Judith Cook 
Death of a Lady's Maid 07 August 1997 About the Author Bibliography Judith Cook
Death of a Lady's Maid 07 August 1997
About the Author
Bibliography
Death of
a Lady's Maid
A harsh winter followed by the coldest, wettest spring in
living memory brings ominous signs that plague might again stalk the streets of
Elizabethan London. But for the wherryman who hauls the body of a young girl out of the
River Thames early one morning in June 1591, the unseasonable weather is no longer his
main concern. The dead girl is taken to the renowned medical practitioner and horoscope
caster Dr Simon Forman at his home on the Bankside, and to his surprise, Forman recognises
her immediately. Four months earlier, with expectations of great wealth, Eliza had visited
him demanding to have her horoscope cast. Now, as Forman examines her lifeless body, he
discovers she was three months pregnant and her death was no suicide... In her pocket lies
a beautiful gold pendant engraved with a coat of arms and, aided by his burly, grumbling
manservant John Bradedge, Forman traces the pendant to the family home of Sir Wolford
Barnes in Bishopsgate. There he discovers that Eliza was a lady's maid to Sir Wolford's
beautiful and seductive daughter, Olivia, and Forman is convinced that the solution to her
murder lies in her relationship with Olivia. Gradually he unravels the complexities of the
case - but not before his own life is put at risk...
Death of a Lady's Maid is the first entry in the Casebook of
Dr Simon Forman. In this vibrant and colourful mystery, Judith Cook brings Elizabethan
London vividly to life in all its sinister splendour.
Praise for Judith Cook's novel about playwright
Christopher Marlowe, The Slicing Edge of Death:
'Judith Cook brings her investigative journalist
skills usefully to bear...along with a rattling good grip on the plot. Cook's Marlowe is
brilliant, witty, charismatic' Guardian
'Cook roots her exciting and readable novel
firmly in the world of the playhouses' Financial Times
'A good, pacy read... Cook is keen on fine
historical detail and has obviously mastered her subject' Evening Standard
'A well-balanced thriller.. intelligent and
entertaining' TLS
About The
Author
Judith Cook was born and brought up in Manchester. She began
her career as a journalist for the Guardian and went on to become a freelance writer,
winning awards for investigative journalism and having several highly acclaimed
non-fiction books published, most notably To Brave Every Danger, the epic story of
highwaywoman Mary Bryant, which is being made into a film by MGM.
Judith Cook has also written two previous novels, several
plays and books about the theatre, and she is a part-time lecturer in Elizabethan and
Jacobean theatre at Exeter University. She lives in the fishing port of Newlyn, Cornwall,
with her partner and two cats.
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