The Tudor Secret cover art

The Tudor Secret

The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, Book 1

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The Tudor Secret

By: C. W. Gortner
Narrated by: Steve West
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About this listen

The era of the Tudors was one of danger, intrigue, conspiracy, and, above all, spies.

The summer of 1553 is a time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, has been reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king’s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

A dark plot swirls around Elizabeth’s quest to discover the truth about the ominous disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. With only a bold stable boy and an audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths, lies, and murder.

Filled with the intrigue and pageantry of Tudor England, The Tudor Secret is the first book in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles.

©2011 C. W. Gortner (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Historical Mystery Fiction Royalty Tudor Emotionally Gripping Espionage

Critic Reviews

"Gortner handles action with aplomb, adding a riveting, fast-paced thriller to the crowded genre of Tudor fiction." ( Publishers Weekly)
"An exciting, vividly rendered story of intrigue and espionage." ( Booklist)
All stars
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The plot was ok but I was quite distracted by the narrator. His varying character voices especially the female parts were terrible.

Distracting narration

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Enjoyed this novel . Gave a different aspect to this time period although fiction. Narration easy to listen to.

Easy listening

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I listened to this book in one go while on a long road trip. I am glad I found it.

An Excellent Story.

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I have greatly enjoyed this trilogy which is fast paced and exciting! The only thing I didn’t like is the way Robert Dudley is portrayed as a vindictive brat. Narrative great!

The Tudor Secret

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An American reading a very English story doesn’t sound right.weak story.And a few words to make over 15

Bad pronunciation

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An interesting fiction story - well worth reading. Very entertaining mixing up fact and fiction stories

Great story

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Loved this book, great story and really well performed by narrator. I'm looking forward to book 2.

a great beguinning

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The author takes an interesting subject and destroys it with poor writing. And the narrator!! Mispronounced words like heretic and Plutarch. So annoying.

Amateur writing and terrible narration

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I was glad to see that UK reviewers were really unimpressed with the narrator as I thought there must be something wrong with me; so many Australians and Americans loved him. I simply couldn't get past the eighth chapter and I truly struggled to get that far.. He read it as though is was some kind of melodrama, and his pronunciation was terrible. It could be a good book.. I really don't know.

Terrible narration

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