Death and the Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart

On 9th September 1560 Amy Robsart, the wife of Queen Elizabeths favourite courtier, Robert Dudley, was found lying dead at the foot of a staircase. It was a death that scandalised Tudor England. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Robert Dudley's open flirtation with the young Queen Elizabeth only fuelled rumours that he had orchestrated his own wife's death. With Dudley now conveniently widowed, perhaps the queen had found her consort at last. The death of Amy Robsart is one of the most famous unsolved mysteries of the Tudor period. Now, in this gripping account, Chris Skidmore has unearthed new evidence and is able to put an end to centuries of speculation. Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558 a 25 year-old virgin - the most prized catch in Christendom. 'Death and the Virgin' is the story of a remarkable and frenetic period in Elizabeth's life: a tale of love, death and tragedy, exploring the dramatic early life of England's Virgin Queen.