The beautiful Northumberland village of Etal, one of a local twin, has a fine ruined castle; but this blog is not entirely about castles… The picture above is the castle
Tag: John Dudley Duke of Northumberland
The Edge of Order: Frances WalsinghamThe Edge of Order: Frances Walsingham
It had been simple, back then, when all eyes shone with approval; when she was the young bride of the Queen’s Champion, Sir Philip Sidney. This daughter of the ‘Sworn’,
The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas.The Dragon of Elizabeth’s Seas.
It is the beginning of May, 1587, and a man known locally as The Dragon is headed for Cadiz on Spain’s Atlantic coast. His mission is not peaceful. The act
She of the VoiceShe of the Voice
“Ra-bi-ya, Ra-bi-ya…’ As she surveys the black and white squares of the court before her, the song echoes in her head, a beloved memory of time spent, long ago, with
A Woman of Power and SubstanceA Woman of Power and Substance
It is the winter of 1584. The well-dressed woman watches as her fourth husband storms out of the dining hall at their present home, Tutbury Castle, in Staffordshire. In the
The Deadly Edge of Love (part 2)The Deadly Edge of Love (part 2)
(Continued from Part One of The Deadly Edge of Love) It’s the morning of 18th November, 1558. Robert Dudley is witnessing a miracle. In her dying months, Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s
The Deadly Edge of Love (part 1)The Deadly Edge of Love (part 1)
They were both young, though he was a year older; beyond childhood but not yet adults, not in the way that their lives would soon force them to be… They