Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards a government clerk dies painfully in mysterious circumstances.
His colleague James Marwood is asked to investigate – but the task brings unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables.
Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry House for the woman that the King loves most in all the world.
But at the heart of this lies a royal secret so explosive that it could not only rip apart England but change the entire face of Europe
The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor is published on 17 February, 2022.
Andrew Taylor’s earlier novel in this series, The King’s Evil, won the 2020 HWA Gold Crown Award for outstanding historical fiction. He spoke to Historia afterwards about winning the prize; read his interview. Andrew also gave an interview about his book when it was shortlisted. And he wrote about the background to the book in The monarch with the magic touch.
Read Frances Owen’s review of The Fire Court by Andrew Taylor.
