The Lost Secret of William Shakespeare

Chapter 1

The Jeweled Mind of Francis Bacon

Upon ascending the English throne in 1558, the twenty five year old Elizabeth Tudor knew she had inherited a whirlwind of religious fervor. England was half Catholic and half Protestant. Elizabeth’s Catholic predecessor Mary Tudor had allowed a reign of terror to descend on her subjects, leaving England unstable and vulnerable to its enemies. The world watched the new Queen’s every move. Would Elizabeth convert to Catholicism? Who would she marry? It was all a delicate chess match, particularly with Pope Paul IV having placed a bounty on her head. Not long after her coronation, Elizabeth found an anonymous note on her pillow threatening her life and the lives of her future heirs. But the young Protestant Queen was nobody’s fool. In order to keep the jackals at bay, and constantly off balance, she adopted a strategy of playing the role of a chaste, “Virgin Queen” married only to the state. It became a lifelong game she performed masterfully to the hilt—in spite of her passions.* In truth, Elizabeth’s heart belonged entirely to Robert Dudley, the love of her life...

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