S. J. Parris Books

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling series set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy and Netflix's The Crown 'Gripping' Sunday Times 'Fast-paced and entertaining' Mail on Sunday

Greg is a fading middle-aged actor whose family life has long since become stale; Sally is a struggling young playwright. When they're thrown together to do a West End play, they plunge into a reckless affair that seems to offer an escape into fantasy . . . until Sally makes a shocking discovery that brings them face to face with real life again. A novel of sharp insight, written with warmth and compelling honesty, Real is a brilliant portrait of modern illusions about love.

Later, I learned that it has gone by many names - the black dog, the bell jar, the noonday demon, darkness visible, malignant sadness - but in my teens I'd just assumed that my fierce highs and days of disproportionate, isolating despair were part of every teenager's repertoire - how else would Morrissey have sold so many records?

Summer, 1585. As English ships are held captive in Spain, fear mounts of an Invincible Armada, built by King Philip II, and intended to invade English shores. Sir Francis Drake prepares to embark on an expedition by royal commission to cross the Atlantic and seize major Spanish ports, diverting Philip's American treasure supplies to Queen Elizabeth. Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, accompanies his friend Sir Philip Sidney to Plymouth to oversee Drake's departure. Unbeknownst to Bruno, Sidney intends to join the mission - and he wants Bruno to go too. But when a ship captain is brutally murdered, and Drake's life threatened, it becomes clear that someone plans to destroy the expedition before it begins.

The No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling series The fifth book in S. J. Parris's bestselling, critically acclaimed series following Giordano Bruno, set at the time of Queen Elizabeth I Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary Mantel PARIS, 1585 A KING WITHOUT AN HEIR Heretic-turned-spy Giordano Bruno arrives in Paris to find a city on the edge of catastrophe. King Henri III lives in fear of a coup by the Duke of Guise and his fanatical Catholic League, and another massacre on the streets. A COURT AT WAR WITH GOD When Bruno's old rival, Father Paul Lefèvre is found murdered, Bruno is drawn into a dangerous web of religious politics and court intrigue. And watching over his shoulder is the King's mother, Catherine de Medici, with her harem of beautiful spies. A DEADLY CONSPIRACY IN PLAY When murder strikes at the heart of the Palace, Bruno finds himself on the trail of a killer who is protecting a terrible secret. With the royal houses of France and England under threat, Bruno must expose the truth - or be silenced for good... Praise for S. J. Parris 'A delicious blend of history and thriller' The Times 'An omnipresent sense of danger' Daily Mail 'Colourful characters, fast-moving plots and a world where one false step in religion or politics can mean a grisly death' Sunday Times 'Pacy, intricate, and thrilling' Observer 'Vivid, sprawling ... Well-crafted, exuberant' Financial Times 'Impossible to resist' Daily Telegraph 'Twists and turns like a corkscrew of venomous snakes' Stuart MacBride 'It has everything - intrigue, mystery and excellent history' Kate Mosse 'The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping' Conn Iggulden 'A brilliantly unusual glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I' Andrew Taylor

Summer, 1584. Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to Queen Elizabeth, has long suspected an undercurrent of Catholic resistance in the city that was once England's greatest centre of pilgrimage. He calls Giordano Bruno, his maverick secret agent, away from his post at the French Embassy to investigate. But when Bruno arrives in Canterbury, he has no idea of the dark secrets he's about to uncover.

A short story featuring Giordano Bruno: heretic, philosopher and spy. Perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom. Even the dead have a story to tell...Naples, 1566. During a sweltering summer, eighteen-year-old Giordano Bruno takes his final vows at San Domenico Maggiore and is admitted to the Dominican Order - despite doubts over his tendency to ask difficult questions. Assisting in the infirmary, Bruno witnesses an illicit autopsy performed on the body of a young woman. Her corpse reveals a dark secret, and Bruno suspects that hers may not have been an accidental death. His investigation leads him to a powerful figure who wants to keep the truth buried - and Bruno is forced to make a choice between his future in the Order, and justice for an innocent victim and her grieving family...

The brand new psychological thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Autumn, 1583. It's the year of the Great Conjunction: an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another. England's tentative peace is under threat and prophecies foretell the death of Queen Elizabeth and, with her, the end of the Protestant religion. When one of the queen's young maids of honour is found murdered inside the palace walls - astrological symbols carved into her flesh and clutching a sinister witch's doll - Elizabeth refuses to believe the killer could be someone within her own court. In the meantime, Giordano Bruno, now secretly working for Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham at the French Embassy, is closely monitoring a Catholic conspiracy funded by King Philip of Spain and a cousin of Mary Stuart. But his position is growing increasingly tenuous; though the ambassador trusts him, his presence has been noted by Lord Henry Howard, a devout Catholic who publicly opposes anyone associated with magic or esoteric knowledge. Bruno has cause to believe there's a connection between the murdered girl and the conspirators at the embassy. But when a second maid of honour is killed in the same way, he realizes that the killer may be watching him too. Determined to prove his worth to Elizabeth, Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to hand the queen the proof of conspiracy she needs, without putting her, England or his own life in danger?

Return to the origins of master spy Giordano Bruno in three gripping tales from No.1 bestseller S. J. Parris.