The Girl in the Mirror

More about the book

Jeanne, a young French exile orphaned by the wars of religion on the continent, is brought to London as a young girl disguised as a boy. Growing up, the disguise has not been shed and she finds a living as a clerk, ending up in the household of Robert Cecil. As she witnesses the intrigues and plots swirling round the court of Elizabeth I in the last days of Gloriana's reign, she finds herself sucked into the orbit of the dashing and ambitious young favourite, the Earl of Essex. As the queen draws near to the end of her life, with no heir to follow, the stakes are high.