Ursula Blanchard is a young, well-born widow who becomes a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I. She gradually becomes involved in secret investigations and espionage, working at various points with Elizabeth's powerful secretary and spymaster William Cecil and, later, Sir Francis Walsingham. The mysteries combine murder and detection, court intrigue, Catholic–Protestant tensions, plots against Elizabeth, international espionage, marriage and sexual politics, aristocratic family secrets, and domestic life alongside the great political events of the period. There are 23 novels, published between 1997 and 2024.
