What if Taylor Swift found herself penning songs about love in Elizabethan England when women were required to be chaste, obedient, and silent?​Isabella Whitney, an ambitious and daring eighteen-year-old maidservant turned poet, sets out to do just that. Having risked reputation and virtue by allowing her passions for her employer's aristocratic nephew to get the better of her, Isabella Whitney enters the fray of the pamphlet wars, a scurrilous debate on the merits of women. She's determined to make her mark by becoming the first woman to write a poem defending women in love, highlighting the deceptive practices of the men who woo them. Her journey to publication is fraught with challenges as she navigates through the male-dominated literary world and the harsh realities of life in sixteenth-century London for a single woman. Loosely based on the life of Elizabethan poet Isabella Whitney, this is a compelling tale of a young woman's resilience and determination to challenge the status quo and leave her mark in a world that was not ready for her.

BOOK EXCERPT
As we left the churchyard, we passed a young man reading verses aloud to a well-dressed gentleman with a bulbous nose. When the young man finished, the gent nodded his approval and gave him a slip of paper. The poet bowed gratefully and shook his hand."There goes a fortunate young man who found a patron," I uttered wistfully.Millicent linked her arm to mine. "I'll wager your verses are better than his."We had not walked far from the church when Millicent asked, "Do you still love Robert?"Since the revelation of Rose Clavell's letter, my feelings for Robert should have grown cold. But my love for him burned fitfully with joy, desire, anger, hate, and the grace of forgiveness. I hoped that upon Robert's return, he would prove that he was deserving of the love I bore him."Call me a fool if you want, but I still love him. When he returns, I will know my fate. To stay with him here in London or start anew."Millicent, ever understanding, bit her lip and refrained from passing judgment. "I hope your love for Robert proves worthy, and you can remain here in your beloved London with him."I embraced her for her kind words. To the devil with Thomas and Robert, to have thought ill of her. She’s only lesser than them for her lack of money, not her character.“I have no doubt that your widower will treat you well.”“If he doesn’t, he’ll feel the end of a broomstick on his head. You can be sure of that.”She laughed, and I did, too. For I knew she meant it.