Agents of the Crown (Clements)

In this first novel of the "rollicking" (The New York Times Book Review) Agents of the Crown series, the man who will become the original MI6 agent protects England and Queen Elizabeth I from Spain's nefarious plan to crush the Age of Enlightenment. After centuries locked in an endless cycle of poverty, persecution, and barbarity, Europe has finally emerged into the Age of Enlightenment. Scientists, philosophers, scholars, and poets alike believe this to be a new era of reason and hope for all. But the forces of darkness haven't completely dissipated, as Spain hunts and butchers any who dare to defy its ironclad Catholic orthodoxy. Only one nation can fight the black shadow that threatens this new age, and that is Britain, now ruled by a brilliant young Queen Elizabeth I. But although she may be brave and headstrong, Elizabeth knows she cannot win this war simply by force of arms. Elizabeth needs a new kind of weapon forged to fight a new kind of war, in which stealth and secrecy, not bloodshed, are the means. In this tense situation, Her Majesty's Secret Service is born with the charismatic John Dee at its head. A scholar, a soldier, and an alchemist, Dee is loyal only to the truth and to his Queen. And for her, the woman he's forbidden from loving, he is prepared to risk his life in this "twisty, fast-paced debut" (Publishers Weekly). Oliver Clements is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mortlake, London. "Matthew Lloyd Davies narrates the first Agents of the Crown series with subtlety and intelligence. It's 1572. The rivalry between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, has reached the boiling point. Elizabeth's treasury is devastated, her army is decimated, and the Spanish are pressing for Catholic Mary to replace her Protestant cousin on the throne. Tension mounts after the queen's spymaster, Francis Walsingham, loses a secret document that could change the balance of power in Europe. Walsingham appeals to John Dee, a scholar and cryptologist, to locate and decode the document. Lloyd Davies masterfully moves Dee through double-dealing opponents, treachery, and graphic violence in this well-researched historical fiction. Lloyd Davies's clear diction, tone, and attitude reflect both period and situation."

The unputdownable and "lively" (The New York Times) Agents of the Crown series continues with this riveting novel following the original MI6 agent as he is assigned a dangerous mission to recreate a weapon from antiquity. As she travels through Waltham Forest, Queen Elizabeth I is ambushed by masked gunmen who leave her carriage riddled with holes before disappearing into the night. Knowing that the perpetrators have the Queen's carriage route, her Private Secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham, must find the mystery assailants before they can strike again. While Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council debates how to best secure the throne in the wake of the attack and Catholic Spain's further intrusion into the Low Countries, the queen herself searches for the ultimate weapon to protect her country and throne: Greek fire, the recipe of which disappeared with the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. She orders her friend John Dee-scientist, philosopher, and spy-to rediscover this vital secret, despite his misgivings. For he understands that in a world fraught with coded messages, ruthless adversaries, and deadly plot, his mission to secure his nation's future may prove impossible, unless he deploys the most effective weapon of all: intelligence. Oliver Clements is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mortlake, London.

Queen Elizabeth I's advisor John Dee is in a race to save the Empire with the help of a mysterious manuscript offering global power in this continuation of the "lively" (The New York Times) Agents of the Crown series. Settled down in his beloved Mortlake once again, philosopher and astronomer John Dee is enjoying the quiet life when Her Majesty's spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham darkens his door, instructing him to befriend a certain Polish count with an interest in alchemy and angelic communication. But when Dee and the count are caught breaking the law, trying to convene with angels, they are exiled, and must make their way to the court of Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor, in far-off Prague. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth learns of Catherine de Medici's infamous Flying Squadron, a group of seductive ladies-in-waiting scattered throughout Europe acting as her agents, and that one of them is already at work in Prague, bending the Holy Roman Emperor to join France and Spain in a crusade to crush Protestant England. With Dee on his way to Prague, Walsingham sees an opportunity to tip the scales. To convince the famously occult-loving emperor to join his side, Dee must distract him with the esoteric Book of Loagaeth, a volume transcribed from the angels that will, once decoded, allow control of the levers of heaven and earth, and everything in between. Terrible dangers await Dee in Prague, as he faces challenges at every turn, including a reluctant female spy and a ruthless old enemy, and he is forced to call upon the many unexpected talents of his wife, as well as the playwright Christopher Marlowe. Oliver Clements is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mortlake, London.

The latest in the thrilling and "lively" (The New York Times) Agents of the Crown series follows John Dee and his wife working together in an act of espionage that may turn out to be treason. While working on a powerful new weapon for England, the country's first secret agent John Dee finds himself threatened from all sides. First, his secret plans are stolen, then his son is kidnapped by a vengeful enemy from his past. At the same time, Dee's wife, Jane, is sent by Queen Elizabeth I to console her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, as court advisors attempt to try her for treason. But Jane suspects her assignment is much more than a visit from a sympathetic cousin. Is it possible that Elizabeth sent her to speed Mary to her death without the public trial that she knows will forever define the limits of royal power? Together, John and Jane begin to feel genuine sympathy for the Scottish queen and work to finish his invention, protect their son, and save Mary from the scaffold. But can they do that while remaining loyal to the English crown? Oliver Clements is a novelist and screenwriter based in Mortlake, London.