Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl

Tournament #0.5

by Matthew Reilly

Length: 48 minutes

In this special prequel to Matthew Reilly’s The Tournament, Roger Ascham, the unorthodox tutor of Princess Elizabeth, is charged with tracking down a favourite prostitute of King Henry VIII’s who has gone missing.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Mystery, Historical, Thriller, Audiobook

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2013

About the author

Born in Sydney in 1974, Matthew Reilly was not always a big fan of reading. It was only after he read To Kill A Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies in Year 10 that he realised reading could transport you to another world. Following this revelation, Matthew soon began creating stories of his own and set about writing his first novel, Contest, at the age of 19 while still at university studying law.

Following rejections from all the major publishers, Matthew self-published Contest in 1996, printing 1000 copies. He produced a big-budget-looking novel which he sold into bookshops throughout Sydney, one shop at a time.

In January 1997, a Commissioning Editor for Pan Macmillan Australia walked into Angus & Robertson's Pitt Street Mall store and bought a copy of Contest. The editor tracked Matthew down through his contact details in the front of the book. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items. One recently sold on eBay for $1200!

Matthew Reilly is now the internationally bestselling author of the Scarecrow novels: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves and the novella Hell Island; the Jack West novels: Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, and The Three Secret Cities; and the standalone novels Contest, Temple, Hover Car Racer, The Tournament, Troll Mountain, The Great Zoo of China and The Secret Runners of New York.

His books are published in over 20 languages with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.

Since Seven Ancient Wonders in 2005, Matthew's novels have been the biggest selling new fiction title released in Australia for that year.

Matthew has also written several short stories, including Roger Ascham and the King's Lost Girl, a special free prequel to The Tournament which is available online. Other short stories include Time Tours, The Mine and the hyper-adrenalised romp, Altitude Rush.

He owns and drives a DeLorean DMC-12, the car made famous in the Back to the Future movies. He also has a life-sized Han Solo in carbonite hanging on the wall of his office! When not writing or penning a film script, Matthew can be found on the golf course.

Matthew Reilly is currently living in Los Angeles.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a cool but very short little prequel that features the loveable character of Roger Ascham from Matthew Reilly’s standalone novel, The Tournament. There’s not much plot to write home about but it’s interesting enough and Roger Ascham’s fascinating character easily manages to carry this story to make for an enjoyable read.

[Carole (Carole's Random Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this short story on audible for free several months ago. I decided to listen to it today during my morning walk and was amazed by how much I enjoyed the story. The narration of the story was wonderful and I was completely pulled into the mystery.

[Jason Parent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started off so damn boring - not badly written, just didn't seem like my thing. But after the first chapter, it turned into a nice little murder mystery - Sherlock Holmes meets Kiss the Girls meets The Tudors.

It was quick paced (again after that first chapter, which I must forgive because the story needed some set up). I didn't find the detective's deductive reasoning all that brilliant, nor did I find it too far-fetched.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this short tale. I'm not sure if it is still available for free, but if so, it's worth picking. The narration is fine, too, except in the few instances where the narrator attempts a female voice.

[Silvanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm.....slow start. Not one of my favorites.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

My first Matthew Reilly, if only a brief one! I bought this short story years ago, and it was only after hearing the author on a podcast recently, talking about The Tournament, that I remembered it was up there on my cloud. It was too short to rock my world, but I did enjoy it and will consider taking a look at the full-length novel at some point.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger Ascham was tutor to King Henry VIII’s twelve year old daughter, Bess. On the day he presented himself and Bess to the King’s court, he knew he was in trouble. He knew the King had an issue with him, with something he had done, but when King Henry sought him out after the audience with his people, on his own, Roger had no idea what was in store for him.

King Henry VIII had a favourite prostitute, Isabella, and it seemed she had gone missing. No-one knew where she was, where she went – she just vanished. The King told Ascham to find her – he wouldn’t take no for an answer, even when it was realized there was obviously trouble ahead.

As Ascham set about his task, leaving Bess in the care of Gilbert, who loved to play chess and would teach her a move or two, he wondered if he would see his star pupil again. The danger was intense, the feeling there was a psychopath out there was strong – would he find the vanished prostitute? Would she be alive or dead?

This novella is set seven months prior to the beginning of The Tournament, which I am yet to read. I found the story to be quite good; the mystery was great, the twist at the end surprising, but it seemed (in my opinion) to be lacking something. But it’s a very short story, a very quick read, and I’m glad I read it before getting to The Tournament.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just a short story - and most of the book is taken up with an extract from The Tournament. I like the time period (around the time of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I) and it’s a good teaser because I'm sure I'll read The Tournament down the track!

[Hrishabh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story was quite predictable and very short. MR is usually quite good. This was okay at best.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really a mystery/thriller kind of a reader, but it's always good to expand one's horizons so I gave this novella a go. It was nice, albeit a little predictable. The main problems I had with this book was that it really goes off track with history and it sounds more like the 19th century.

[Peter T · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short prequel to the next book I will read - the tournament. Hard to give it a rating, but interesting enough.

[Tess Murdac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful novella to compliment the tournament 👏

[Deedge · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a fun little crime solving read.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick prequel to Reilly’s full length The Tournament. It’s slight, but it’s good. I like Ascham as a character. I want to read more stories with him.

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although thisis a short novella, Reilly doesn't disappoint. Set just a few months before his novel Tournament, the action is fast and furious.

Reilly could publish his shopping list and it would be a bestseller. 

[Linda Kaban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would long longer books about Roger Ascham, like the first one, "The Tournament." But, short as this is, it was excellent..

[Vivienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short prequel to his historical thriller The Tournament was issued as a Christmas 2013 freebie. The actual story is quite short, about 30 pages, with the balance of the e-short taken up by a preview of Reilly's new historical thriller, The Tournament. Now I tend to be quite strict about historical fiction not taking too many liberties and my trusty timey-wimey detector sounded right at the start as while Roger Ascham was Princess Elizabeth's tutor he didn't take up the position until 1548, two years later. However, by that time Henry VIII was dead and his mission for Roger Ascham in this prequel as well as allowing Elizabeth to accompany Ascham to the Continent in The Tournament is essential.

Despite this I found it an entertaining romp and the taster for The Tournament looks like it will equally be fun and so I will likely get it when it reaches the library shelves in the UK. I was amused by a review in the Sydney Morning Herald that summed it up as "an entertaining, implausible thriller that is based on research yet never lets historical accuracy, or anything else, get in the way of a fast-paced and action-packed story".

I thought Princess Elizabeth being 13 in the prequel and novel sounded very young yet then recalled the portrait below of the young princess painted circa 1546, shows a young self-possessed woman.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a bit grizzly towards the end, I found that I did enjoy this mystery from Matthew Reilly.

Matthew has taken Princess Elizabeth (I) real tutor and woven a tale of mystery that is very good, with for me anyway the likable character of Roger Ascham.

This was a really good mystery with a good set of characters and well plotted and written.

I know Matthew has written The Tournament as the next full length mystery, but I would love to see more Roger Ascham novels and short stories in the future.

If you like the review and would like to read my other reviews on books I have read, visit my blog at www.finalchapterreadersgroup.wordpres...... like, comment and follow.
This was the audio edition that was an Audible UK 'members' freebie.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve seen Matthew Reilly’s book around and recommended them to my hubby, but I’d never actually picked one up for myself until I spotted this short story for free on Audible. I love audiobooks, so snapped this one up straight away, though it has taken me a while to get to it. Once I clicked play, I was transported into the time of King Henry the Eighth and followed a teacher on an adventurous mystery solving journey. I was easily caught up in the story and devoured it all in one go. It was the perfect length to listen to over a lunch break, commute to work, or to hang a load of washing then have a cuppa like I did. I liked the main character, Roger, and enjoyed Matthew’s writing style. The narrator was fantastic, adding to my reading experience.

[Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story prequel to Matthew Reilly's The Tournament. Is a very quick 30+ page story. Not much suspense or mystery but a little action. I guess its main purpose is to introduce us to a few characters (Bess, Roger Ascham, King Henry VIII). An enjoyable read nonetheless. Looking forward to reading The Tournament!

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly short (30-ish pages) prequel to The Tournament. I actually really enjoyed this. It's the same main characters as The Tournament, but from a third person perspective rather than a first person. Roger Ascham is an awesome character, and this prequel fleshed out his investigative skills nicely. Sure, it's about 90% action and no character development whatsoever, and Elizabeth's encounter with her father seems a little odd considering what we learn about her relationship with her father during The Tournament, but whatever. A quick, fun read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story introducing Roger Ascham. He is ordered by the King to find a missing girl. The King's favourite hunter has died in this quest. Roger finds out that a number of young women have gone missing, but no one cares because they are whores. He tracks down the killer and leads him in to a trap.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick novella about the disappearance of Henry VIII's prostitute. Well done, beautifully narrated.

[Ellyn → Allonsythornraxx · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/01/2023
3 ⭐
No idea what's happening or who this Roger guy is, but I'm excited to read something that leans more towards mystery than action from Matthew Reilly.

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[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is prequel to The Tournament, and could (almost) be said to be a novella. Roger Ascham, one of the key protagonists, is the focus of this story as he is tasked with tracking down a favourite prostitute of King Henry VIII’s who has gone missing. The setup is concise and the story moves briskly along, albeit that the deduction is more satisfying that the eventual reveal. Reading it adds to depth of characters in The Tournament without being necessary, and it is a bonus that it is freely available from the author’s website.

[Peter Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books that Matthew Reilly had written the one i had least interest in was The Tornament. For no other reason then having developed an appreciation of Reilly's work, i did not want to see him flounder through a historical era trying to achieve another fast paced story.
After reading the King's Lost Girl, i realsied that he had gone to a lot of effort to not only develop the character of Roger Ascham but also to maintain a strong historical accuracy mixed with his fast paced adventure.
Now i wait expectantly for another Roger Ascham adventure - it can be a pleasure to be wrong.

[Norma · Rating 3 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"A missing girl."
1546, Cambridge, and Roger Ascombe, tutor to 12 years old Elizabeth, had been summoned before Henry VIII and instructed to find a missing prostitute. Nicely narrated by Humphrey Bower, even his slow and pleasant performance was unable to add colour to this rather simplistic tale. A pity as the opening premise sounded good. And not, preumably, for young children who would seem the obvious target with so much "f***ing occurring almost every other word spoken by the King.
But it is short.
Don't bother.

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is a series that seems interesting. Although this is just the prequel to "The Tournament," Queen Elizabeth's tutor is sent on a mission to find a missing prostitute often used by the king. It reads as a murder mystery and hopefully the sequel is as intriguing. There is some language I am not fond of, but it does include a little forensics, mystery, booby traps, and a sinister villain - all good things to make a great story.

[BookishDramas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice prequel to the Tournament.
I am not one for historical episodes so for me the story started off slowly but for the length of the story it packs quite a punch. The storyline is an investigative mystery and the speculations are well nuanced. The twist at the end is not implausible.
Loved the story.

[Kelly Laslett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially read this because it was a Matthew Reilly book and when he hasn’t released anything for a while you take what you can get.
I was unsure if I would enjoy reading this one as it is outside his normal realm of writing but I found that I enjoyed every bit of this book.