys and rookeries of London - environments described believably, graphically and appealingly to all the senses; certainly London came alive for me... I will look forward enthusiastically to Gresham's next outing.' Historical Novels Review
Genre: Historical
One man who has inside knowledge of Court is the young Henry Gresham. Commanded by Robert Cecil to deliver a mysterious letter to Scotland, and ever watchful of the Earl of Essex's increasingly erratic behaviour, he soon becomes swept up in a battle for power that takes him to all corners of the British Isles, and dangerously close to death.
'Henry Gresham is a hero for all seasons.' Val McDermid
'Martin Stephen writes utterly gripping novels... swashbuckling action, a very endearing hero in Sir Henry Gresham, and also a marvellous evocation of the yells and smells of seventeenth-century England.' Jilly Cooper
'A rollicking tale of passion, treachery and derring-do - and the history is impeccable.' John Clare, Daily Telegraph
'[an] intricate and exciting page-turner of a novel... Henry Gresham is a wonderful creation and so authentic of his time...[he] moves among the highest but is equally likely to be found in the alleys and rookeries of London - environments described believably, graphically and appealingly to all the senses; certainly London came alive for me... I will look forward enthusiastically to Gresham's next outing.' Historical Novels Review
Genre: Historical
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Used availability for Martin Stephen's The Rebel Heart