This historical novel is a fictionalised account of the influence of Sir John Harington during the last part of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. He was a courtier, wit, inventor, reluctant soldier and favourite Godson of the Queen who, in his day, was better known for his writings than Shakespeare.
The novel takes the form of an autobiography. From his 400 year old grave, Sir John Harington looks back at his impetuous relationships with his wife; his Queen and Godmother; his mother-in-law; his black shadow, Richard Topcliffe; his patron, the Earl of Essex; his bete noire, Walter Raleigh, and his neighbours, William and Robert Cecil, principal ministers of England.
To understand better the up and downs of his life in the turbulent age of Elizabeth I, he compares what happened to him with the remarkable literary and political career of Jeffrey Archer, bestselling author, convict and peer of England.
