Tag: Cumnor Place

Book Review: “To Shield the Queen” by Fiona Buckley

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

Queen Elizabeth I has a not-so-secret infatuation with her Master of the Horse, Robert Dudley. However, there is a problem. Dudley is married to Amy Robsart Dudley, a woman who is extremely ill. She suspects that her husband wants her dead, so Elizabeth sends one of her servants, Ursula Blanchard, to reassure Amy. However, disaster strikes, and it is up to Ursula to figure out what happened to Amy Dudley and foil a plot against the queen. Can Ursula solve the case, or will she be forced to lose those she holds dear for the sake of the queen? Fiona Buckley introduces Ursula Blanchard and her Tudor world to the modern audience in her first book in the Ursula Blanchard Mystery series, “To Shield the Queen.”

This is the second book that I have read in the Ursula Blanchard series. The first book I read was book 19 in the series, “Forest of Secrets.” I thought that book was pretty good, but when I saw this one at a used bookstore, I decided to start the series from the beginning.

We begin with Ursula Blanchard being invited to the court of Elizabeth I. We find out that Ursula is the mother of a young daughter whose husband, Gerald Gresham, recently died. Ursula was never supposed to marry Gerald and has now become the social outcast of her family. She decides that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a Lady of the Presence Chamber. It is not a lucrative position, that is, until Ursula has a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley.

Dudley wants Ursula to keep an eye on his ailing wife, Amy, who believes that her husband is plotting to have her killed. Ursula agrees and goes to Cumnor Place. While she is helping Amy, someone killed one of Ursula’s servants, and a potential suitor pops up for Ursula named Matthew de la Roche. When Amy is found at the bottom of a staircase, dead, Ursula must solve both cases while dealing with her suitor and dealing with her demanding family that abandoned her after her marriage to Gerald. Ursula must balance being a lady of the court with being an investigator, a woman in love, and a mother.

Overall, this was an okay introductory novel, but it didn’t wow me. I felt like the Amy storyline was pushed aside for other storylines, which was a bit frustrating. Other than the few historical figures and the aspect of Catholics vs Protestants, it again felt like you could put this novel in any period. If you want a Tudor mystery series, you might want to check out the Ursula Blanchard series and “To Shield the Queen” by Fiona Buckley.

Book Review: “Chronos Crime Chronicles- The Death of Amy Robsart: An Elizabethan Mystery” by Sarah-Beth Watkins

On By hmalagisiIn Book ReviewsLeave a comment

51132911On September 8, 1560, a woman was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs inside Cumnor Place. The only visible marks on her body were two wounds on the side of her head, yet her neck was clearly broken. If she was an ordinary woman, her death would not have been remembered through the centuries, yet she was no ordinary woman. She was the wife of Robert Dudley, the man who was considered as one of Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite courtiers. Amy Robsart was a third wheel in the relationship between her husband and the queen, but does that mean that she was murdered? In her latest book, “Chronos Crime Chronicles- The Death of Amy Robsart: An Elizabethan Mystery”, Sarah-Beth Watkins plays detective to uncover the cause of death and the possible motive for those who wanted to see Amy dead.

I would like to thank Sarah-Beth Watkins and Chronos Books for sending me a copy of this book. I have enjoyed Watkins’ previous books, so when I found out she was writing another book about the case of Amy Robsart, I knew that I wanted to read it.

Amy Robsart, the wife of Robert Dudley, was a woman whose life was an enigma, but her death caused a sensation. In this short book, Watkins gives her readers a brief outline of what we know about her death and the coroner’s report on her case. As someone who has read about this case in the past, I found that she was able to touch on the significant points of the case in a succinct yet engaging manner.

Watkins then moves to the main topic of her book, which is if someone did have Amy murder, who were the possible suspects, and what could have been their motives for the crime. Obviously, she does mention Robert Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I as suspects because they were subject to the rumors swirling around this particular case. Watkins does also brings up others who could have committed the crime because they were jealous of the relationship between Dudley and Elizabeth I. If Amy Robsart was indeed murdered, it seems likely it was her husband’s enemies who wanted to blacken his name, not because they had an extreme hatred towards Amy herself.

As someone who believes that Amy Robsart’s death was indeed a terrible accident, I found that some of Watkins’ arguments rather compelling. I think that Watkins’ easy-to-understand writing style is a benefit for a case as complex as this one. This is a good introduction book for those who are not familiar with the death of Amy Robsart, but I wish Watkins did dive a bit more in-depth into some of the theories that she does mention. If you want a book that introduces you to the mysterious death of Amy Robsart, “Chronos Crimes Chronicles- The Death of Amy Robsart: An Elizabethan Mystery” by Sarah-Beth Watkins is the book for you.