An exciting adventure story set against the backdrop of Elizabethan England. Honesty is a young Welsh girl who meets Alice on her arrival in London. She finds a job at Greenwich Palace working for Queen Elizabeth I. As she does closer to Alice it is clear they are both hiding parts of themselves and slowly a plot unfolds that could lead to them both ending up in terrible danger. Told from the point of view of both of our main protagonists this is a brilliant story of friendship and fears. Alongside the story, this tale is full of information that could teach young readers about Elizabethan England in an engaging manner, including the Queen’s love for stories and the fashions of the day.

An exceptional tale of survival and stories.
Honesty, a young runaway from Wales , saves the life of Queen Elizabeth during an event and is soon made a part of her court. Assigned to Alice to learn her duties, they form a pseudo friendship. Both are withholding truths from the other and from the reader but we get a sneak peek into these as the stories progress.
Alice is part of a conspiracy and though she hates being part of it, much of her loyalty is to her father and brother, though this is misguided for they treat her poorly.
Homesty’s knack for storytelling leads her to become a companion and pet for the queen and her ladies in waiting. Alice shows some envy while Honesty becomes boastful.
Their friendship is no longer firm but they find themselves drawn together.
Can they escape their current roles and Will the Queen be safe?
Superb storytelling!

Historical fiction for young readers. Excellent, I loved it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

I was sold by the premise of working in the Elizabethan court but this was just not for me. Honesty was annoying and it wasn't believable. The friendship I didn't care for and it was pretty clear to me where things were going. In a way it was too fast paced - we didn't just get to enjoy the workings of the court and develop the characters. They were best friends then one thing happened and oohh noo we hate each other and then oh whoopsie we made a mistake instantly forgiven.
I didn't enjoy it unfortunately

This was a very enjoyable historical fictional tale for young readers aged around 9 to 12.

The story features 2 strong female main characters, Honesty and Alice. Each character has their own chapters and the author has done a wonderful job of giving each girl their own distinct voice.

The characters are interesting as neither girl is perfect and both have secrets to hide. I was impressed that the author has not made it a simple case of one good one bad character.

The setting of the Elizabethan era is wonderfully and confidently described, I loved that the book starts with us being plunged into the terrifying streets of London along with Honesty when she first arrives.

I really enjoyed the book and I particularly liked the authors style of writing and I will look forward to reading more of their work.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. The premise sounded amazing, but soon after I started it turned out that the writing style didn't suit me. Therefore I was unable to really get into the story and I kept zooming out. This is also the reason I cannot say much about the story or the characters, because I skimmed a lot of it. I do hope to revisit this one day to see if I like it better.

A nice read for ks3 reader set in and around The Elizabethan Court. I enjoyed the story and seeing the adventure unfold

Eloise’s writing is magical and when I heard about this book set in the Elizabethan era (which may be my favourite period in history.) I knew I needed to read this and of course it’s great!

The core of this story is all about friendship- the story centres on two servants at Elizabeth’s court Honesty and Alice and the adventure is told in their very distinct individual voices. I am a huge fan of a dual pov.

What’s really special about this book is the characters, Honesty and Alice are flawed and aren’t we all, this authenticity in the writing makes them so relatable this story could be playing out in any period of history anywhere in the world!

As with all of Eloise’s work Honesty & Lies is captivating and addictive reading- I whizzed through this book because I constantly wanted to read on, as a middle grade book that is exactly what you want, it’s so hard to find books for children where the attention is kept so cleverly.

This would be a fantastic class read along or for a book group, it not only is well researched for topical study but it explores social prejudices especially those for women and girls in Elizabethan times but also makes you think about the present day and are things always that different? This book is so well researched actually I dread to think how much time went in to the researching this book.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy and share this story with my children who I know will love it as much as me.

A great read! Good attention to historical detail with two loveable main characters doing their best to survive in a difficult situation. Requested this e-ARC before realising it was for a much younger audience but I have to say I really enjoyed it!

Eloise Williams has done it again. A dark, dangerous time in history is the setting for this story of true friendship. All you need is a friend who will always be there by your side and Alice and Honesty find that in each other when everyone else they thought they could trust deserts them.

There must have been a huge amount of research into the historical backdrop of this story as it reeks, it oozes the Elizabethan era. Then Eloise Williams has told an amazing tale of two brave, clever young women, precisely the sort of girls whose voices are lost to history. But it isn’t a good tale just because it’s about people that you don’t normally get to read about: it’s a good tale because it’s exciting, because you feel their danger and cringe at their mistakes, and you really, really hope that in spite of everything that is ranged against them, that they will make it. This is a cracking read.

Honesty and Lies.

Honesty is a welsh girl, no more than 13yrs, who travels to London to escape an arranged marriage with a much older man. Arriving, she is taken aback by the dirt, stink and the chaotic hustle and bustle of the streets. She needs her wits to keep her purse and life in this place. Will her quick tongue and a way with stories be any help? Fleeing from an attacker, she runs into Alice, a girl of about the same age, who it seems is a maid of some import at Queen Elizabeth's court.

Honesty realises Alice is key to gaining work and safety, so she follows h r into the grounds of Greenwich Palace. In so doing, Honesty foils an attempt on the queen's life. Her reward is to get to be a maid with Alice. And so begins a journey that starts out of Alice's need, then twists and turns through skullduggery, betrayal, treason, envy, lost friendships, and rivalries created.

While Honesty doesn't want her past catching up with her, Alice has a secret in her present that gnaws at her very soul. It could be the end of her and her family if discovered by the palace guards . . .

Eloise has created a compelling gem-of-a-tale, steeped in the atmosphere, characters and smells of Elizabethan London, both good and bad. It is maybe one of which the bard or even Chaucer would approve.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and whilst not long, it packed a punch of excitement, tension and a powerful sense of place. The twin, first-person narrative from Alice and Honesty works really well, especially when the two are trying to make sense of each other's actions.

I can recommend this tale, and I can see this being a favourite for classroom out-loud reading and discussion.

Review by Erin M. Watson

Eloise's vibrant storytelling in this wonderful historical fiction draws you in so that you feel that you really are in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Children will no doubt be drawn to the more unpleasant side of life in Elizabethan England and may be shocked to learn such facts as ladies going to the toilet where they stand being able to hide their unusual behaviour because they wore long dresses. This is a wonderfully unique story with two very strong female protagonists; Alice and Honesty. Alice is already employed in the palace and when Honesty happens upon her and saves the Queen from an assination attempt, she is rewarded with a place in the palace, initially as a lowly servant but then becomes favoured by the Queen and her ladies -in-waiting as a storyteller. However all is not as it seems with Alice - can she really be trusted? A brilliantly constructed tale of friendship, betrayal and intrigue. A glorious 5 star read.
Thank you to Firefly Press and NetGalley for the privilege of an early read.

When Honesty runs away from Wales, her father, and an arranged marriage to a merchant, she ends up in London friendless and penniless. Her accidental meeting with Alice, who reveals she works at the palace for Queen Elizabeth, feels like fate. And, as fate goes, it seems to favour Honesty for a while. She gains the queen's favour, gets employment at the palace and grows in status as she weaves words artfully to entertain the Queen and her ladies in waiting with her stories.
But, as she gains a false sense of acceptance from those in power, she might be in danger to lose her one and only true friend. Alice has her own problems and the authority of her father to deal with. The secret is too scary to share with Honesty but it could change the course of history...

There's plenty to love in Honesty and Lies. Two strong, while deeply flawed, female characters, trying to survive and find their place in spite of being powerless against the will of mens in their life. Life in London and at the palace of Queen Elizabeth is wonderfully brought to life and there's plenty of intrigue, small or momentous...!
The story is told alternatively in Honesty's and Alice's voice - Eloise Williams does this remarkably well, each voice very distinct and compelling, making the reader sway for their sympathies between the two girls as their friendship ebbs and flows.
A perfect read for children interested in history, adventure and friendship.

Say the word history to people and a great many of them will immediately think of the Tudors, or more specifically the reign of Henry VIII. There is undoubtedly something about him that sticks in people’s minds – whether that be his six wives or the cartoonish figure of him stuffing his face with chicken drumsticks. For me though, the other Tudor monarchs are much more interesting – his father and his three offspring, including Elizabeth I who I have tended to focus on on the few occasions I have had to teach this period of time in school.

Having read and absolutely adored Eloise Williams’s books Wilde and Seaglass, I was super-excited when this new title from her was announced and when I discovered it was going to be a historical novel set during the Elizabethan era, I could not have been more intrigued as to what it would be like. Whilst very different in tone and style to those other reads, this is another page turner which held me spellbound as it described the adventure of Honesty and Alice – two servants at court – as related through their individual voices.

Our narrative begins through the voice of Honesty, who has just arrived in the City of London only to discover that its streets are very much not paved with gold. Having run away from her tiny Welsh home of Dinbychy-Psygod with the clothes she is wearing and very little else, her survival instincts soon kick in and she latches onto a girl that she bumps into of a similar age. That girl is Alice, who points Honesty in the direction of somewhere safe to sleep for the night before making her way back to Greenwich Palace where she is employed as a maid.

But Honesty has no intention of staying anywhere other than the palace with her new friend and follows her from a safe distance. Before she can reach the Queen’s home, Honesty catches sight of the monarch and her entourage when Elizabeth comes outside to practise her archery. When a would-be assassin threatens the Queen’s life, a lightning-reflexed Honesty saves her and is rewarded with a position within the palace, where she soon catches up with Alice, hoping she will show her the ropes.

When Honesty’s flair for storytelling is noticed by the Queen, she suddenly finds herself summoned to her inner circle, making Alice jealous. As Honesty tries to maintain her newfound friendship with Alice, she wonders just how far the other girl will go in her attempts to sabotage Honesty’s sudden popularity. It soon becomes clear that Alice is not all that she seems and Honesty finds herself caught in the middle of a mystery that she is not convinced she wants to solve…

There is a very grey area between what are stories and what are lies and I guess most – if not all – of us have at some point stretched the truth for one reason or another. Here, initially Honesty is cast in the role of storyteller as she runs away from the truth of what she has left behind in Wales but it is soon clear that Alice is not averse to bending the truth either. Where Honesty’s stories are created as the result of self-preservation, it is not immediately clear why Alice is not being entirely truthful with her friend and as a result their fragile new friendship is damaged before it really even gets going – giving the reader cause to wonder about what is likely to happen to them both.

Although Elizabeth herself appears in the book, she does so very briefly allowing the reader to focus on our two protagonists but the story is one which is packed with rich historical details that allow the reader to immerse themselves in the England of 1601 from the dreadful stench of the filthy streets to the fashion for those who could afford it to clean their teeth with sugar.

Aimed at a 9 – 12-year-old audience this would make a great class read to accompany a Tudor history topic and would trigger some great class discussions on truthfulness and equality, amongst other areas which are addressed within the book. My very enormous thanks go to publisher Firefly Press and Net Galley for my virtual advance read ahead of publication on October 6th.

Honesty finds herself in Elizabethan London having fled Wales for reasons she is unwilling to disclose. Overwhelmed by the crowds and the squalor, she bumps into a local girl, preoccupied with her own errands, but is hired alongside her at the palace. Honesty's talent for story telling soon wins her both favour and enemies amongst the ladies in waiting and the servants but her friendship with Alice is a constant. Told alternately by Alice and Honesty, the story develops as a mystery and a thriller, as their reasons for withholding information from each other is gradually revealed...
This is an intriguing and entertaining historical novel which demonstrates through the plight of the main characters the inequalities and lack of power of ordinary women and girls in Tudor times. The first person narration gives immediacy to the moral dilemmas faced by Alice and Honesty and appreciate the importance of friendship and loyalty.

Thank you net galley for providing me with an arc of Honesty and Lies in exchange for a honest review


A sweet short read perfect for a younger audience as well as anyone wanting to get out of a reading slump. The writing is simple to understand and the characters in the book memorable and unique. The plot was interesting and easy to follow along, and there is definitely potential for this to turn into a series.

Ah, that's a delightful little tale of friendship between two girls, who met under seemingly unlikely circumstances. There is a bit of adventure, drama, challenges and struggle. It's sincere, hopeful and beautifully written, very easy to read. Somehow reminded me a bit of M.Twain's Huckleberry Fin and Tom Sawyer.. just in a different setting. I think there is a potential to grow from this story to more!