Academy of Secrets: A Novella

No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller S. J. Parris is the pseudonym of the author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student at Cambridge researching a paper on the period 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 as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines, as well as radio and television. She has also written the contemporary psychological thriller While You Sleep under her own name. She currently writes for the Observer and the Guardian, and lives in Surrey with her son.

Praise for S. J. Parris:‘A delicious blend of history and thriller’ The Times‘A tight plot combines with subtly-realised characters and an omnipresent sense of danger … My pleasure in the vividly textured backdrop and a cracking story was accompanied by an uneasy shudder’ Daily Mail‘Colourful characters, fast-moving plots and a world where one false step in religion or politics can mean a grisly death’ Sunday Times‘Vivid, sprawling … Well-crafted, exuberant’ Financial Times‘Successful historical thrillers need three elements: a killer plot that weaves seamlessly into the history; an engaging protagonist; and an atmospheric sense of place. Parris nails all three’ The Times‘Pacy, intricate, and thrilling… Full of historical detail and rich with atmosphere’ Observer‘I can thoroughly recommend Conspiracy, which twists and turns like a corkscrew of venomous snakes’ Stuart MacBride‘Parris’s Giordano Bruno series has been a joy’ Sunday Telegraph‘Impossible to resist … Parris creates a convincing sense of the past, woven with so much intrigue that the head fairly spins’ Daily Telegraph‘It has everything – intrigue, mystery and excellent history’ Kate Mosse‘Parris writes with confident ease of Tudor London … The dialogue balances nicely on a tightrope of period phrases and cut-to-the-chase colloquialisms. More, please’ The Times‘Full of surprises … an imaginatively satisfying addition to the many real intrigues surrounding the imprisoned Mary Stuart and the threats to Elizabeth’s security’ TLS‘Fascinating … The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping’ Conn Iggulden‘A brilliantly unusual glimpse at the intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth I’ Andrew Taylor