It is the end of the sixteenth century, and Europe is in the midst of war. Only England under Elizabeth Tudor is at peace – but it is a peace bought at a terrible price. The Queen rules by fear and brutality, her spies are everywhere, and so are her censors. No play can be produced, no book published, unless it is first approved by the Queen’s Privy Council. Into this world come Verity and Perpetua, clever young orphans and best of friends, who escape a nunnery, disguise themselves as boys, and travel to London. There, because of their ability to speak in rhyme, they are invited to join a group of playwrights engaged in writing comedies and satires critical of the government. Devoted to each other and to the task of discovering their parentage, Verity and Perpetua ignore the dangers and intrigues around them until they find themselves caught up in a conspiracy to return a Plantagenet to the English throne. A story of adolescent friendship with all its joys and miseries, Verity and Perpetua is also a sly and playful look at the perennial question: who really wrote all those brilliant Elizabethan plays?

“Bushell’s writing is utterly gorgeous. Her skill in character development is as impressive as her ability to bring distant historical figures and events to life.”

– Emily St. John Mandel

Agnes Bushell’s most recent novel is Monkey. Her previous novels include The House on Perry Street and The Oracle Pool; the political novels Local Deities and Days of the Dead; and the mysteries Shadowdance, Death by Crystal, Death in Arcadia, and The Enumerator. She is the recipient of several Maine Literary Awards and is Professor Emerita in Liberal Arts at Maine College of Art and Design.