The Locksmith's Daughter

by Karen Brooks

  For information about Elizabethan theatre, I used The Shakespearean Stage, 1574–1642 and Playgoing in Shakespeare’s London (third edition) both by Andrew Gurr. I also thoroughly enjoyed Neil McGregor’s delightful Shakespeare’s Restless World: An Unexpected History in Twenty Objects. Revisiting the work of the bard and his contemporaries such as Kit Marlowe, Ben Jonson and the poet Philip Sidney, just to name a few, was such a pleasure. So was rereading Dante’s Divine Comedy and Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier.

  While I’m loathe to single out one author from all the wonderful fiction I read set in this period — both before and after the years The Locksmith’s Daughter covers — the work of Patricia Finney (who also writes as P. J. Chisholm) was sensational. But so are the books of Edward Marston, S. J. Parris, Rory Clements and Alison Weir (her non-fiction, too), among many other authors whose writings enthralled me and which I review on my website and, often, on Goodreads.

  Researching the times in which my novels are set is almost as joyous as writing about them. It’s always a wrench to leave an era, especially after you’ve done what you can to bring it to life. Because this period has so much to offer, I hope I get the chance to return soon.

  Any accuracies in the novel are due to the brilliance of these and other writers; any mistakes are entirely my own, and I beg your forgiveness and cry ‘artistic licence’.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This is probably one of the hardest and nicest parts of writing a book — the moment when I get to thank, in print, all those who directly and indirectly supported the writing of the book; those who inspired me to keep writing and those who knew when to drag me away and when not be offended by my refusal to come out and play but instead patiently awaited my return from the 1580s. I love acknowledging my gratitude, but I also find it really hard because I’m so fearful I will leave someone out! If I do, if I have, please, please, forgive me.

  First and foremost I want to thank my agent and dear friend Selwa Anthony for her constant support and belief in this book. After reading some early chapters Selwa gave me sage advice that I followed, and she continuously encouraged its slow birth. Thank you, Selwa. Thanks as well to her gorgeous daughter, Linda, and to Selwa’s husband, the kind and ever-patient Brian. I love being part of your extended family (the fur-kids do as well).

  To my publisher, MIRA, Harlequin, who championed this book when it was just an idea and who have been incredible in their communication, support, acts of random kindness and morale boosting. Whether it was the lovely Sue Brockhoff with her enthusiasm and timely phone calls, or wonderful Annabel Blay with her considered, wise and generous words and insights, Michelle La Forest, James Kellow, Adam Van Rooijen, Cristina Lee, and the rest of the marvellous Harlequin/MIRA team! I am one lucky writer to be in such fabulous and capable hands and I know it.

  The lexical attentions of my incredible editor, Linda Funnell, a woman with an uncanny ability when it comes to shaping a sentence into its best form and polishing a plot until it shines, are unparalleled. It’s hard to express how much I appreciate the work she did with and for me on this book and how much gratitude I feel. Thank you, Linda. It’s been such an utter and sincere pleasure working with you again and I look forward to the next time. As I have said before, you are a gift to writers and I am so glad you were given to me (again!).

  I also want to thank my US agent, Jim Frenkel, for his support, wonderful emails and eagerness for this book and others.

  In my Author’s Note, I mention the amazing Scott Klemm, an American whose knowledge of locks and keys and whose generosity in sharing that knowledge has been phenomenal. Scott came into my life when I ordered his books via the internet. Curious as to what a ‘young’ (bless him) woman wanted with what he thought was a fairly dry subject, we began corresponding. Excited by what I was doing, Scott offered to answer any questions I might have regarding locks and keys … I hope he didn’t ever regret that. Certainly I sent him many questions in the early stages of writing and he always provided full and insightful responses — sometimes including photographs with labels! I cannot thank you enough, Scott, and what I really like is that this book has unlocked a new friendship.

  Another kind and knowledgeable person was Richard (Rick) Leigh, the branch manager of Jacksons, a locksmithing business here in Hobart. I met Rick through my husband Stephen’s brewery. Rick had asked Stephen what my next book would be after The Brewer’s Tale, and when Stephen mentioned it was on locks and keys and spies, Rick offered to help in any way he could. As good as his word, he gave up his time to show me the inner workings of old locks, explain how various mechanisms functioned and show me how to pick a lock. He also, very kindly, asked after the book and its progress every time he saw me. Thank you so much, Rick.

  Travelling to the UK in 2014, I stayed with my darling friend Dr Lesley Roberts, who subsequently accompanied me around England, Scotland and particularly London, as I did on-the-ground research for this novel (and fact-checked my previous one). We discovered many astonishing places and people, walked so many miles, laughed, cried and uncovered stories and wonders galore (including the basis for my next novel). Thank you Lesley for an incredible adventure. Here’s to many more.

  I also want to thank Puddleduck Winery here in Tasmania for allowing me to walk their charming grounds and collect, of all things, goose feathers. When I explained what I needed them for (to practise writing in the manner of the Elizabethans — as well as making my own invisible ink), they were so enthusiastic and made helpful suggestions about the best sort. Their delicious wine went a good way to making my experiments more fun and, I’m sure, was the reason they were mostly successful.

  I also want to offer a loving and grateful thanks to one of the people this book is dedicated to, Kerry Doyle. Kerry, Stephen and Kerry’s beautiful husband Peter Goddard (who this book is also dedicated to) and I have a friendship spanning many, many years and some trials and tribulations. It’s so very, very special. Treasured. Kerry and I also happen to share, among many other things, a passion for books and ‘stalk’ each other’s reading. Kerry is such an astute and insightful reader and early on offered to be a test reader for drafts of my novels, something I gratefully accepted. It’s a huge ask to not only request a friend read a manuscript and offer honest feedback — it’s even an bigger leap of faith to accept. Kerry read an early version of this book and gave me some invaluable suggestions that I know made the work stronger. Not only that, she also sent me little texts of encouragement when I flagged or doubted during the initial writing and rewrites, which bolstered me in ways I find hard to explain, except to say that’s what the love of a dear friend can do. Thank you so much, Kerry.

  Books might be written in isolation, but the sharing of ideas, the interest in the work in progress, needs good friends and, along with Kerry and Peter, I am so blessed to have people in my life whose love, forbearance and enthusiasm for what I do is abundant. Here, I want to thank them:

  Thank you to our neighbours and dear, dear friends, the darling Larks — Bill, Lyn, Jack, Kristy and David — your support has been wonderful. To the rest of the Single Malt Motorcycle Whisky Club — Mark Nicholson, Clinton Steele and Simon Thomson and their beautiful partners (and my friends) Robyn, Rosie and Lucy — thank you so much. To Bob and Chris, thank you as well.

  To the wonderful Stephen Bender, my partner in former careers (we’re both ex Army), our invaluable assistant in the brewery and go-to person for fun times, the man who makes me and Stephen laugh, think and is a sounding board for all things beer and bookish as well as political and personal — a huge and loving thanks.

  Same to Christina Schultness, who was one of those thoughtful people who would drag me away with an invite to w(h)ine, as did her partner PJ, Danny Matheson, Kazuo Ikeda, Ali Gay, Terry and Rebecca Moles, Robbie Gilligan and Emma Alessendrini. I also want to thank the gorgeous Dr Kiarna Brown, her fantastic husband, Chris, and son, Jake, for the joy they’d brought into our lives and support they’ve given both St
ephen and me. Thanks also to Dr Lisa Hill, Sheryl Gwyther, Dannielle Miller, Katherine Howell, my extraordinary editor at the Courier Mail, Margaret Wenham, the amazing and learned Professor Jim McKay, Dr Liz Ferrier, Dr Helen Johnson, and Professor David Rowe as well as Dr Frances Thiele, dearest friend, historian, sensational harpist, teacher and audience for many of my ideas. I also want to thank my Facebook friends and supporters as well as many of our simply terrific patrons at the brewery for their interest in my books and their kind and wonderful words. You are the best.

  I also want to thank my fantastic little sister, Jenny Farell, and my mum, Moira Adams. They do what families do: love you, prod you and tell you — in not so many words — when you’re being a dick. Also, a special shout-out to the brilliant writer and person, Kim Wilkins — thanks, my love.

  I also wish to acknowledge my absent friend, the beloved Sara Warneke (Douglass) who, though she is no longer with us, I swear dwells in my study. I often talk out loud to her — testing notions, expressing frustrations, celebrating a light bulb moment — causing my fur-kids (the dogs Tallow and Dante and brew-dog Bounty, as well as the cats) to twist their little heads and listen intently. They are my furry muses, but I still miss you every single day, Sara.

  I also want to thank my readers — where and what would I be without you? We share a love of words, reading and imagination and I am grateful for your support and passion. Thank you so very much.

  But of course, without my beautiful and amazing kids, Adam and Caragh, and my husband — my partner in life and love — Stephen, then I would not be in a position to write at all. Without their ongoing love, ability to make me think in ways I might not otherwise, their endless teasing, encouragement, reminders to live a little and put things in perspective (they tell me candidly to stop being stupid), belief and ability to boost me when I am crippled by doubt (which I often am), then I could not and would not write. I wouldn’t want to.

  I love you Adam and Caragh — thank you for being you and letting me be me (except when I shouldn’t be!).

  And, lastly — but only in this list — thank you Stephen. You hold the key to my heart, a key that’s opened doors and which, holding hands, we’ve stepped through together. I know there’ll be many more we’ll open and explore.

  Thanks, my love — this book, like all those before and to come, is for you.

  LIST OF CHARACTERS

  * denotes an actual historical person

  Mallory Bright: daughter of Gideon and Valentina Bright

  Caleb Hollis: Lodger with the Brights, playwright, actor and shareholder in Lord Warham’s Men

  Angela: cousin of Valentina’s

  Gideon Bright: locksmith, father to Mallory

  Comfort: housekeeper at Harp Lane

  Gracious: maid at Harp Lane who replaced Nell after she was dismissed

  Latch: cat

  Arthur: dog — Cocker spaniel

  Galahad: dog — Cocker spaniel

  Master Fodrake: Mallory’s former tutor

  Master Gib: general help at Harp Lane, married to Mistress Pernel

  Mistress Pernel: cook and general help, Harp Lane

  Valentina Bright: Mallory’s mother, Gideon’s wife

  *Sir Francis Walsingham: Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I and spymaster

  Sir Raffe Shelton: knight with estates in Durham

  Ellis: Sir Raffe’s squire

  Matt Culpeper: apprentice locksmith

  Kit Jolebody: eldest apprentice of Gideon Bright

  Samuel Blackstone: apprentice locksmith

  Dickon: apprentice locksmith

  Benedict Thatcher: former apprentice of Gideon Bright

  Nell: Mallory’s former maid

  Widow Dorothy: neighbour of the Brights

  *Timothy Bright: brother of Gideon, uncle to Mallory and doctor of Bright family and Sir Francis

  *Thomas Phelippes: secretary to Sir Francis Walsingham

  *Casey: Thomas’s servant

  *Robert Beale: secretary to Sir Francis Walsingham

  Laurence: Sir Francis’s man-servant

  *Ursula Walsingham: wife to Sir Francis Walsingham

  *Frances Walsingham: daughter to Sir Francis Walsingham

  *Mary Walsingham (deceased): daughter to Sir Francis Walsingham

  Lord Nathaniel Warham: lord of the realm, privateer who sailed with Francis Drake

  Nicholas: Lord Nathaniel’s squire

  Swithin Hattycliffe: weaver and counsellor, father to Isaac

  Isaac Hattycliffe: junior lawyer, son of Swithin and former betrothed of Mallory

  *Edmund Campion: Jesuit priest

  *Robert Persons or Parsons: Jesuit priest

  *Dr William Allen: head of Jesuit schools on the Continent

  *Ralph Sherwin: student priest

  *Alexander Briant: priest, condemned to death with Campion

  *King Philip of Spain

  *Stephen Brinkley: owner of Oxford printing press that published Campion’s Ten Reasons

  Baldassere Zucchero: master locksmith and Mallory’s grandfather

  Lucia Zucchero: Mallory’s aunt (deceased)

  *Amy Robsart: (deceased) first wife of Robert Dudley

  *Lettice Knollys: second, or possibly third wife of Robert Dudley

  *John Stubbes: printer who lost a hand on Elizabeth’s orders

  *John Foxe: author of The Book of Martyrs

  *William Charke: pamphleteer who wrote a scathing response to Campion’s ‘Brag’

  *Meredith Hammer: Oxford theologian who wrote a response to Campion’s ‘Brag’

  Captain Alyward Lindsey: captain of the Forged Friends and traitor to his country

  *Sir Francis Drake: privateer who successfully circumnavigated the globe, sacked many of Spain’s ships and ports and brought back great wealth for himself and Elizabeth

  *Mary Drake: Sir Francis Drake’s wife

  *Queen Elizabeth I

  *Lady Jane Grey: the ‘Nine-Days Queen’, beheaded by Mary Tudor

  *King Edward: younger half-brother of Elizabeth and Mary

  *Mary, Queen of Scots: under house arrest by Elizabeth; one of the banes of Sir Francis’s life

  *Mary Tudor: staunch Catholic who ruled England before Elizabeth, her half-sister, and was known as ‘Bloody Mary’

  Lady Beatrice Warham: Nathaniel’s sister

  Merlin: Lady Beatrice’s puppy

  Bounty: Lord Nathaniel’s horse

  Tesoro: Lady Beatrice’s horse

  Bilge Rat and Barnacle: the cats of Warham Hall

  Rebecca: Beatrice’s nurse

  Alice: Beatrice’s maid

  Master Bede: Lord Nathaniel’s steward

  Mistress Margery: wife to Master Bede and housekeeper to Lord Nathaniel

  Sir Lance Ingolby: best friend to Lord Nathaniel

  Mary: maid at Warham Hall

  Tace: maid to Mallory at Warham Hall

  Master Connor: cook at Warham Hall

  Virtue: Master Connor’s wife

  Missy: daughter of Connor and Virtue

  Gully: servant at Warham Hall

  Simon Thatch: new apprentice for Gideon

  *Anthony Munday: watcher for Sir Francis and talented writer

  *Anthony Tyrell: priest

  *Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley: greatest love of Queen Elizabeth’s life, courtier and investor in privateering

  *Lord Burghley, William Cecil: one of Elizabeth’s closest advisors

  *Robert Cecil: William’s son, who would replace his father in the Queen’s service and later serve King James in the same capacity; was said to also run a formidable network of spies

  *Charles Sledd, alias Rowland Russell: agent of Sir Francis Walsingham

  *Arthur Gregory: secretary and agent of Sir Francis Walsingham

  *Duke of Anjou: French prince who sought Elizabeth’s hand in marriage

  *Lord Vaux: a well-known Catholic

  *George Eliot: Sir Francis’s man, hired to track and arrest Edmund Campion


  *Pope Gregory XIII

  *Guise family: powerful and very influential French family

  *Doctor Dee: well-known astrologer and physician

  *David Jenkins: Sir Francis’s man, hired to track and arrest Edmund Campion

  *Yate family: known Catholic family who hid Campion and others from authorities

  *Thomas Sackville: playwright

  *Thomas Norton: playwright and torturer — because, of course, the two go hand in hand

  Master David Smithyman: bookholder, Lord Warham’s Men

  *Richard Topcliffe: sadist and torturer who worked for different nobles and claimed a close relationship with the Queen

  Reverend Bernard: parish priest, Harp Lane

  *Sir Edmund Tilney: Master of the Revels

  *Will Kempe: famous actor — a comedian

  Mistress Bench: housekeeper, Biliter Lane

  Agnes and Katherine: former nuns, beholden to Shelton family for protection

  *Sir Richard Worsley: Ursula Walsingham’s first husband

  Guido Sapienti: Angela’s beloved

  *William Harborne: negotiated the agreement with the Ottoman Empire on Elizabeth’s behalf

  *Sultan Murad III: ruler of the Ottoman Empire

  *Francis Mylles: secretary to Sir Francis and watcher

  *Marquis de Marchaumont: French ambassador who knighted Drake

  Lord Jonathan Warham: eldest brother of Nathaniel (deceased)

  Benet Warham: older brother of Nathaniel (deceased)

  Father Mark Forwood: parish priest, St Katherine Coleman

  Master Hamon: servant at Oxford University

  Mistress Bakewell: laundress in Biliter Lane