Chris Skidmore has found new documents to make a break through in the mystery of who murdered the wife of Robert Dudley, the scandalously intimate friend of Elizabeth I. His close reading of the material and his dramatic deductions are compulsory reading for anyone interested in this fascinating and tragic story of the little known wife of the man who hoped to marry the Queen of England. -- PHILIPPA GREGORY "Skidmore writes brilliantly and his research is impeccable" -- John Guy SUNDAY TIMES "a riveting exemplar of the degree to which it is, and is not, possible to solve a historical mystery" -- Sarah Gristwood THE GUARDIAN 'The death of Amy Robsart in September 1560 remains one of the fascinating unsolved mysteries of Tudor history... Chris Skidmore deftly takes us through the whole scene and in doing so considers a completely new possibility which changed my mind.' -- Antonia Fraser MAIL ON SUNDAY "an intriguing blend of detective story and historical scholarship" -- Jenny Uglow FINANCIAL TIMES "the brilliance of Death and the Virgin is that Skidmore has done his homework... The result is as gripping as an Agatha Christie thriller" -- Roger Lewis DAILY EXPRESS "Skidmore paints wonderful, intimate scenes of Elizabeth and Dudley. there are also some wonderful period facts." -- Leanda de Lisle LITERARY REVIEW The books of Skidmore ... should be required reading for everyone who gets their history from television" -- Linda Porter HISTORY TODAY "Mr Skidmore makes a good case and if the historical jury is still out, it now has some new evidence to consider" CONTEMPORARY REVIEW "DEATH AND THE VIRGIN presents an intriguing and sometimes gripping story, based on discerning research in manuscript as well as printed sources" -- J P D Cooper TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT "DEATH AND THE VIRGIN is a brilliant evocation of an age-old mystery as well as a revealing portrait of the early years of Elizabeth's reign. A gripping story." LANCASHIRE EVENING POST

Chris Skidmore was born in Bristol in 1981. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a St Cyre's and Dixon Scholar and President of the Oxford University Historical Society. He graduated in 2002 with a double first and was awarded the Gibbs Prize. He is currently studying for a Doctorate investigating the role of the nobility in Tudor politics. He is also a convenor of a graduate seminar at the university into the culture and politics of Tudor society. Chris has worked in journalism, writing first for the Western Daily Press and then for People Magazine, and has also been a reviewer for Living History Magazine. He was an adviser and researcher to Bristol's bid for European Capital City of Culture 2008 and, more recently, was research assistant to Robert Lacey for his Great Tales of English History series. He currently works as a special adviser to Michael Gove MP.