The Shadow Crown Trilogy

Heretic in a Crown Publisher's Summary

In 1570, Pope Pius V signed a document that changed everything. With a single papal bull, Elizabeth I became a heretic—excommunicated, her assassination blessed by Rome, her subjects absolved of all loyalty.

For thirty-three years, Elizabeth navigated a world where every Catholic courtier might be an assassin and every foreign ambassador a spy. The Northern Rising. The Ridolfi conspiracy. Mary, Queen of Scots. The Spanish Armada. The Earl of Essex's betrayal.

But this isn't a story of heroes and villains.

The Pope believed he was saving souls. The priests who infiltrated England believed they were bringing truth to a nation led astray. The queen who ordered their executions believed she was protecting her people. Everyone believed they were righteous. Everyone paid a price.

Through the eyes of queens and commoners, spymasters and priests, executioners and the condemned, Heretic in a Crown reveals the human cost of religious conflict—the families torn apart, the impossible choices, and the consequences that echo to this day.

For fans of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels.

©2025 Robert Walker (P)2026 robert walker