Tregian's Ground: The Life and Sometimes Secret Adventures of Francis Tregian, Gentleman and Musician

The significance of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book to our musical canon is well known; the remarkable story of its copyist and compiler, Francis Tregian, less so.

Born into Cornish Catholic nobility and plumb into the choppy waters of the Elizabethan Age, he must rely on his surpassing skill as a musician to survive.

In this Prix des Libraires (Booksellers Prize) winning novel, Anne Cuneo deftly recreates the musician's journey across Renaissance Europe, which sees him befriending Shakespeare, swapping partitions with William Byrd and Monteverdi, and playing in the court of Henri IV of France.

The result is as gripping as it is authentic: an epic, transcontinental choreography in which Europe's monarchs tussle with pretenders to their thrones, and ordinary people steer between allegiances to God, nation, and family.

Originally published in French as Le trajet d'une rivière, Tregian's Ground was awarded the prestigious Prix des Libraires, which celebrates the best novel published in the Francophone world each year. It has sold over one hundred and twenty thousand copies across Europe.

Anne Cuneo was born in Paris, France, to Italian parents, and raised in Switzerland and in England. She is a writer, filmmaker, and journalist, and holds a degree in literature from the University of Lausanne. Her career spans four decades and fifteen novels, as well as dozens of plays and scripts for theater, TV, and radio.