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Sir Roger Shallot #5
The Gallows Murders (Tudor Mysteries, Book 5): A gripping Tudor mystery of blackmail, treason and murder
In the summer of 1523, the hot weather and the sweating sickness provide a fertile breeding ground for terrible murders and the most treasonable conspiracies. King Henry VIII has moved the court to Windsor where he slakes his lusts whilst the kingdom is governed by his first minister, Cardinal Wolsey. Someone is sending the King threatening letters from the Tower, under the name and seal of Edward, one of the princes supposedly murdered there, demanding that great amounts of gold be left in different parts of London. If the orders are not carried out, proclamations will be published throughout the capital which, coinciding with the outbreak of plague, may make it look as though the hand of God has turned against the Tudors for usurping the throne. Wolsey has only two people to turn to: his beloved nephew, Benjamin Daunbey, and Daunbey's faithful servant, Roger Shallot. Benjamin and Roger become embroiled in the murky Tudor underworld and the pressure to solve the mysteries mounts when King Henry threatens that Roger Shallot's life depends on it.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1995
31 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Paul Doherty
236 books609 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, Celia L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the usual education before studying at Durham for three years for the Catholic priesthood but decided not to proceed. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, whilst there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.
Paul worked in Ascot, Nottingham and Crawley West Sussex before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic School in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive [1700 on roll] which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. In April, 2000 H. M. Inspectorate describe it as an 'Outstanding School', and it was given Beacon status as a Centre of Excellence whilst, in the Chief Inspector’s Report to the Secretary of State for January 2001, Trinity Catholic High School was singled out for praise and received a public accolade.
Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and, in 1987, began to publish a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Age, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. These have been published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press of New York, Edhasa in Spain, and Eichborn, Heyne, Knaur and others in Germany. They have also been published in Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Portugal and China, as well as Argentina and Mexico.
He has been published under several pseudonyms (see the bibliography): C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name. He recently launched a very successful series based around the life of Alexander the Great, published by Constable & Robinson in the U.K., and Carroll and Graf in the U.S.A., whilst his novels set in Ancient Egypt have won critical acclaim. Paul has also written several non-fiction titles; A Life of Isabella the She-wolf of France, Wife of Edward II of England, as well as study of the possible murder of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and a study on the true fate of Alexander the Great.
Paul and Carla live on the borders of London and Essex, not far from Epping Forest and six of their children have been through his own school. His wife Carla currently owns two horses and is training, for showing and dressage, a beautiful Arab filly named Polly.
Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul Doherty can hold and entertain audiences.
His one great ambition is to petition the Privy Council of England to open the Purbeck marble tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. Paul believes the tomb does not house the body
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, Celia L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the usual education before studying at Durham for three years for the Catholic priesthood but decided not to proceed. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, whilst there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.
Paul worked in Ascot, Nottingham and Crawley West Sussex before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic School in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive [1700 on roll] which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. In April, 2000 H. M. Inspectorate describe it as an 'Outstanding School', and it was given Beacon status as a Centre of Excellence whilst, in the Chief Inspector’s Report to the Secretary of State for January 2001, Trinity Catholic High School was singled out for praise and received a public accolade.
Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and, in 1987, began to publish a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Age, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. These have been published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press of New York, Edhasa in Spain, and Eichborn, Heyne, Knaur and others in Germany. They have also been published in Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Portugal and China, as well as Argentina and Mexico.
He has been published under several pseudonyms (see the bibliography): C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name. He recently launched a very successful series based around the life of Alexander the Great, published by Constable & Robinson in the U.K., and Carroll and Graf in the U.S.A., whilst his novels set in Ancient Egypt have won critical acclaim. Paul has also written several non-fiction titles; A Life of Isabella the She-wolf of France, Wife of Edward II of England, as well as study of the possible murder of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and a study on the true fate of Alexander the Great.
Paul and Carla live on the borders of London and Essex, not far from Epping Forest and six of their children have been through his own school. His wife Carla currently owns two horses and is training, for showing and dressage, a beautiful Arab filly named Polly.
Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul Doherty can hold and entertain audiences.
His one great ambition is to petition the Privy Council of England to open the Purbeck marble tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. Paul believes the tomb does not house the body
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 31, 2021
Read this book in 2009, and its the 5th volume of the delightful "Roger Shallot" series, from the author, Paul Doherty.
This tales are brought to us as a kind of recollections of Roger Shallot while serving Cardinal Wolsey as a reluctant spy and henchman, during the brutal reign of King Henry VIII.
The story is set in the summer of the year AD 1523, and the King has retreated to Windsor, to slake his lusts there, while London a breeding ground for murder and conspiracies.
While Cardinal Wolsey is governing the realm, the King receives a threat from the Tower, despatched under the name and seal of Edward, one of the princes supposedly murdered there, and the blackmailer demands great amounts of gold.
King Henry VIII, now truly terrified and intrigued by the mysterious murders occurring among the hangmen of London, whose guild are also meeting in the Tower.
Cardinal Wolsey will turn to his nephew, Benjamin Daunbey and his servant, Roger Shallot, to find out the truth behind these threats.
What Benjamin and Roger will encounter is a world of suspicion and deceit, where they to tread carefully if they want to succeed with their investigations, and after quite some twists and turns, followed by an exquisite executed plot, they will be able to unravel this mystery of mayhem and murder.
Highly recommended, for this is another splendid addition to this marvellous series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Glorious Gallows Murders Mystery"!
This tales are brought to us as a kind of recollections of Roger Shallot while serving Cardinal Wolsey as a reluctant spy and henchman, during the brutal reign of King Henry VIII.
The story is set in the summer of the year AD 1523, and the King has retreated to Windsor, to slake his lusts there, while London a breeding ground for murder and conspiracies.
While Cardinal Wolsey is governing the realm, the King receives a threat from the Tower, despatched under the name and seal of Edward, one of the princes supposedly murdered there, and the blackmailer demands great amounts of gold.
King Henry VIII, now truly terrified and intrigued by the mysterious murders occurring among the hangmen of London, whose guild are also meeting in the Tower.
Cardinal Wolsey will turn to his nephew, Benjamin Daunbey and his servant, Roger Shallot, to find out the truth behind these threats.
What Benjamin and Roger will encounter is a world of suspicion and deceit, where they to tread carefully if they want to succeed with their investigations, and after quite some twists and turns, followed by an exquisite executed plot, they will be able to unravel this mystery of mayhem and murder.
Highly recommended, for this is another splendid addition to this marvellous series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Glorious Gallows Murders Mystery"!
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March 14, 2022Another great read by Paul Doherty. I love this character Roger Shallot. He's a rogue through and through, but such fun to read. You can't help wondering how on earth he managed to get to the grand old age of 95, when undoubtedly better men than he have long since gone. Ah well, maybe the devil does take care of his own.
November 11, 2017
Fantastic book
The author does it again. Leads the reader on a merry Chase so you think you have solved the mystery but alas you have not.
The author does it again. Leads the reader on a merry Chase so you think you have solved the mystery but alas you have not.
July 15, 2019
An enjoyable light hearted mystery
November 9, 2020
Excellent read
August 5, 2025
Enjoyable light read.
August 9, 2015
Shallot heads off to London during a quiet spell in Ipswich where he gets caught up with the plague of sweating sickness sweeping the city and falls victim to it himself. He recovers under the careful care of an order of monks and his master finds him to tell him the king needs their services again. Someone purporting to be one of th missing Princes in the Tower is blackmailing Henry VIII and the city's executioners are also being murdered. Shallot and Daunbey need to establish if the two are related and who's responsible. I enjoy the twists in these novels and Shallot is a loveable rogue whose antics amuse and, occasionally, make me roll my eyes.
June 9, 2011
Enjoyed this something different mystery set in London in 1523. I enjoyed the mystery within a mystery of the disappearance of the little princes in the Tower forty years prior.
August 22, 2016
Hey nonny no another for Roger Shallot!!!
April 3, 2016
Great tongue-in-check mystery of the Tudor era! Roger Shallot bungles his way through the mystery with help from his Master & friend and other players.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews