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Rebel’s Gambit

By S. J. Parris

THE NEW BESTSELLING SERIES FROM THE MASTER OF HISTORICAL CRIME FICTION, S. J. PARRIS

England, 1601.

Treason threatens the realm.

When the body of a Scottish envoy washes up on the banks of the Thames, the Queen’s most powerful spymaster, Robert Cecil, is accused of arranging the murder.

Cecil turns to his covert intelligencer Sophia de Wolfe to discreetly discover what the dead man was doing in London, and why he was killed. But this murder is borne of treacherous political currents.

As loyalties shift and rebellion foments, as the Earl of Essex makes a dangerous play for power, Sophia is fast drawn into perilous waters.

Everyone wants the Queen’s hard-won favour, even as tensions rise and the country begins to look for new answers. And Sophia has her own secrets to hide…

Praise for S. J. Parris’s bestselling Sophia de Wolfe series…

‘Sophia is a dazzling heroine, and the world of late Elizabethan England brimful of plot and conspiracy, is vividly and thrillingly brought to life’ LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

‘Right from the intriguing opening pages everything Parris layers into this Elizabethan crime drama screams bestselling series’ OBSERVER

‘A new historical crime from S. J. Parris is always cause for celebration but she really has excelled herself with Traitor’s Legacy ANDREW TAYLOR

‘S. J. Parris begins what promises to be an equally entertaining new series with this novel set in late Elizabethan England’ THE TIMES

‘A writer who repeatedly proves that she is one of the most stylish of historical crime practitioners’ FINANCIAL TIMES

Readers love Sophia de Wolfe…

‘Top class historical crime’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Another fantastic historical thriller from master of the Elizabethan mystery’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘A straight 5* for me! A very compelling novel I highly recommend’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I loved the characters. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that it kept me reading way past midnight’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Sophia De Wolfe is a truly epic character’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I had very high expectations for this novel. It is excellent. And the even better news it is that this is the first of a new series’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘The richly detailed Elizabethan setting and clever twists kept me hooked from start to finish’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘The murder mystery is layered with political intrigue, keeping you second-guessing every revelation’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Excellently researched, great plot, beautiful execution. I love the combination of historical menace and a thriller’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘SJ Parris does it again’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I didn’t know who to trust or who to believe the whole way along’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Another glorious dive into the murky world of Elizabethan spies and lies’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘Loved every minute of this book. More please featuring Sophia!’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘I’m already looking forward to book two’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘You know what you’re getting with Parris; a stunning mix of fact and fiction with a clever plot woven around real people’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Format: Trade Paperback
Release Date: 07 May 2026
Pages: 400
Price: £14.99, £14.99 (Export Price) , €None

S. J. Parris is the pseudonym of Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student at Cambridge that Stephanie first became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. Since then, her interest has grown and led her to create this series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno.

Stephanie has worked for a variety of newspapers and magazines as well as radio and television. She currently writes for the Observer and the Guardian and lives in Surrey with her son.

PRAISE FOR THE SOPHIA DE WOLFE SERIES -

'Right from the intriguing opening pages everything Parris layers into this Elizabethan crime drama screams bestselling series' Observer -

'SJ Parris begins what promises to be an equally entertaining new series with this novel set in late Elizabethan England' The Times -

‘Sophia is a splendid creation, brave, entrancing, warm and disdainful of convention. Parris writes as vividly about her characters and their feelings as she does about landscape and action. She uses enough modern words and phrases to break down barriers between readers and the 1590s, and her research is impressive’ Literary Review -

‘SJ Parris is a writer who repeatedly proves that she is one of the most stylish of historical crime practitioners. Traitor’s Legacy finds England in 1598 awaiting the successor to Elizabeth, and the Queen’s spymaster Robert Cecil asks former agent Sophia de Wolfe to investigate the murder of an heiress. It’s commanding fare’ Financial Times -

‘Elizabethan London comes alive in the hands of S. J. Parris […] Traitor’s Legacy, with its many twists and turns, offers an absorbing read. Highly recommended' Historical Novel Society -

'S. J. Parris has long been one of my favourite authors of historical crime thrillers, and this new series is every bit as compelling as her wonderful Bruno books. Sophia is a dazzling heroine, and the world of late Elizabethan England, brimful of plot and conspiracy, is vividly and thrillingly brought to life. I loved everything about it' Laura Shepherd-Robinson -

'A stone-cold triumph … I hope this will be the first in a long series' S.G. MacLean -

‘A new historical crime novel from S.J. Parris is always cause for celebration but she really has excelled herself with Traitor’s Legacy' Andrew Taylor -

'Thrilling, taut and utterly involving … a heart-stopping mystery. S.J. Parris brings time, place and protagonist, the deliciously brilliant Sophia de Wolfe, to dark and glorious life' Helen Castor -

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