‘The Queen’s Secret’ is a historical fiction novel by
Victoria Lamb set in Elizabethan England. This is more or less my first foray
into Tudor territory, which you probably find surprising given the glut of
books, films and televisions shows set in this period. So amongst all the
competition, how does ‘The Queen’s Secret’ hold up? For me, pretty well!
==---Plot---==
It’s 1575, and Queen Elizabeth has come to stay in
Kenilworth Castle with her court for the summer. The ambitious Robert Dudley- Earl
of Leicester, Elizabeth’s favourite and owner of the castle who is providing the
festivities taking place for her stay- hopes to use this opportunity to finally
persuade the ageing queen to marry him. Among the entertainers heading to
Kenilworth is a young black singer, Lucy Morgan. Her skin colour has forced her
to be hidden among the other singers until Dudley picks her out to sing solo
for the queen- and keep word of what she says.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s affections for Robert are brought
into turmoil due to her younger cousin Lettice Knollys. Despite being a married
woman, Lettice is also smitten with Robert and proving to be a strong rival to
Elizabeth for his affections, and their affair soon becomes widespread among
the court. Desperate to thwart the affair, Elizabeth enlists Lucy Morgan to act
as a spy on the couple as well. However, among acting as both a spy and a go-between
Lucy soon uncovers a plot to kill the queen- one that will put her own life at
risk.
==---Opinion---==
I picked up ‘The Queen’s Secret’ mainly because of it having
a black, female protagonist in a then almost completely Caucasian England
(being black and a fan of the Elizabethan period in general) and wanted to see
how Victoria Lamb would write it. Fortunately I found that I’ve enjoyed the
book on other merits. It’s very well-written and I was drawn into both the love
triangle between Elizabeth, Lettice and Robert, as well as the subplot of which
of many interested parties was out to kill the queen, and how.
Four of the main characters- Lucy, Lettice, Lucy’s guardian
and English agent Master Goodluck (whose narrative focuses on the plot on
Elizabeth’s life) and the Virgin Queen herself- serve as narrators in different
chapters, which works great in providing different perspectives on the story. I
found I connected with Lucy the most, because she is a determined character
whose new role as a spy makes her compromised between staying alive and
scandalizing the couple she is forced to keep tabs on. Despite the difficulties
she faces throughout the novel, I was pleased that she began gaining favour
because of her talents among the Elizabethan court despite her skin colour and
‘servant’ status (in fact at the beginning it is mentioned she was hidden at
the back of the other singers for fear of her skin colour scaring the queen
during a performance). She develops a friendship/romance with Tom Black, one of
Robert Dudley’s grooms and also black. Their relationship has its own problems
as Tom wants something more that Lucy doesn’t, and I was intrigued as to how it
would develop as Lucy gets embroiled more into the court life.
I had mixed feelings towards the other third-person
narrators. Lettice was difficult to sympathize with; to me she is very petty,
selfish and extremely vindictive towards the queen (albeit for justified reasons).
However towards the end of the novel the fragility of her position has been
made clear and she has to make some horrible sacrifices due to events that have
happened. Elizabeth herself is a complex character, and rightly so; now in her forties
she is pressured to marry soon and produce an heir for the throne, and Robert
seems like the perfect candidate. On the other hand she is jealous of Lettice
and determined not “to be mastered by any man”. Her personality seems very much
in line with the real Queen Elizabeth who would be facing the same crises at
this point in her reign. She is not always likeable but I could understand some
of her cold actions toward other characters on account of her position.
By the end, I felt for all of the characters and especially
for Lucy, given what she gains but moreso loses in the climax (don’t worry, I
won’t spoil anymore!), and the book ends on a very bittersweet, emotional note
which I felt was appropriate given what the characters go through.
==---Overall---==
Whilst I wouldn’t say ‘The Queen’s Secret’ goes above and
beyond typical historical fiction tropes, it is still an entertaining read.
Lamb writes a tight story of part-mystery and part-romance during a turbulent
period that should satisfy many readers, and her unique protagonist perhaps
gives a new perspective on Tudor lifestyles for the common people. Fans of
Elizabethan fiction should be more than satisfied with this novel. Apparently
the author plans to write more books in the series with Lucy Morgan as a
protagonist, which personally I would be interested in following up on!
4 Stars out of 5.
Review is of a library copy only. This may also be found on 'ciao!' and 'Dooyoo'.
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