Maid of Secrets

Gr 9 Up—At 17, Meg Fellowes has been an orphan and a criminal for many years. After the queen's own men capture her, she finds herself not in the dungeon but being trained with four other maids to be part of the Maids of Honor, Queen Elizabeth I's all-female protectors. Each spy has her own skills, and Meg's uncanny ability to repeat any conversation she hears soon gets the attention of her trainer, Cecil, and the queen. However, it also puts her in a tough position when she learns a secret about the monarch's heart. Meg has also become distracted by the mysterious death of the girl who held her position before her, the dashing Count de Martine from Spain, and trying to avoid marriage. Though she finds a way to escape from the castle, she chooses to stay for her friends and for the information she has started to glean about her parents, leading her to gain the goodwill of the queen with her plot to catch a spy from Spain. This novel encompasses all the glory, excess, and intrigue of Queen Elizabeth I's reign; the issues surrounding Catholicism versus the Church of England; and the poor relationship between Spain and England. Full of adventure and romance and starring a very likable, spunky protagonist, this is an enjoyable historical read.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA