Introducing The Angel Players Series

ROGUES AND PLAYERS book 1 of The Angel Players Series -  Special Introuctory Price of £2.02 from Amazon

Esmond Angel popular playwright and manager of Lord Barpham’s company of strolling players. A man adored by his strong willed daughter Gabriellen. But for years as a struggling playwright in London, he has lived a hidden life. He gained fame and notoriety amongst the rogues and vagabonds that haunt the innards where his troupe performs before the first Elizabethan playhouses were built.


When Gabriellen Angel as a young woman joins her father in his travels, the actors and the plays they perform captivate her. The survival of the company depends upon her father’s skill in producing new work. Esmond’s eyesight is failing and he relies upon Gabriellen as a scribe and her emerging talent as a writer. Despite her success her involvement must remain secret in the male-dominated world of the playhouse, or she would be reviled and persecuted.

Gabriellen is determined to keep the troupe together but Esmond’s links with the criminal Underworld draw her into danger. She falls in love with the bold and dashing buccaneer Captain Jack Stoneham but his ambitions at court are his reason for refusing to marry her. She also befriends a horse breeder, Mark Rowan, who travels the country with his stallion as cover for his work as Queen Elizabeth’s spy for plots against her life.

Set against the background of court intrigue, the emergence of the early playhouses, and rich in atmospheric detail of the social structure of England as it faces the threat of the Spanish Armada, Rogues and Players is a rich tapestry of conflict and drama that brings the Elizabethan era alive with diverse and memorable characters.

Review

Rogues and Players, is a lively, atmospheric, well written book. This is a fascinating story which swings along at a good pace. The characters are well portrayed, real and believable, and the period truly comes to life.

West Sussex County Times


Rogues and Players – a band of travelling players, the London underworld and court intrigue in the era of Elizabeth 1. Makes today’s social and political scene seem tame.

Bradford Star

KNAVES AND PLAYERS book 2 of The Angel Players Series

England is rejoicing in the defeat of the Spanish Armada but for Gabriellen Angel it has left her heartbroken as it has taken the life of her lover, the dashing privateer Captain Jack Stoneham. It is not the only tragedy she has to face. Her father, the renowned playwright Esmond Angel is in debt to an unscrupulous moneylender Victor Prew. To save Esmond from debtor’s prison and his troupe of players from disbandment, Gabriellen marries Prew. Immediately her life is thrown into danger from her sadistic husband, who is a Catholic plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth.


But the feisty Gabriellen outwits Prew and has a powerful ally in her friend Mark Rowan – a spy for Her Majesty. Prew flees England to save his life but has vowed vengeance upon Esmond, Gabreillen and Mark Rowan.

And her bond with Mark Rowan becomes something far more special than mere friendship and she begins to wonder if she has found a unique happiness…

But when Jack Stoneham reappears having been tortured as a prisoner of the Spanish, her heart is torn between her new and old love.

Set against the background of the early playhouses, the London Underworld - desire, betrayal, vengeance interweave this passionate and atmospheric portrayal of life in Elizabethan England – climaxing in the disastrous rebellion of the Earl of Essex.

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