The Secret of the Rose

Do you have a secret about yourself? Rosalind Archer does. Plenty of them. In this spy thriller, based in London in 1592, fourteen-year-old Rosalind disguises herself as a boy, hides her Catholic religion, then finds a job as Christopher Marlowe's scribe. But it's not that easy. Rosalind - now Richard - knows that her enigmatic new master also has things to hide. She is unnerved by his manner and the mysterious goings-on in his life. Marlowe is not only a poet and a playwright, he's also a spy, and he's coming very close to learning Rosalind's own closely guarded secrets. To add to her troubles, Rosalind thinks she's falling in love with the costumer's apprentice at the Rose, but how can she explain that to a boy who knows her only as Richard? And when Christopher Marlowe is murdered, Rosalind must reinvent herself once more. Filled with vivid descriptions of Elizabethan England, Sarah L. Thomson's The Secret of the Rose is part espionage thriller, part historical novel, and a wholly engaging page-turner.