Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez Books In Order

Publication Order of Chronicles Of Christoval Alvarez Books

Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez is a series of novels written by English author Ann Swinfen. The author began publication of Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez series in 2014 when the first book in the series The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez was published.

The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez

The year is 1586 and England is full of traitors who have the intentions of assassinating the Queen and bring their foreign influence. Meet Christoval, a refugee from Portugal and a Christian who is forced to change her religion from Judaism to escape the Inquest after the Spanish conquer Portugal.
Christoval Alvarez is the disguise of a young girl named Marano. She hides her identity herself as a boy to escape and continues to hide so that she can assist her father as a physician in St. Barts Hospital. However, Alvarez skills as a mathematician catch the notice of Sir Francis Walsingham, and against his will, he is employed as a first code breaker and later he is taken in as an agent.

Meet Mary Queen, a young woman who is under house arrest but continuously holds treasonous talks with a secret agent in France who wants to make a replacement of the Protestant Queen with a Catholic Queen. Fortunately for Walsingham and his team, they discover how and when the communications take place, but the problem is that the messages are coded and also written in a language in which they cannot understand either.

Christoval Alvarez skills and abilities make him the perfect and right person capable of decoding these encrypted messages. His previous experiences of the Spanish invasion of his country and the terror they caused to his people also give him the courage to decipher the words for his superiors. He only blames the Spanish for the person he is now; he was forced to escape from his homeland in Portugal after the Spanish attacked his country and due to this reason, he only wishes destruction befell on them, and to achieve this he will have to help his superiors understand the intercept and decode the encrypted messages.
Christoval agrees on the job even though the job takes him away from the hospital where he has always wanted to serve as a physician.

The first series installment is an interesting read set during the Elizabethan times during a time of machinations around Mary Queen of Scots. The main character in is Christoval Alvarez, a sixteen-year-old Portuguese Jewish exile with excellent gifts for mathematics who is helping her father working at a hospital for the sick. The author has done as a great job in the characterization of this novel which is excellently done. Christoval is a brilliant lead character, excelling in code breaking and languages. She is soon drawn into the world of espionage. By grabbing us by the hand and widely opening our eyes to new experiences around each single corner, the readers feel part of the narrative as it unfolds. A language, a new country, and a new career might be enough for most people to handle- but this is only the beginning for Christoval upon arriving in the United Kingdom. And once under the protection of the Queen advisors, instead of feeling secure, Christoval discovers that they are faced with even greater dangers than before.

The author has done a brilliant job in detailing each single phenomenon in the novel. You will have a glimpse of the Elizabethan times, the living conditions in which various social classes in the society were subjected to, and also the diseases that affected people during this period.

Ann Swinfen is a talented and outstanding author who doesn’t disappoint; she makes use of language and attention to the detail. It is evident that she did extensive research before writing down this brilliant series opener and unlike many other historical crime novels, this novel has a balance between the historical and descriptive details, moving along it steadily paced plot and brilliant characterization. The historical facts are revealed naturally in the course of this story, and there are no episodes of history dumps.

The Enterprise of England

Facing a threat from Spanish and conquest of England- Sir Francis Walsingham’s secret service and agents spreads a network of operative across the entire Europe.

On the other hand, after taking care of the wounded and maimed soldiers returning from war, the young physician and the code-breaker Christoval is sent on two deadly missions to Amsterdam where amongst the friendly Hollanders, treachery, and treason lurks. On her way back home, Christoval ship sailing home played a significant role in the great sea battle in which the inexperienced and outnumbered English navy must confront the most powerful sea force in the entire world.

Christoval continues her daggering, her cloaking and concealing herself from the eyes of the males as she continues to work on her undercover assignments in the Low Countries as the Spanish Armada prepares itself for an assault.The Spanish Monarch believes that the assault will put him on the throne of England resulting in the restoration of Catholicism to the English. The second series installment is just as a good as the debut novel. The story features well-rounded characters both primary and the secondary characters.

The Portuguese Affair

A year later after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England makes retaliation. The military trip to Portugal is set out to destroy the remnants of the Spain’s Atlantic fleet, and subsequently drive the Spanish soldiers out of Portugal and place the claimant Dom Antonio on the throne and also take control over the Azores, but the moment that the English fleet reaches Plymouth, things start taking twisted turn.

On the other hand, Christoval Alvarez is sent out by Walsingham to carry out two critical missions, but in her mind, she has more important and private plan in mind. Could any of Christoval members of the family be still alive? What will become of this disaster ridden expedition? The third book in the series is another intriguing story narrated through the eyes of Christoval Alvarez in meticulous detail of the well planned retaking of Portugal from the hands of Spain during the rule of Elizabeth in the 16th century.

One Response to “Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez”

1. Tony Rosier: 2 years ago

   Fantastic series of books,will it continue ? I hope so !

   Reply