The prince of rags and patches - Terry Deary

It is 1601 and Queen Elizabeth I is dying. Will Marsden lives in Marsden Manor in the north of England. Will is training to be a knight and listens avidly to the true tales of adventure and intrigue told by the family every night around the roaring fire.

When a visitor arrives bearing letters from the dying Queen to James VI of Scotland and a body is found in the woods soon after, Will sets out to find the murderer, helped by Meg, the quick-witted serving girl. Great Uncle George's tale of the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower over a hundred years ago provides Will with a vital clue.

Terry Deary combines terrific storytelling with historical accuracy in this exciting tale, which gives a vivid sense of the dangers and discomforts of life in Elizabethan times.