Irwin fu una romanziera riconosciuta per la sua narrativa storica, ben documentata e a tratti straziante. Scrisse con passione sulla Guerra Civile Inglese, affascinando generazioni con il sfortunato ma carismatico Conte di Montrose. Il suo approccio letterario diede vita a eventi e personaggi del passato con una profonda comprensione delle motivazioni umane e del contesto storico.
Philip of Spain, unwilling bridegroom of Queen Mary, has been warned about the Queen's half-sister, the young Elizabeth. According to reports, she is a heretic, a rebel and a potential enemy with 'a spirit full of enchantment'. An alluring description and one that immediately intrigues, rather than deters, the foreign prince.
A brother dead; a cousin executed; imprisonment in the Tower--in the aftermath of Edward VI's demise England is in turmoil and young Elizabeth's position is precarious. But while she is prey to the Queen's jealous suspicions, Queen Mary is fading; while Elizabeth is twenty and healthy. The country looks to the young princess for its future. Imperious, high spirited, fighting for her life, Elizabeth already shows the diplomacy, the baffling changes of mood, and the power to win men's devotion for which she would be famous as Queen. This is the second book in the series started in Queen Bess.
'I doubt if anyone could create more perfectly than Miss Irwin, the illusion of a vanished age.' - Observer