Maid of Secrets

Palace of Spies

Sarah Zettel · 367 pages

In 1716 London, an orphaned sixteen-year-old girl from a good family impersonates a lady-in-waiting only to discover that the real girl was murdered, the court harbors a nest of spies, and the handsome young artist who is helping her solve the mystery might be a spy himself.

The Other Countess

Eve Edwards · 332 pages

England, 1582. Ellie - Lady Eleanor Rodriguez of San Jaime - is in possession of a gold-seeking father, a worthless title and a feisty spirit that captivates the elite of the Queen's court, and none other than the handsome new Earl of Dorset ... William Lacey has inherited his father's title and his financial ruin. Now the Earl must seek a wealthy heiress and restore his family's fortune. But Will

Shadow of Night

Deborah Harkness · 592 pages

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and

The Faerie Ring

Kiki Hamilton · 348 pages

"The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. They survive by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm

Midnight Never Come

Marie Brennan · 400 pages

England flourishes under the hand of its Virgin Queen: Elizabeth, Gloriana, last and most powerful of the Tudor monarchs. But a great light casts a great shadow.In hidden catacombs beneath London , a second Queen holds court: Invidiana, ruler of faerie England , and a dark mirror to the glory above. In the thirty years since Elizabeth ascended her throne, fae and mortal politics have become inext

Poison Study

Maria V. Snyder · 409 pages

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace-and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay

A Spy in the House

Y.S. Lee · 335 pages

Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan and thief Mary Quinn is offered a place at Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls where she is trained to be part of an all-female investigative unit called The Agency and, at age seventeen, she infiltrates a rich merchant's home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships.

The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez

Ann Swinfen · 292 pages

Martyr

Rory Clements · 415 pages

In this ingenious debut, Rory Clements introduces John Shakespeare, Elizabethan England's most remarkable investigator, and delivers a tale of murder and conspiracy that succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and a crime thriller. In a burnt-out house, one of Queen Elizabeth's aristocratic cousins is found murdered, her young flesh marked with profane symbols. At the same time, a plot to

By Royal Command

Mary Hooper · 239 pages

Lucy has become a firm fixture in the household of Dr Dee, a real-life figure who was court magician to Queen Elizabeth 1. Lucy, in return for saving the queen's life, has been told that she is to work as a spy for Her Grace and that she is to remain with the Dee family and await further instruction ... And then Lucy hears unexplained cries in the Dee house, and finds a young girl imprisoned there

Grave Mercy

Robin LaFevers · 549 pages

*Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?* Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassi

Truthwitch

Susan Dennard · 415 pages

"On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a 'witchery,' a magical skill that sets them apart from others. In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble--as two desperate young women know all too well"--Front jacket flap.

The Tudor Secret

C.W. Gortner · 327 pages

Summer 1553: A time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, he finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the King s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth.

The False Prince

Jennifer A. Nielsen · 352 pages

In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

A Darker Shade of Magic

Victoria Schwab · 430 pages

STEP INTO A UNIVERSE OF DARING ADVENTURE, THRILLING POWER, AND MULTIPLE LONDONS. Kell is one of the last travelers--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magic city. There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad king--George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered--and where Kell was raised alongsid

The Shakespeare Stealer

Gary L. Blackwood · 216 pages

Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's players perform. As full of twists and turns as a London alleyway, this entertaining novel is rich in period details, colorful characters, vill

A Matter of Magic

Patricia C. Wrede · 448 pages

When a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into a traveling magician's wagon, Kim doesn't hesitate. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London, Kim isn't above a bit of breaking-and-entering. A hard life and lean times have schooled her in one lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But when the magician catches her in the act, Kim thinks she's done for. Until he su

All the Queen's Players

Jane Feather · 568 pages

Rosamund has two loves--sketching and the theater--and is happy to have a brother who indulges her in both. Her idyllic days draw to a close, however, when her cousin, Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth, deems it time to prepare herself for marriage, and suspects that her eye for art could make her a uniquely valuable spy. Once in the queen's court in the role of a lifetime, Rosamund finds her

Prisoners in the Palace

Michaela MacColl · 362 pages

Recently orphaned and destitute, seventeen-year-old Liza Hastings earns a position as a lady's maid to sixteen-year-old Princess Victoria at Kensington Palace in 1836, the year before Victoria becomes Queen of England.

Trickster's Queen

Tamora Pierce · 537 pages

Aly's adventure continues. . . . No longer a slave, Alanna's daughter is now spying as part of an underground rebellion against the colonial rulers of the Copper Isles. The people in the rebellion believe that a prophecy in which a new queen will rise up to take the throne is about to be realized. Aly is busy keeping the potential teenage queen and her younger siblings safe, while also keeping her

At the Queen's Summons

Susan Wiggs · 384 pages

Feisty orphan Pippa de Lacey lives by wit and skill as a London street performer. But when her sharp tongue gets her into serious trouble, she throws herself upon the mercy of Irish chieftain Aidan O'Donoghue. Pippa provides a welcome diversion for Aidan as he awaits an audience with the queen, who holds his people's fate in her hands. Amused at first, he becomes obsessed with the audacious waif w

The Escape

Robert Muchamore · 298 pages

As two British children are being hunted by German agents, British spy Charles Henderson is trying to reach them first, but to do it he must depend on the help of a twelve-year-old French orphan.

Tempted by His Kiss

Tracy Anne Warren · 379 pages

London Society knows the Byrons are “mad, bad, and dangerous,” and every bit as fascinating as their poetic non-relation. This tempestuous family is famous for scandal and legendary at love… 19 year old orphaned beauty Meg Amberley is caught in a snowstorm, and takes refuge at the estate of 30 year old Lord Cade Byron. Haunted by his past, Cade has buried himself in the country. Then Meg—with h

Prophecy

S.J. Parris · 375 pages

When several of the queen's maids of honor are found dead, rumors of black magic abound. Elizabeth calls upon her personal astrologer, John Dee, and Giordano Bruno to solve the crimes. While Dee turns to a mysterious medium claiming knowledge of the murders, Bruno fears that something far more sinister is at work.