Series · historical fiction / espionage
The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles series by C.W. Gortner has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Tudor Secret (2011).
- Books
- 3 books
- First published
- 2011
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: The Tudor Secret (2011) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Tudor Secret
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Tudor Secret - Book 2:
The Tudor Conspiracy
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Tudor Conspiracy - Book 3:
The Tudor Vendetta
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Tudor Vendetta
About The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
Before he became known for his novels about famous historical women, C.W. Gortner wrote this Tudor-court spy trilogy following Brendan Prescott, a stableboy of murky parentage swept into the deadly intrigue surrounding the young Princess Elizabeth. The Tudor Secret opens in the final days of Edward VI's reign, as Brendan is pulled from Elizabeth's household into a web of secrets involving his own hidden birth and the succession crisis engulfing England. The Tudor Conspiracy finds him operating as a spy for Elizabeth under the cloud of her half-sister Mary's reign, and The Tudor Vendetta sends him on a mission into Elizabeth's own early, precarious years as queen, hunting a missing lady of the court whose disappearance threatens to expose old enemies.
Gortner grounds the trilogy's court intrigue and swordplay in real Tudor politics -- the succession crisis after Edward VI's death, Wyatt's Rebellion, and the fraught early years of Elizabeth's reign -- filtered through a fictional protagonist whose personal mystery (who his parents really are, and what claim it gives him) drives the plot forward as much as the historical events around him.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles?
Three: The Tudor Secret (2011), The Tudor Conspiracy (2013) and The Tudor Vendetta (2014). The trilogy is complete.
What order should I read The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles in?
Publication order: The Tudor Secret, The Tudor Conspiracy, The Tudor Vendetta. It's one continuous story following the same protagonist, Brendan Prescott.
Who is Brendan Prescott?
A stableboy of unknown parentage in the household of Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth I, who becomes entangled in Tudor court intrigue and eventually works as a spy for Elizabeth across all three novels.
Was The Tudor Secret originally published under a different title?
Yes. C.W. Gortner originally self-published this novel in 2004 as The Secret Lion; St. Martin's Press acquired and republished it as The Tudor Secret in 2011, launching it as book one of this trilogy.
Is this series connected to C.W. Gortner's other historical novels?
No -- Gortner's standalone novels (The Last Queen, Mademoiselle Chanel, The Vatican Princess and others, tracked at c-w-gortner.json) are all separate, unconnected books about different historical women; this trilogy is his only series with a continuing protagonist.
Reading order last verified .