The Testimony of Alys Twist

Ill be honest right away. I haven't finished it. At this point i don't think i will. I can see the book mark looking at me, screaming in its tiny voice "pleeess... Reeeed mee... Let mee owttt..." but i just cant. It was good at the beginning, 16th century lesbians be strolling the streets, but it ju......more

An unusual view of the palaces of Queen Mary from the laundry. Alys is an interesting character - unseen but a pivotal role in the household of the exiled princess. Hearing and seeing more than she should, Alys becomes more involved in Tudor history. I liked seeing how Alys developed as a character-......more

One of the Queen’s of historical fiction returns with another original Tudor-based story seen through the eyes of a commoner. Set in 16th century England, we follow Alys Twist, an orphan and laundress at Whitehall, employed in Queen Mary’s court who becomes embroiled in a spat between sisters Mary a......more

This book started slow but I'm supremely glad that I persisted with it because boy, was it worth it! I think this novel really gets going when Alys moves into the household of the Princess Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth I), ostensibly as a spy for Queen Mary's side, but then basically double crosses......more

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book. It’s written in a way that I’m not entirely comfortable with, there’s a lot of brackets and some of the sentences are a bit long. The story itself feels a bit flat and ends without feeling quite “finished”. It’s a bit all-over-the-place and is more f......more