To Shield the Queen: A Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I’s Court Audiobook

" The first installment of a highly enjoyable series about an Elizabethan sleuth. Ursula Blanchard makes for an unusual heroine: a resourceful young widow who serves Queen Elizabeth as a lady in waiting, and is offered the chance to supplement her meager income by spying for Elizabeth's intelligence master Sir William Cecil. Desperate to support her young daughter, Ursula takes on the task of watching over Amy Robsart, the sickly and paranoid wife of the Queen's favorite Robert Dudley. Amy ends up dead at the bottom of a staircase, and Ursula must unravel a murder, a Catholic plot, and a disquieting romance of her own with a court gallant who just might be a traitor to the queen. Ursula makes a moving narrator as she struggles believably between her duties to queen, country, family, daughter, and conscience, and Buckley offers an intriguing new solution to the historical mystery of Amy Robsart's death. A strong start to a good series. "

" I found out about this book on Novelist.com using a feature that finds books similar to other authors. I finally decided to give Fiona Buckley a try and checked out this book, the first in a series featuring Ursula Blanchard. Ursula Blanchard is a young widow newly come to the court of Elizabeth I as one of the queen's ladies. She is sent to help Robert Dudley's wife Amy. The story is based on a real historical mystery, that of the death of Amy Dudley, that has never been solved, though theories abound. Ursula is an interesting character and the other characters are also developed well. I thoroughly enjoyed it. "

" For people who enjoy historical fiction- I love reading about strong female characters. The story centers on a woman given the oportunity to act as a spy for Queen Elizabeth, its hard to find stronger women than that! A little heavy handed with romance, but a great "beach read." "

" Good enough to read on, great story with very little romance if you are over the "romance" in this type of novel "

" (3.5 stars) This is the first book in the Ursula Blanchard series. Set in the time of Queen Elizabeth in England, Ursula has fallen upon hard times with the death of her husband, and as neither family approved of the marriage, she takes the offer of becoming one of the Queen's ladies, leaving her young daughter in the care of a nurse in a small rented cottage. When she arrives at Court she must navigate the politics of her new situation, and her small budget barely covers the necessities of her position. The gossip surrounds the Queen and her Master of the Horse, Robin Dudley, who is married with an ill wife. Rumors also float around about attempts to poison this wife, whose death would theoretically free Dudley to marry the Queen. To her surprise, Ursula is courted by a wealthy Frenchman, but his politics and religious leanings may prove problematic for her. Ursula is asked by the Queen to go to the aid of Dudley's wife and to see what she can find out about the threats against her. While she is a bit reluctant, she cannot turn down the generous amount to be paid to her by Dudley. Ursula is not warmly welcomed, but gradually earns some trust. It becomes clear to her that things are not right in this divided household, and she becomes convinced that someone is trying to kill Amy. By being observant, and using some cunning, Ursula gains some knowledge and when two deaths occur, she must work quickly to figure out what happened and looks to have to risk her family and/or her happiness to solve the crimes. This was an intriguing look at the stressful time in English history where religious turmoil and politics threatened to destroy a nation. "

" Ursula Blanshard, newly widdowed, is commanded to become a part of Queen Elizabeth I's retinue, but as suddenly sent off to "protect" Amy the wife of Robin, the queens favorite. Amy is killed though Ursula struggles to protect her and then Ursula finds herself married into the middle of a Catholic conspiracy to bring down the queen. Her quick thinking literally saves the day, but will the queen think Ursula was a part of the conspiracy. Wonderful historical detail and moving characterization. A novel approach to period writing. "

" I like the author but still like Phillipa Gregory better. "

" Interesting time period, very light "

" Well-done cozy set in the court of Elizabeth I. Plenty of period detail and court intrigue. A quick fun read. "

" Fiest of a series of Ursalla Blancahrd, a lady in waiting at the court of Queen Elizabeth. Good feel for the period (that Tudor era) and a well written mystery. "

" Fairly well-written, for the genre...I might check out the rest of the series. I wish there were more about Elizabeth and the court though, and less about Ursula. "

" I might read the next book in the series to see if the story gets better. "

" One of the better series from the time period of Elizabeth I I have read... this book is probably the best well-written of the series; the later books she doesn't have the consistency of the support of minor characters as she does in the earlier books. "

" A fun read for those who love historical fiction and Elizabeth. Will definitely read the next in the series. Made me want to go back and reread my Elizabeth history books to compare notes. "

" Hard to get into and the mystery isn't much of a mystery. "

" A good story with the right amount of humor, suspense, and intrigue. Not too stressful :) "

" Entertaining but nothing to wrote home about "

" I had previously started reading this series so long ago that I don't remember everything, so I started all over again. I enjoyed it more this time and was better able to absorb the story. Glad I re-read. "

" Very bleh, a little too soap opera-ish, and while I do kind of like the main character, the overall plot does not have any spice. "

" Super fun historical mystery fluff. If you like the brother Cadfael books, you will enjoy this one! Lady in waiting spy serving queen elizabeth... what more could you want? "

" Such a good book. Loved how it had romance, mystery, adventure and being a historical time novel. "

" Mystery set in Elizabeth I court. Mundane. Not as good as I would have expected. "

" Nice historical fiction mystery. This book is the first in a series, but a stand alone book. I enjoyed the entire series. "

" well plotted, great attention to detail, nice characterizations...just a little boring...overall, though, i enjoyed it. "

" Enjoyed it a lot. I love a good mystery, and to set one in the Virgin Queen's court is brilliant. Great writing, entertaining read. "

" Fun and intriguing mystery with enough historical background and facts to make the storyline plausible. Quite enjoyable. "

" Well-done cozy set in the court of Elizabeth I. Plenty of period detail and court intrigue. A quick fun read. "

" Fun and intriguing mystery with enough historical background and facts to make the storyline plausible. Quite enjoyable. "

" Fairly well-written, for the genre...I might check out the rest of the series. I wish there were more about Elizabeth and the court though, and less about Ursula. "

" Historical fiction/mystery who-done-it. Couldn't do it, couldn't finish. I was drawn by her working with Queen Elizabeth in the tudor court...but was turned off by all the Mystery She Wrote. "

" This started off a bit slow but definitely picked up around the middle and built to a great ending. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series. "

" Nice historical fiction mystery. This book is the first in a series, but a stand alone book. I enjoyed the entire series. "

" an enjoyable mystery set in the time of Elizabeth I "

" First in the Ursula Blanchard series. Set in Elizabethan England. Mystery series. "

" Interesting time period, very light "