The Siren Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery At Queen Elizabeth I's Court [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Fiona Buckley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2005

Ursula Blanchard, illegitimate half sister to Queen Elizabeth I and sometime spy for the Queen, is happily married and living in the country. When an invitation to visit arrives from the powerful Duke of Norfolk, they welcome the chance for their daughter, Meg, to meet a worthy young man of the Duke's household. But soon, more weighty matters demand Ursula's attention - there may be a new plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne.

Available only in Mystery 4.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. British author Buckley's excellent eighth Ursula Blanchard novel offers fine writing and deft plotting while vividly bringing the past to life. Where earlier volumes used historical mysteries that have sparked heated debate over the centuries, such as the sudden death of Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 2003's The Fugitive Queen, this latest focuses on now obscure political intrigue involving an Italian banker, Roberto Ridolfi, in 1568. With threats to Elizabeth's throne looming, Blanchard, the queen's half-sister and occasional spy, uncovers suspicious correspondence pointing to a scheme to place Mary on the English throne. After the courier charged with delivering those messages turns up dead and a second murder soon follows, Blanchard, her husband and her loyal retinue seek evidence of motive and opportunity while alerting the beleaguered secretary of state, Lord Cecil, to the plot and working to forestall it. Experienced whodunit readers may identify the culprit more easily than they'd like, but the author's rare ability to effortlessly integrate fact and fiction and the cliffhanger ending will leave both old and new fans eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Ursula Blanchard, half sister to Queen Elizabeth I and occasional spy for the realm, returns in a new Elizabethan mystery steeped in intrigue and suspense. While paying a reluctant visit to the seemingly foolish duke of Norfolk to discuss the possibility of an early betrothal for her young daughter, Ursula learns that her host has been conducting an ill-considered correspondence with the incarcerated Mary, queen of Scots. Determined to leave the duke's estate before the impressionable Meg becomes even more besotted with the icy Edmund Dean, she is prevented from returning home by the brutal murders of a courier and a servant. As Ursula attempts to untangle a treasonous web of deceit and double-cross, she places her own life in danger in order to protect the queen and the sister she has pledged to love and serve in secrecy. Another authentically detailed historical whodunit from a master of the genre. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 466 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (March 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786271302
• ISBN-13: 978-0786271306
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,733,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Historical Fiction, December 30, 2004

By 

A. Christie "bibliofiend508" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Siren Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court (Hardcover)

Fiona Buckley has written another winning entry in the Ursula Blanchard series. The series takes place during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Ursula is the illegitimate half-sister of the Queen and has many times been in the middle of Court intrigue. At the start of the novel, Ursula is finally able to enjoy a more sedate life with her marriage to Hugh Stannard.. Her daughter, Meg, is soon fourteen and marriageable age. The Duke of Norfolk invite the Stannards to visit him and meet his secretary as a possible suitor for Meg. From almost the moment of arrival, Ursula's quiet life is over. Men are dying under mysterious circumstances, her host may be in on a plot to overthrow the Queen, and her old retainer is in jeopardy of being accused of witchcraft.

Both primary and secondary characters are vivid, compelling, and memorable. The plot is well paced and engrossing. It beautifully entwined historical fact with fiction. A must read if you like your detective fiction with a historical twist.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue abounds, February 16, 2006

By 

Tigerlily (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Siren Queen (An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court) (Paperback)

This is the 8th book in the Ursula Blanchard series, which I have been reading since it began.

In this story, Ursula begins to plan a betrothal for her daughter, Meg. The suitor in question is a secretary of the Duke of Norfolk's, and the Duke himself has proposed the match. Ursula and her husband accept the invitation to travel to London, so they can scout out their prospective son in law to see if he is right for Meg.

Together with Fran and Roger Brockley, Gladys Morgan, Sybil Jester, and of course, Meg, they arrive in London and soon meet Edmund Dean, the suitor in question. Ursula takes an immediate dislike to him, but is not quite able to put her finger on just why. Meg, on the other hand, is smitten and is eager for the betrothal to take place, even though she is only 13. Ursula tries to gently discourage her daughter from pursuing Dean, citing that as of yet, she is still too young to consider marriage and she would prefer that Meg wait until she was 17. Nonetheless, Meg's attachment to Dean grows, and she sneaks off to spend time with him whenever she can.

Amidst of all this, the Duke tells Ursula of a private correspondence he has been having with Mary, Queen of Scots, who is currently deposed. The Duke is obviously in love with Mary, although they have never met, and he harbors hope of one day marrying her and becoming her consort. Norfolk is very outspoken in regards to his feelings, not realizing that Ursula does espionage for Queen Elizabeth and Sir William Cecil.

Then, murder strikes the household, and a courier who had been carrying the Duke's correspondence is the victim. Along with the Duke's letter to Mary, there was also a letter from an Italian banker, Roberto Ridolphi, as well as a letter in cipher, which hints at a plot to bring the Scots queen back to her throne.

Despite wanting to stay out of such things as court intrigue, Ursula is inexorably drawn into the mix yet again. She feels honor bound to Elizabeth and Cecil and can't in good conscience let what news she has learned go unshared. Therefore, Ursula becomes embroiled in trying to unravel this latest caper, while at the same time, trying to control her headstrong daughter.

And so, Ursula ends up staying in London as a guest of Ridolphi's, under the pretext of helping his wife become better accustomed to England, while teaching her the language. Ridolphi is a friend of Norfolk's, and a fellow conspirator in the plot to reinstate Mary.

To make matters worse, Ursula's willful charge, Gladys Morgan, wreaks havoc everywhere she goes. Gladys gets into fights with other servants, the town vicar, a gardener; everyone. And when she gets angry, she curses whomever she is angry with and wishes them ill. This eventually catches up with Gladys in an unpleasant manner, when she is accused of witchcraft yet again and is in danger of losing her life.

This book was good, even though I could figure out parts of it. If you've read the series, you know of Ursula's 2nd marriage to Matthew De La Roche. In this book, you learn more about him, when Ursula unwittingly uncovers information that could drastically affect her life. Sorry to be cryptic, but I won't give everything away!

Also in this book, Gladys has a shot at romance, with the topiary gardener, who is as old and ugly as she. It seems he likes to clip the hedges into rather suggestive looking shapes, much to the ire of Ridolphi, one of his employers. But, Gladys and he strike up a pseudo-relationship and bicker like a pair of children.

Like all Fiona Buckley novels, this one is full of its red herrings, and will keep you interested as you try to solve the crime along with Ursula.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extraordinary historical mystery, October 31, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Siren Queen: An Ursula Blanchard Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court (Hardcover)

The Duke of Norfolk is attempting to matchmake his secretary Edmund Dean with Ursula Blanchard's daughter Meg. While Ursula isn't crazy about the idea, but she, her husband and their servants head to London to get their servant Gladys away from the villagers before she is declared a witch. While at Norfolk's home Ursula realizes that the man wants to marry Mary, former queen of Scots both for love and political power if she can win back the Scottish throne.

Two men involved in Norfolk's home are murdered and Ursula believes it has something to do with putting Mary on the Scottish throne and making her Elizabeth's heir. Sir Cecil has Ursula go to the banker Roberto Rodolfo's house to act as a companion to his wife. Rodolfo is the middleman between Norfolk and the Spanish Ambassador. While Ursula is spying she comes across encrypted papers involving a plot to put Mary on Elizabeth's throne after Elizabeth is killed. Sir Cecil uses Ursula to defuse the situation before the lords in the north make war on their sovereign by taking Norfolk and Leicester out of the equation.

Fiona Buckley weaves historical facts so seamlessly into her storyline that readers will find they are reading an extraordinary historical mystery. It comes as no surprise that the heroine makes a very good spy and her loyalty is to Elizabeth I, her queen and her half-sister. Although Mary Queen of Scotts is not present in THE SIREN QUEEN, plots and counter plots revolve around her and influence the course of politics during Elizabeth's reign. Fans of Sharon Kay Perman and Roberta Gellis are going to be very happy reading this fine work.

Harriet Klausner