The Confessions of
Catherine de Medici

The Tudor Secret

Welcome to my official home on the web. Whether I’m recreating the passions of a legendary woman from the Renaissance or delving into the fictional drama of a spy in Tudor England, for me writing historical fiction is an exciting journey into the unknown. 

There is always a secret to uncover behind the portrait, a mystery to explore within the legend, a hidden motivation under the fact. I write historical fiction for the same reason that I read it: because I crave the emotion of the past.

I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them. Thank you for visiting!

To schedule a chat with C.W., please visit his contact page.

Now available in hardcover from Ballantine Books. BUY

C.W.'s gripping new novel follows young Isabella of Castile's dramatic ascent to power, as she transforms from the defiant passionate daughter of an exiled widow into the famed warrior-queen who irrevocably changed the future of Spain and the world.

Coming on July 16, 2013! THE TUDOR CONSPIRACY, Book 2 in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles. See more here.

Hunted by a shadowy foe in Bloody Mary’s court, Brendan Prescott plunges into London’s treacherous underworld to unravel a dark conspiracy that could make Elizabeth queen—or send her to her death in C.W. Gortner's The Tudor Conspiracy, Book 2 in The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles.