In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love. Ned Willard wants nothing more than to marry Margery Fitzgerald. But when the lovers find themselves on opposing sides of the religious conflict dividing the country, Ned goes to work for Princess Elizabeth....

A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.

Orphaned at a young age because of her mother Katherine's bad marriage to Thomas Seymour--and then to King Henry VIII--Mary Seymour is sent to be raised by a mysterious noblewoman who informs her of her destiny: Mary is to be a white magician who will join Queen Elizabeth's court and ensure her safe reign.

In 1542, nine-year-old Lady Elizabeth lives on an estate near London, striving to get back into the good graces of her father, King Henry VIII, and as the years pass she faces his death and those of other close relatives until she finds herself next in line to ascend the throne of England in 1558.

Author Margaret George tackles her most difficult subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma -- the Virgin Queen who had many suitors; the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel-bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like? In this novel, her flame-haired, look-alike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows...

"In Elizabeth I's England, a fourteen-year-old girl who steals a loaf of bread is sentenced to be a sin eater, a shunned woman who must assume the sins of the dead, and becomes drawn into a dangerous mystery at the heart of a corrupt and violent court. 'The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard / Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers / Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard / The Sin Eater Walks Among Us.' For the crime of stealing bread,...