Prophecy
SJ Parris
Prophecy
Autumn, 1583: Queen Elizabeth’s rule is under threat. Plans for an invasion to put Mary Stuart on the throne of England are secretly being laid. And an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another has led to frenzied speculation of terrible events to come. Giordano Bruno, the maverick and charismatic agent of Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to the queen, has infiltrated the plotters at the French embassy. His mission is to secure the evidence that will allow the execution of Mary Stuart and her cohorts for treason. But his position there is tenuous — while the ambassador trusts him, his beautiful and cunning wife Marie seems determined to prise out his secrets. Meanwhile, the murder of a maid of honour within the palace walls involves Bruno in deeper mysteries. Occult symbols carved into her young flesh point to black magic, but the truth could be even more sinister…
3.1 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
Crime, Thrillers & Mystery, Historical Fiction |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
416 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
March 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0007317714 |
| Publisher |
HarperCollins |
| |
Autumn, 1583: Queen Elizabeth’s rule is under threat. Plans for an invasion to put Mary Stuart on the throne of England are secretly being laid. And an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another has led to frenzied speculation of terrible events to come. Giordano Bruno, the maverick and charismatic agent of Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to the queen, has infiltrated the plotters at the French embassy. His mission is to secure the evidence that will allow the execution of Mary Stuart and her cohorts for treason. But his position there is tenuous — while the ambassador trusts him, his beautiful and cunning wife Marie seems determined to prise out his secrets. Meanwhile, the murder of a maid of honour within the palace walls involves Bruno in deeper mysteries. Occult symbols carved into her young flesh point to black magic, but the truth could be even more sinister…
SJ Parris is the pseudonym of Stephanie Merritt.
HERESY by SJ Parris
Reviews
The Daily Telegraph
Toby Clements
"With Catholic plots, virgin queens, agents of Francis Walsingham and even good old Doctor Dee, this is impossible to resist. Parris — a pseudonym — creates a convincing sense of the past, woven with so much intrigue and occult goings-on that the head fairly spins."
22/03/2011
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The Guardian
John O'Connell
"It is less self-conscious than HERESY, as if Merritt has found the confidence to entertain without winking at us every few pages."
12/03/2011
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The Literary Review
Jessica Mann
"This sixteenth century James Bond undergoes repeated physical punishment from which he recovers remarkably fast, but it is worth suspending disbelief about Bruno for the sake of Parris’s portrait of Tudor London."
01/03/2011
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The Daily Mail
Kathy Stevenson
"Tense and lively, this is a welcome follow-up to S J Parris’s first Bruno novel, HERESY, fully living up to its predecessor’s promise."
07/04/2011
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