Her Last Assassin - Victoria Lamb - Author Guest Post

I am very pleased to welcome author Victoria Lamb to the blog today!

Her novel, HER LAST ASSASSIN is published by Bantam on February 27^th 2014.

William Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ of the Sonnets

A guest post by author Victoria Lamb

William Shakespeare is best known for his plays, but he also wrote poems, most notably love sonnets. Those traditionally numbered from 127-152 are known as his 'Dark Lady' sequence, and indicate the existence of a female muse whom Shakespeare both insults and worships by turns. This ‘dark lady’ forms the basis of my Tudor court entertainer Lucy Morgan in Her Last Assassin (and the previous two books in my trilogy, The Queen’s Secret and His Dark Lady).

So was there ever a 'Dark Lady' in Shakespeare’s private life, and what does the epithet ‘dark’ signify anyway?

Experts tend to disagree about both these points. Some believe Shakespeare's mystery lover was a dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty at the Elizabethan court. But she may have been a poetic device, an imaginary Muse, written with no specific woman in mind. As for her colouring, some experts believe ‘dark’ indicates a dark skin or Moorish descent, while others consider it poetic shorthand for ‘brunette’.

If the latter, Mary Fitton, maid of honour to Elizabeth I, is a likely candidate, especially given her reputation for promiscuity – some of his more insulting sonnets complain about her lack of fidelity. But other historians take Shakespeare's descriptions of his mistress more literally, believing her to have been exotic and dark-skinned. The poet Emilia Lanier is another possible candidate: a notorious Tudor beauty, Emilia was descended from Venetian Jews, and may have inspired Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, and the character of Rosalind in Love's Labour's Lost.

Another possibility is Lucy Morgan, one of Elizabeth's lesser-known ladies at court, whom some historians have associated with a dark-skinned 'Lucy Negra' of more dubious fame. According to records, Lucy Morgan lived at court and married a Thomas Parker in the late 1500s. Athough the sonnets were probably written later, that is no reason to assume they were not retrospective. And marriage to another man would fit, given how angrily Shakespeare refers to her cruelty, claiming she teased him and would not return his love, but loved another instead. 

There are other explanations. It could be that Shakespeare was deliberately writing anti-romantic sonnets, and a ‘dark’ mistress made a stronger contrast with the pale beauty of Elizabeth I. After all, Sonnet 131 finishes with the assertion, 'In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds.’ Yet people of colour were far from unknown in Tudor England, as demonstrated by a 1575 painting by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder which depicts a group of black musicians and entertainers performing before Queen Elizabeth. 

None of this proves that Shakespeare's mistress was dark-skinned, of course, nor that she existed outside the poet's imagination. But since we have no absolute proof that she was not dark-skinned, it's been exciting to assume in my Tudor trilogy that Lucy Morgan was both black and Shakespeare’s mistress – and to speculate on how their fiery relationship might have unfolded.

About the novel...

Will love or loyalty conquer?

Lady-in-waiting Lucy Morgan is once again torn between her dangerous attraction to William Shakespeare and her loyalty to Queen Elizabeth I.

England is facing its gravest threat yet. The Spanish have declared war, and Elizabeth finds herself attacked by sea – and by Catholic conspiracy from within her own court. Master Goodluck goes undercover, tasked with discovering the identity of this secret assassin, leaving his ward Lucy not knowing if the spy is alive or dead. 

Meanwhile Queen Elizabeth is growing old in a court of troublesome young noblemen, while Lucy is struggling to love a man whose duties lie elsewhere.

When the final challenge comes, these two women must be ready to face it. But there is one last surprise in store for both of them …

About the author...

Victoria Lamb is a novelist with two historical series from Random House set in the Tudor era, one for adults (Bantam) and one for Young Adult readers (Corgi).

She also writes poetry and literary fiction as Jane Holland, and adult romance asElizabeth Moss.

Born in Essex in the mid-sixties, Victoria is the middle daughter of bestselling novelist Charlotte Lamb and the classical biographer Richard Holland. When the family later moved to the peaceful Isle of Man, Victoria was brought up in rural surroundings in a home full of books.

She returned to England for her education as an adult, and married there. While living in Warwickshire, affectionately known as Shakespeare Country, she began writing The Queen's Secret, a novel set at nearby Kenilworth Castle during an epic visit by Queen Elizabeth I in 1575.

Victoria now lives in Cornwall with her husband, four of her five children, and a highly energetic Irish Red Setter. In her leisure time, she has been known to write poetry and go for long walks across the moors. She writes other kinds of fiction under various names, and as a former Warwick Poet Laureate, her poetry is published under the name Jane Holland.

Author website - Victoria Lamb | twitter @VictoriaLamb1

Read my reviews of... 
The Queen's Secret 
His Dark Lady


Visit the other blogs on the tour...

His Dark Lady - Victoria Lamb

'Lucy had come to realize in her time at court what a fragile thing reputation was, and how easily it could be lost...'

This novel is the second to feature the lead character Lucy Morgan, the first being The Queen's Secret (click the title to read my full review of that novel). 

This is another very enjoyable historical tale weaving fiction with real characters and detail from history, most notably Queen Elizabeth I, and a certain young playwright going by the name of Will Shakespeare. The story is set in the 1580s. Lucy is the dark lady of the title, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, liked for her singing voice, she met the young Shakespeare briefly in the first novel, and here she becomes his muse. Several other characters from the first book make a welcome reappearance here, including Lucy's guardian Goodluck, once more involved in danger and intrigue. We learn that Lucy witnessed the secret marriage of Robert Dudley, beloved favourite of the Queen, to her cousin Lettice Knollys, and concealing her presence there from the Queen weighs heavily on Lucy's mind. 

I enjoyed catching up with these characters again, they had stayed in my mind after the first novel in the series, in particular Lucy and Goodluck, and I was curious and excited to revisit their world and discover what adventures they would be involved in next. I was also gripped and intrigued by how the author portrayed Elizabeth during these turbulent times in her reign; her hopes and her health as she gets older, her ongoing feelings for Leicester, whose 'marriage was still a wound in her side', the threats on her life from those intent on removing her and installing Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne and the resulting doubts as to who in her circle she can really trust. It's always interesting to see how an author depicts people from history when creating fiction, and I was intrigued by Victoria Lamb's take on Shakespeare, although how he behaves here might not leave you quite so fond of him! 

I liked how the narrative moved between the different threads of the tale, focusing on the main characters Lucy, Goodluck, Shakespeare and the Queen; this added tension and kept me turning the pages to find out how each strand developed. 

It's an imaginative, entertaining and dramatic tale read on its own. Having said that, I'd recommend reading The Queen's Secret first ideally, so that you can follow through the stories of each character more fully. I liked the author's notes at the end separating the fact from the fiction. 

The third part in the trilogy is due to be published early in 2014 and is entitled Her Last Assassin (click the title to see the cover reveal on Victoria Lamb's website).

Source - publisher review copy

Published by Bantam Press

Visit the author's website here and follow the author on twitter @VictoriaLamb1.

Book Beginnings (5) - His Dark Lady by Victoria Lamb

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea, as stated on the host's blog, is 'to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.' There's a hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter etc too, and a master linky list on the host's blog. I've got a couple of books on the go at the moment so I've just picked one out to mention here.

My Book Beginning

His Dark Lady by Victoria Lamb

Published by Bantam 

Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, April 1578

'Hands clasped in prayer, Lucy bent her head, watching a stag-horned beetle crawl across the rushes. Her knees hurt on the stone floor, its cold striking into her bones through the thin embroidered cushion on which she knelt. They would not have much longer to wait, she told herself. Her mind drifted to the past and she struggled to drag it back to prayer, to the present moment, to this small draughty room high up in the castle keep. Her back ached as well as her knees; her sleep had been disturbed last night. Too many unhappy memories in this place. Perhaps she should not have agreed to return to Kenilworth.'

I'm two-thirds of the way through reading this one and enjoying it a lot - it's great to be back with the characters from the first book, The Queen's Secret, like Lucy Morgan, Goodluck, a certain Will Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I...

Here's the synopsis from the author's website:

London, 1583.

When young, aspiring playwright William Shakespeare encounters Lucy Morgan, one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting, the two fall passionately in love. He declares Lucy the inspiration for his work, but what secret is Will hiding from his muse?

Meanwhile, Lucy has her own secret - and one that could destroy her world if exposed. No longer the chaste maid so valued by the Virgin Queen, she also bore witness to the clandestine wedding of Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley, a match forbidden by the monarch.

England is in peril. Queen Elizabeth's health is deteriorating, her throne under siege from Catholic plotters and threats of war with Spain. Faced with deciding the fate of her long-term prisoner, Mary, Queen of Scots, she needs a trusted circle of advisors around her now more than ever. But who can she turn to when those closest to her have proved disloyal?

And how secure is Lucy's position at court, now that she has learned the dangerous art of keeping secrets? 

The Bookman's Tale - Charlie Lovett

Peter Byerly is a shy, quiet young man who loves books and keeps to himself, but whilst away studying and working in the library at University in Ridgefield, North Carolina, in the 1980s, he one day notices a female student who he feels a strong and unprecedented attraction towards, and with whom he can finally be himself and find companionship. Amanda feels the same way; the two of them form a bond and a deep love grows between them. His other passion is formed at this time, too; he finds a joy in the repair and restoration of antiquarian books. 

As the novel opens, we meet Peter in the mid 1990s now living in a village called Kingham in Oxfordshire, England, without Amanda, who we know has now sadly died, and what happened is revealed over the course of the novel. Peter is bereft, and has been unable to face the routine of his daily life for many months. Eventually, now an antiquarian bookseller and on an outing to Hay-on-Wye, the famous book town in Wales, he uncovers a watercolour image, a portrait, in an old book. The image is of his wife, and yet it can't be; it's a Victorian picture. Shocked by the similarity, he endeavours to discover the history and origin of the portrait, and this search sets his life in motion again and leads him into the path of a potentially life-changing book-related mystery that takes him, and the reader, back to the days of Shakespeare. Whilst assessing the old book collection of a resident of Kingham, Peter stumbles across an incredible find that may just prove the provenance once and for all of what is, for some, one of the biggest mysteries in literary history; that Shakespeare really was the author of the plays attributed to him. The mystery plot in the novel explores whether Peter can prove the authenticity of his find, and if he will get himself and others killed trying to do so. 

This is an entertaining, suspenseful mystery tale that has a love of books at its very heart.  There is also a centuries-old rivalry, murder, forgery, and intrigue, with a strong and moving love story between Peter and Amanda underpinning it all; the discovery of the way they felt about each other was something neither of them had ever felt before and it changed their lives, bringing love and companionship to two previously lonely souls. It is touching how well the two relate to each other, how Amanda brings Peter out of his shell a little, and how he slowly comes to terms with her devastating loss. The author maintains Peter's social unease and effectively portrays how he gradually becomes braver and finds the strength that he will need if he is to see his quest through. 

I enjoyed the three different strands that make up the story; they were weaved together well and kept my interest. I liked the historical aspects and was entertained meeting characters from the past as we learned the history of the book in question; we are taken back to see whose hands it passed through, and where, and how it came to be where it was, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the narrative. This is an enticing story for bibliophiles. Also enjoyable was the journey around to different locations. It takes us from Hay-on-Wye, to the British Museum, via Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Cornwall and North Carolina, too. 

It was a real escape and quite an adventure reading this novel. I read the bulk of it in the garden on a warm summer's day and it was ideal reading for escaping into and being entertained by; I was happy to allow for some of the convenient coincidences and twists in the story, and it was perhaps slightly too perfect an ending, but the adventure and history grabbed me and had me intrigued. I think reading it fairly quickly helped with keeping track of the three different time periods and holding the various events in my mind at once. It has encouraged me to want to go and read more about what is known of the lives of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. 

The author evidently has a real passion for, and knowledge of, his subject here - he's a former bookseller - which comes through in his enthusiastic telling of this tale, weaving passages on restoring books and details about the clever ways of book forgers into the narrative. Overall,  I thought that The Bookman's Tale was a really good read, an absorbing and fun literary-themed mystery. 

Published by Alma Books 

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending a proof copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

You can find the author on twitter @CharlieLovett42 and visit his website here.

His Dark Lady - Victoria Lamb - Blog Tour - Extract and Competition!

Today I am delighted to be part of the Blog Tour for His Dark Lady by Victoria Lamb!

This novel is a follow-up to The Queen's Secret which was released last year and which I loved! You can read my review here.


I am featuring a fabulous extract from His Dark Lady below to whet your appetite, as well as a super competition with 3 copies of the novel available to be won!


Extract from the novel

Greenwich Palace, London, late April 1578

Fresh buds on the trees, the love-dance of the peacock shaking the ‘eyes’ on his splendid blue-green tail, a weak April sunshine on the grassy lawns. These were some of her favourite sights in spring. Yet Elizabeth could hardly bear to stop and admire them as she paced the neatly kept paths and gardens at Greenwich Palace. She bit her lip, rubbed and clapped her gloved hands together, now walking briskly, now standing in a daze like a moonstruck calf. Where had Robert gone? What was he doing that was so important it must keep him from court? She had thought they were growing closer again, this past year. Why would he cause her this new grief?

The Earl of Leicester had come back to court from the country on her summons, then kept mysteriously to his own suite of rooms, claiming to be ill. Now he had vanished entirely, and without asking her permission to leave court. It seemed the earl had been ferried back across the river with his servants to sit out a fever at Leicester House, her spies had told her apologetically. But Elizabeth could tell they were unsure of their information. Shuffling feet, downcast eyes. Hurriedly penned notes that spoke of indecision. Might be there, Your Majesty. May lately have been seen in the vicinity.

Idiots! And they dared to call themselves her spies. She should have them all strung up as fools and knaves. Except, as her spy­master, Sir Francis Walsingham, was fond of reminding her, she would then get no information out of them at all, let alone this embarrassed throat-clearing over Robert’s whereabouts. What were they trying to hide from her?

It had once again become her custom to walk out with her ladies in the early mornings. It had been another bitter winter, ice remaining on the ground long after it should have thawed, and the stiff green tips of spring flowers frozen where they grew. But now it was late April, and at last Elizabeth was able to enjoy the sweet breeze and the birds calling to each other in the spring sunshine. Such a relief, she thought, to leave behind the choking air of chambers where night pots had not yet been emptied nor soiled rushes swept away. They had been in residence several months now, and it was becoming impossible to mask the stench of the privies with burned herbs or sweeten the odour of unwashed flesh with pomanders.

She turned back towards the palace. ‘Speak, what is it?’ she asked brusquely, seeing one of her stewards hurrying towards her.

‘The Spanish ambassador awaits you in the Presence Chamber, Your Majesty.’

Signor Mendoza! She had forgotten their meeting this morning. She thought of his watchful eyes and the dark oily sheen of his hair, but could not quite find it in herself to dislike the man. He might be reporting every movement she made back to Spain, but at least he understood how to entertain a bored queen with ­gossip.

‘What’s that?’ she demanded. Something had fluttered slowly down from an open window above their heads. Elizabeth stared upwards, but it was impossible to make anything out against the sunlight. ‘Pick it up, man, and give it to me. Is it a letter? From whose window did it fall?’

‘Window?’ the steward repeated blankly, but craned his neck upwards at her command. ‘I cannot tell, Your Majesty. I see no one.’

The letter was not addressed to anyone; it merely held a few lines in a bold hand. Her blood chilled as she read them.

‘I do not believe it,’ she choked, then crumpled the letter up tight in her gloved hand.

God’s blood, could it be true?

Remain calm, she told herself, aware of her women staring. Remember that you are a queen. Reveal nothing.

‘Send for Lord Leicester. I would speak with him at once.’

Competition! - 3 copies of His Dark Lady to be won!

To celebrate the launch of the book, thanks to the publishers, I am offering 3 readers of my blog the opportunity to win a copy of His Dark Lady.

To enter, please leave a comment below. Within the comment, I'd love to know which is your favourite play by Shakespeare, if you have one.

For an extra entry, follow @linshealy on twitter and leave your twitter @ name in the comments below.

For another extra entry, follow this blog by Google Friend Connect by clicking on the 'Join this Site' button in the right-hand column of this blog.

Please include in your comment a way of contacting you if you are not a follower here/on twitter/another blogger who I can find by clicking on your name.

The competition closes on Wednesday 13th March and is open to UK based entrants only this time as specified by the publisher.


His Dark Lady is published by Bantam Press and is out now in hardback.


About the novel

Gripping and intense, Queen Elizabeth’s court will be rocked by scandal, betrayal and a plot to assassinate the Queen!

When young, aspiring playwright William Shakespeare encounters Lucy Morgan, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s ladies-in-waiting, the two fall passionately in love. He declares Lucy the inspiration for his work, but what secret is Will hiding from his muse? Meanwhile, Lucy has her own secret – and one that could destroy her world if exposed.

On a far greater scale England is in turmoil. Queen Elizabeth’s health is deteriorating, her throne under siege from Catholic plotters and threats of war with Spain. Faced with deciding the fate of her long-term prisoner, Mary, Queen of Scots, she needs a trusted circle of advisors around her now more than ever. But who can she turn to when those closest to her have proved disloyal?

About the author

Shakespeare’s muse, in love and in peril...

While studying Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights at Oxford University, Victoria Lamb had a desire to write a series of novels about Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’. Along the way, she has published five books of poetry under the name Jane Holland and edited the arts journal Horizon Review. She is also the author of a series of Tudor novels for teens.

Victoria is the daughter of best-selling romantic novelist Charlotte Lamb. Victoria lives in a three-hundred-year old farmhouse on the fringe of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, with her husband and young family. She is currently working on her third novel featuring Lucy Morgan.

You can find the author on twitter @VictoriaLamb1 and visit her website here.