But Valentin Rochefort, duelist and spy for France's powerful financial minister, could not care less. Until he is drawn into the glittering palaces, bawdy back streets, and stunning theatrics of Renaissance France and Shakespearean London in a deadly plot both to kill King James I and to save him. For this swordsman without a conscience is about to find himself caught between loyalty, love, and blackmail, between kings, queens, politicians, and Rosicrucians, and the woman he has, unknowingly, crossed land and sea to meet.
Mary Gentle (1956 - )
Mary Gentle is one of the world's most acclaimed writers of fantasy and science fiction. Winner of the BSFA Award for Ash: A Secret History - the largest single fantasy work in the English language - and twice nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, she has a number of academic degrees, including an MA in War Studies, and has hands-on experience of sword-fighting and armour, amongst many other useful talents. Mary Gentle lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
For more information see www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/gentle_mary