The Plot to Kill a Queen by Deborah Hopkinson

In 1582, 13-year-old Emilia Bassano is not your average Tudor-era girl—she’s a lute-playing, aspiring playwright with dreams of seeing her words performed. When she sneaks into the theater and crosses paths with a young William Shakespeare, their shared passion for storytelling launches Emilia on an unexpected path. She soon uncovers a dangerous plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Recruited by the Queen’s spymaster, Emilia must go undercover at Sheffield Castle—home of the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots—to root out the conspiracy. Can she use her wit, bravery, and love of drama to thwart a murderer and protect the realm?