Heresy by S. J. Parris

Heresy by S. J. Parris

August, 2013

S.J. Parris is the pen name of Stephanie Merritt (born 1974, in Surrey, England) who began reviewing books for national newspapers while she was reading English literature at Queens' College, Cambridge. After graduating, she went on to become Deputy Literary Editor of The Observer in 1999. She continues to work as a feature writer and critic for the Guardian and the Observer and from 2007-2008 she curated and produced the Talks and Debates program on issues in contemporary arts and politics at London's Soho Theatre. She has appeared as a panelist on various Radio Four shows and on BBC2's Newsnight Review, and is a regular chair and presenter at the Hay Festival and the National Theatre. She has been a judge for the Costa Biography Award, the Orange New Writing Award and the Perrier Comedy Award. She lives in the south of England with her son.

by Stephanie Merritt:

• Gaveston, Faber & Faber (London, England), 2002.
• Real, Faber & Faber (London, England), 2005.
• The Devil Within: A Memoir of Depression, Vermilion (London, England), 2009.

Has written for the Times, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, Zembla, and Die Welt, and served as deputy literary editor and a staff writer at the Observer.

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Merritt's first novel written under the pseudonym S.J. Parris is Heresy. Set in the late sixteenth century, the novel's protagonist is Giordano Bruno. An actual historical personage, Bruno was a Franciscan monk who fled Italy when he was accused of heresy for embracing scientific and astronomical theories at that time considered threatening by the Vatican. Bruno ultimately took shelter in England. In the novel, Bruno is employed by the Queen of England as a spy sent to diffuse a brewing treasonous conspiracy at Oxford, only to find himself also investigating a series of locked-room murders.

Series:

Heresy: an historical thriller ( 2010)

Condemned for his heretical belief that the Earth orbits the sun, scientist and occult researcher Giordano Bruno runs away from the Holy Roman Inquisition and is unexpectedly recruited by Elizabeth I, who dispatches him to Oxford to investigate a Catholic rebellion and foreign plots to assassinate her.  Series: Giordano Bruno thrillers, 1  

Prophecy ( 2011)

The alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, the two most powerful planets, is known as the Great Conjunction and only happens once every one thousand years. Rumours of black magic are stirred when some of Queen Elizabeth's maids are found dead and she calls on her personal astrologers to try and solve the crime.  Series: Giordano Bruno thrillers, 2  

Sacrilege (2012)

Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster to Queen Elizabeth, has long suspected an undercurrent of Catholic resistance in the city that was once England's greatest centre of pilgrimage. He calls Giordano Bruno, his maverick secret agent, but when Bruno arrives in Canterbury, he has no idea of the dark secrets he's about to uncover.  Series: Giordano Bruno thrillers, 3  

Treachery (2013)

Summer, 1585: As English ships are held captive in Spain, fear mounts of an Invincible Armada, built by King Philip II, and intended to invade English shores. Sir Francis Drake prepares to embark on an expedition by royal commission to cross the Atlantic and seize major Spanish ports, diverting Philip's American treasure supplies to Queen Elizabeth. Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, accompanies his friend Sir Philip Sidney to Plymouth to oversee Drake's departure.  Series: Giordano Bruno thrillers,  4

Read-alikes from NoveList:

Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

In 1327, Brother William of Baskerville is sent to investigate charges of heresy against Franciscan monks at a wealthy Italian abbey but finds his mission overshadowed by seven bizarre murders

The Scottish prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

In the 18th century, paroled prisoner-of-war Jamie Fraser and his old friend Tobias Quinn must travel from London to Ireland on a mission of intrigue surrounding packet of documents and an ancient relic. By the best-selling author of Outlander.

Justin de Quincy mysteries by Sharon Kay Penman

A series of historical mystery novels set in the late 12th century, featuring Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine's personal sleuth Justin de Quincy

Matthew Shardlake novels by C. J. Sansom

Matthew Shardlake, a keenly intelligent hunchback lawyer in the service of Thomas Cromwell, seeks to create a world in which faith and charity would be enough to settle differences.

Kit Marlowe mysteries by M. J. Trow

The Giordano Bruno and Kit Marlowe mysteries are both set in Elizabethan England and feature educated men as the undercover sleuths at court. The fast-paced stories are filled with rich historical details and a strong sense of place. -- Merle Jacob

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