To Shield the Queen

The first in a series of mysteries by British author Fiona Buckley, set in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. If you loved the movie ELIZABETH, you'll love this series. Ursula Blanchard, a recently widowed woman, must leave her young daughter in the care of a servant and make her own way in the world as a lady in waiting to young Queen Elizabeth I. At court she finds herself encountering intrigue at every turn and is soon offered an opportunity to serve the Queen and earn some extra funds which she can use to support her young daughter. Rumors abound that nobleman Robin Dudley is having an affair with the Queen, and that he is poisoning his wife to free him from his marriage. Ursula must go to his home to protect Dudley's name, and through him the Queen's. But once Ursula arrives, she begins to have doubts, especially after the warnings she receives. Is there something to the rumors? And if so, is Dudley the one behind them, or is there something even more dangerous and sinister afoot? If you know your Tudor history, you're going to love this series. It's full of people, places and customs of the period, very well researched. Even the central mystery of the plot is based on fact, like all of Fiona Buckley's books. There's a subtlety to the plot, and a great deal of political and religious intrigue mixed in. It's quite rich and pleasantly complex. What I most enjoyed was the detailed account of the daily life of a gentlewoman. There seem to be a lot of books about daily life of the working class and peasants, many more on the life of the nobles. What you don't often see are the middle class, which is what makes Ursula Blanchard such an interesting heroine. She is caught between the two classes, at the mercy of the nobles and trapped in their plots and games, yet high enough that she can be a player (or pawn) in those same games. This is a great start to a very intriguing series.

Coming from the perspective of a junior in high school taking British Literature, To Shield The Queen by Fiona Buckley was a fascinating as well as enlightening novel. The book is set in 1560 England under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The story focuses on Ursula Blanchard, a recently widowed young mother who accepts employment in the Queen's court as a Lady of the Presence chamber. It quickly becomes apparent to her, as well as to the rest of the court, that the Queen is romantically interested in her Master of Horse, Sir Robin Dudley. Unfortunately, Sir Robin is still married, although Lady Dudley is very ill. To terminate any rumors that may be circulating around court, Ursula is sent by the Queen to take care of Lady Dudley. As events play out, Lady Dudley is mysteriously found dead at the bottom of the stairs after she sent all her servants away for the day. The ensuing chase by Ursula to find out the true circumstances surrounding Lady Dudley's death (murder?) leads her on a pursuit all over England. To complicate matters further, during her stay with Lady Dudley Ursula has fallen for a man who very well may be supporting the removal of Queen Elizabeth from the throne to replace her with a Catholic monarch. As this novel progressed, I became more and more impressed with the unusual strength of character that Ursula embodied. I was very surprised to read a novel set in the 16th century with a woman as a main character who was strong-willed, determined, making her own decisions, and taking care of herself; this view of women presented by Fiona Buckley was very refreshing and appreciated. For someone who usually doesn't enjoy historical literature, To Shield The Queen was a welcome exception; as opposed to dry, monotonous writing, this novel had a plot with twists at every corner and an ending that I would never have expected. Fiona Buckley never let historical inaccuracies slip into the story while creating her novel, and that extra touch shines through in her writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries or historical novels - it is a great story!

I found Fiona Buckleys novel extremely entertaining. Not only is the main character believable and realistic, but she is easy to identify with. THis novel sucked me in and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. It left me eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was an interesting account of the events of that time and it was nice that a historical fiction novel actually expected you to know a little bit of history in order to fully understand the book. Ursula was a highly likable character who proved to be interesting as well. This was a fun story and I can definitely allow Ms. Buckley a few liberties and imaginings of the true accounts of this bit of history. I can't wait to read further books in the series.

I picked up this book as a quick read over a holiday and was happily surprised to find the author an accomplished novelist. Her simple explanations of the intriquisies of the Elizabethian court were purely amazing, bring the court life to life in a vivid and fun fashion. And the author is to be commended on her use of 'devices'. It is easy to write a modern mystery, complete with wire taps, phone scanners,and high speed chases in fancy cars. Fiona Buckly showcases her brilliant mind as she keeps the heroine firmly in the character of an Elizabethian lady who uses her powers of reason and the drama of stealth to overhear conversations.Instead of a fancy car the heroine has a flashy bay horse, and the slow speed chase on horseback lurking over hill and dale in the English countryside following a notable horse was absolutly facinating. I compleatly enjoyed TO SHIELD THE QUEEN, and will begin searching for other books by Fiona Buckly,hoping that she has continued the adventures of Ursula and her crew.