'I was ever sorry that your lordship should fly with waxen wings, doubting Icarus' fortune.' - Francis Bacon
Elizabeth Tudor, the queen of England, is growing old.
Her friends are growing old with her and are dying, leaving her to rule over a court inhabited by the next generation - young men and women who know her only as an irascible old woman, a queen who is in danger of outliving her usefulness.
But Queen Elizabeth is not a spent force quite yet and her magnificence attracts the attentions of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.
The country's darling, the Earl of Essex is young and handsome, daring and brave. He is also ambitious and sees no limit to what he can achieve. Unwilling to be Queen Elizabeth's slave as others have before him, he chafes at his bonds and continually challenges her authority.
Tender towards Robert Devereux, the son she never had, Elizabeth repeatedly forgives his unruly behaviour. But Robert grows proud, fuelled by the love the English people have for him. Believing himself powerful, he makes an ultimate challenge to Elizabeth's authority as sovereign and rebels against his queen.
The Essex Rebellion is one of the greatest threats that Elizabeth Tudor has had to face.
But Gloriana is not as weak as the Earl of Essex supposes. Lacking popular support, Essex finds his ambitions tumbling around him. Arrested on charges of treason, he is imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Elizabeth loved him once, but she cannot forgive such a betrayal.
Elizabeth I cannot allow the traitor Essex to live.
A good read for lovers of historical fiction and those who enjoy the historical novels of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir.