The Conjuror’s Apprentice

by G. J. Williams Book 1 in the The Tudor Rose Murders series.

First published 2022

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4.2(1,325)

London, May 1555. A brutally injured boy is pulled from the Thames carrying clues that appear to implicate Princess Elizabeth in treason against her half-sister Queen Mary I. John Dee, already known for his learning in mathematics, astrology and the occult sciences, and his fictional secret apprentice Margaretta Morgan begin tracing the false seals, coded messages and bodies accumulating around the court while suspicion threatens to send Elizabeth back to the Tower.

The novel is set during Mary I’s restoration of Catholicism and the persecution of Protestants, using real political figures including Mary, Elizabeth, William Cecil and John Dee. The murder conspiracy, Margaretta’s unusual ability to sense other people’s thoughts and most private encounters are fictional. Williams combines historical crime, court politics and supernatural ambiguity to open the Tudor Rose Murders.