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The Queen's Man

A thrilling early story in the life of John Shakespeare in the award-winning, bestselling series

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The Queen's Man

By: Rory Clements
Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
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About this listen

 ***Includes bonus short story***

Introduces us to the life of John Shakespeare, Queen's Spy.

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'Sixteenth-century London comes alive in all its tawdriness' Daily Mail

'Beautifully done . . . alive and tremendously engrossing' Daily Telegraph

'Plot and dialogue that hums with Elizabethan slang, profanity and wit' The Times

'Enjoyable, bloody and brutish' Guardian

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England is a Judas nest of conspiracy.

It is 1582, and the conflict between Protestant and Catholic threatens to tear the country in two.

While Queen Elizabeth I holds the reins of power, there are those whose loyalty lies with her imprisoned cousin, Mary Queen of Scots.

On his first major mission for Sir Francis Walsingham, the young John Shakespeare is ordered to discover a conspiracy to free the Stuart queen from Sheffield Castle.

All too soon, he realises that the tentacles of the plot reach deep into his native Warwickshire and threaten his own friends and family.

His duty lies with Elizabeth - but how far will he go to protect those he loves?

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Readers adore Martyr and the John Shakespeare series . . .

'If you love C.J. Sansom, you'll love this'

'You can feel, smell, see and hear the dangerous times of Tudor England'

'An absolutely delightful Elizabethan mystery'

'If you enjoy S.J. Parris, you need to try this'

'Rory Clements has struck gold with John Shakespeare'©2014 Rory Clements Anthologies & Short Stories Armed Forces Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Military Mystery Naval Forces Private Investigators Short Stories Royalty England

Continue the series
Holy Spy cover art
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Critic reviews

*GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Reader Recommends*: I could not put down THE QUEEN'S MAN by Rory Clements
The sixth in Rory Clements' enjoyable series of Elizabethan thrillers featuring John Shakespeare ... Clements has the edge when it comes to creating a lively, fast-moving plot.
Sixteenth-century London comes alive in all its tawdriness.
Enjoyable, bloody and brutish.
All stars
Most relevant
Enjoyed this book and am working my way through the series, have just downloaded book seven and can't wait to start it!

Not worried about how accurate the books are regarding period they are set in just find then thoroughly entertaining. Isn't that the whole point of a good book?

Another great book in this series

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Really enjoyed listening to this book. Very well read and easy to follow and know who was who by the intonation given to the different characters!

Worthwhile!

John Shakespeare

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Why has the order of the books in this series been wrongly numbered? I read books 1 to 5 and thoroughly enjoyed them but books 6 and 7 are the beginning of the story when John Shakespeare was first employed as an Intelligencer by Francis Walsingham and was still unmarried. It is impossible to enjoy reading books 6 and 7 out of sequence. Please rectify this mistake for the sake of other listeners, sadly it is too late for me now.

Beware - order of books wrongly numbered.

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Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this as I have enjoyed the previous Shakespeare audiobooks. Good, properly convoluted plot, danger, romance etc. This, however, was let down by bad editing/production and lost it a star from me. Most, if not all, chapters were cut short & ploughed straight into the next chapter losing important plot points, turns and cliffhangers that I've come to expect from this series. I hope future audiobooks in this series aren't marred like this.

Very good, except...

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If you could sum up The Queen's Man in three words, what would they be?

Very well set.

Who was your favorite character and why?

John Shakespeare. he reminds me of Shardlake in C.J.Samson's stories.

What about Gareth Armstrong’s performance did you like?

Extremely nice speaking voice. The narration was excellent.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cry. You do feel for the various characters and the hardships they go through.

Another Great Story

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