The Queen's bastard

the long version

Is it possible that England's "virgin Queen" might have borne her lover, Robin Dudley, earl of Leicester, a son? Most historians dismiss such tales as idle gossip. Others speak of a very special and dashing young man named Arthur Dudley. This is the full story of Arthur Dudley, the bastard son of Queen Elizabeth I. Set against the background of the Spanish Armada's invasion of England in 1588, The Queen's Bastard artfully weaves together into a seamless novel two parallel tales. The first is told in memoir form by Arthur himself, who, exchanged at birth by Elizabeth's intimates for a stillborn baby, grows up as a country gentleman, never knowing his real identity. A dreamer, a romantic, a magnificent horseman, young Arthur sets off to fight Philip II of Spain. The second story follows the lifelong affair between Elizabeth and Leicester, whose love has only been strengthened after the presumed loss of their child. The two stories collide when Arthur learns from his adoptive father, on his deathbed, who his true parents are.