Describes the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 in the framework of European history. Also covers diplomacy, strategy, and politics.

As Queen Elizabeth lies dying without naming a successor, Sir Robert Cecil, Secretary of State, fears problems with her cousin James' succession to the throne, and Marbeck, Cecil's best spy, must confront plots that threaten the nation. "Spring, 1603: Queen Elizabeth is dying, and England waits anxiously. The Virgin Queen hasn't named an heir, refusing even to speak. Her cousin James, King of Scotland, is assumed to be her successor, but will the...

"The critically acclaimed author of Serving Victoria brilliantly illuminates the life of the little-known Bess of Hardwick--next to Queen Elizabeth I, the richest and most powerful woman in sixteenth-century England. Aided by a quartet of judicious marriages and a shrewd head for business, Bess of Hardwick rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most respected and feared Countesses in Elizabethan England--an entrepreneur who built a family...

One of the most important rulers in history, Elizabeth I came to the throne at a time when England was under threat of annexation from abroad and collapse from within. When she died after a reign of 45 years, she left behind a nation protected by the greatest navy on earth and in the midst of a cultural explosion she made possible. This series explores the life and rule of the woman who gave her name to an era. A blend of dramatic re-creations and...

Queen of France at sixteen, widowed at eighteen, Mary Stuart defies pressure to remarry and instead returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. By birth, she also has a rival claim to the throne of Elizabeth I, who rules as the Queen of England. Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth's sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both Queens, driving them apart, as each...