BLOG TOUR: Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman

Blurb:

 Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…

Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.

 After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage. 

Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.

Review: 

I received an e-galley of this book from the Coffee Pot Book Club in exchange for an honest review.

I=m a sucker for biographical historical fiction, so I was pleased to receive a review copy of Janet Wertman=s novel, Nothing Proved: Book One of the Regina Series. The novel follows the life of Queen Elizabeth I from childhood to her ascension to the throne at age twenty-five. It was a youth fraught with peril. Although somewhat protected by her royal birth, the fact that she was in line for the succession also made her a target. Given the instability of the kingdom after the death of her father, King Henry VIII, it was never entirely clear that she would live to take the throne.

The political machinations during the rein of her young half-brother left her sometimes central to and sometimes on the fringes of the court. Her older half-sister, Mary, was seen as a danger (to Protestant nobility and to England itself) because of her unwavering loyalty to the Catholic Church and her attachment to Spain, yet she was legally next in line. Elizabeth was burdened by the fact that her mother was Anne Boleyn, and her legitimacy was often questioned, which meant she could be booted from the line of succession if Parliament turned against her. There was no love lost between Mary and Elizabeth, but both knew when to feign sisterly care for one another as a political expedient.

Wertman=s novel is meticulously researched, and she does a wonderful job of presenting the tense atmosphere of the times. Elizabeth learned how to keep a low profile and how to bend rather than break when political winds blew against her. She was able to discern who was truly loyal and who were the opportunists, and how to make use of both.

 It=s not a spoiler to say Elizabeth eventually does inherit the throne. The truly impressive feat of this novel is how it kept me in suspense the whole time. With all the jockeying for power, all the self-serving courtiers, all the ongoing bloody religious strife, I found myself frightened for this future monarch. It was fascinating to watch this young princess navigate her path to the throne.

Highly recommended!

Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/bM8Vrk

BOOK REVIEW: Boy by Nicole Galland

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I’ve been wanting to read one of Nicole Galland’s historical novels for a long time, but never got around to it. So I was pleased to review an e-galley for Boy.

Set in Elizabethan England and intermingling the worlds of the theater, the queen’s court and courtiers, and the scientists of the day, Galland centers the story around two gender-bending protagonists.

Alexander Cooke (Sander) is an apprentice actor at the Globe Playhouse and a city-wide celebrity. Slender, pretty, and coquettish, he stars in the female roles of Shakespeare’s great plays and is admired wherever he goes. Much of that admiration, particularly among the highborn and/or well-to-do, is due to his powerful sex appeal, making him a favorite of both women and men. Sander loves the attention. And the sex.

However, he’s getting older and the term of his apprenticeship is coming to an end. Sander knows he is outgrowing the female leads without growing into male roles. He isn’t interested in taking on a more managerial role. He wants to act. And if he cannot act, he needs a new “career.” He wants to be a courtier with a patron.

Joan Buckler is Sander’s oldest friend. They grew up together and know each other’s deepest secrets. However, while Sander is not particularly bright (except for a phenomenal memory), Joan is exceptionally smart. She wants to be a natural philosopher. Her problem is that she is female, with no hope of studying such things with the masters.

The crux of the novel focuses first on the budding physical attraction between these longtime friends, and then its blossoming into romantic love and strong sexual desire. Sander, in an effort to do something to please Joan, utilizes his acquaintance with Sir Francis Bacon to introduce Joan (who is masquerading as “Jack”) to Bacon’s circle and his ideas of inductive logic.

While Joan is furthering her education, Sander seeks patronage. This is even more important now that he wants to be able to support Joan as his wife. Unfortunately, he is fixed upon joining the circle around the earl of Essex, who was once one of the queen’s favorites but is now very much on the outs.

Galland does a lovely job of bringing young Sander and Joan to life. Sander is a complicated (if shallow) character who is redeemed by his love for his soul mate. Joan is bright, loyal, and brave. The London of the Elizabethan era is described in detail as the two make their way around in it. And the intrigue of Queen Elizabeth’s court is shown through the efforts of rivals for influence as they work to manipulate the queen’s favor.

This all requires a lot of set-up. The story ultimately reaches a satisfying conclusion; however, much of the book is slow as all the pieces must be maneuvered into position. I found my engagement with the story waxed and waned throughout. It’s definitely a worthwhile read for fans of historical fiction and the time of Shakespeare, but for a 350-page book, it read longer. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell, the author of Hamnet, has a new book out. The Marriage Portrait is another gorgeous, lushly written historical novel.

Lucrezia is the fifteen-year-old third daughter (a middle child) of the grand-duke of Florence. She has always been headstrong and a little difficult, so she is not a favored child. She finds solace (and fascination) in art and is able to lose herself in painting.

Unfortunately for Lucrezia, the main value of female children is their potential for marriage alliances. Lucrezia is wed to Alfonso, the duke of Ferrara. While Lucrezia is beautiful (her crowning glory is her ankle-length hair), intelligent, and talented, she is valued only as a breeder. It is an open secret that Alphonso has never fathered any illegitimate children. Yet if she does not provide him with an heir, the blame for the failure will fall upon her.

The story bounces back and forth between Lucrezia’s “current” conflict with her husband in a hideaway fortress and their courtship (bleak) and early marriage (bleaker). During this time, he commissions a marriage portrait of her that is to portray her regally in a gown of his own design. Alphonso is an interesting, frightening man, capable of charm and gentleness but also of secrecy and immense cruelty. Lucrezia is never sure which side of the man she will see. The atmosphere is gothic and claustrophobic. The ending is well foreshadowed; still it is creepy and thrilling to follow Lucrezia through to the end.

BOOK REVIEW: Prize for the Fire by Rilla Askew

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Prize for the Fire by Rilla Askew is a beautifully written historical novel set in mid-sixteenth century England during the tumultuous reign of Henry VIII.

What drives a person to religious fanaticism? To martyrdom? There are extremes of religious posturing that a person may undertake in pursuit of personal gain or glory – but what about those with strongly held beliefs that they will not deny, or even pretend to deny, in the face of torture and even death? It’s hard to believe, in this cynical age, that someone would endure being broken on the rack and then immolation rather than simply mouth the few words that the persecutor wants to hear. Especially when those words are on fine doctrinal points that we now put in the same category as ‘how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” Or in Anne Askew’s case: during Communion, is the bread actually transformed into the body of Christ or is it symbolic?

Anne Askew was the daughter of an English gentleman, a wealthy landowner, who was married at fifteen against her will to Thomas Kyme, another landowner, who was also wealthy but beneath the Askews in station. Kyme had been betrothed to Anne’s older sister, but when the sister died of a fever before the wedding could take place, Anne was given in her stead.

It was a disastrous marriage. Kyme could not understand Anne and, as lord and master of the home, saw no reason to try. Anne was headstrong and disobedient. She was also sunken in grief over her sister. So Kyme viciously abused her. By the laws of the time, this was perfectly allowed (even encouraged) so long as he stopped short of killing her.

The novel does a superb job of showing Anne’s miserable situation. At the same time, it also shows her stubbornness and self-centeredness. She’s quite young at the start of the novel, but it’s hard to say whether she is incapable of grasping the complexity of the political situation and the danger she puts her family in, or if she more willfully disregards everything but her own needs. The reader can sympathize with her and be frustrated by her at the same time. 

Anne finds solace in an English translation of the Bible found among her sister’s belongings. As her life situation grows worse, she immerses herself more and more in the study of her Bible. Anne is undeniably brilliant. (She can read Latin and translate on the fly, as well as stymieing the priests and inquisitors who later try to trip her up.) In time, she finds like-minded Dissenters and, for a short while, she is happy in their company – having escaped from her husband’s clutches but at the expense of leaving her children behind. She sues for divorce, which is unheard of, and lives apart from him. To do this, she is heavily reliant on her brother and kinsmen. She’s also very reliant on her maidservant (who seems to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, because Anne does not treat her well at all.) However, as her adherence to her faith brings disaster to herself and her loved ones, they fall away and she relies solely on the word of God.

These are terrible times. Religious dissent, war, plague, and political instability have the whole country on edge. We think of the plight of Henry VIII’s poor wives, but in truth, it was not just his wives who suffered. There were wholesale political executions and religious persecutions throughout his reign. Today’s favorites were tomorrow’s martyrs.

The novel deftly shows the insecurity of the times. It succeeds in taking us inside the head of a religious fanatic, making her credible, sympathetic, and, in a way, inspiring. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Raphael: Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey

Earlier this year I read and loved Stephanie Storey’s Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo. I’ve been waiting to dive into her newest book, Raphael: Painter in Rome. Again, Storey brings Renaissance Italy alive through its art and artists. 

Raphael is a handsome, exceedingly charming young man from Urbino, whose life’s ambition is to be known as the world’s greatest painter. He wants to achieve nothing less than perfection. (These ambitions were instilled in him by his father, also a painter.) To achieve these ends, Raphael knows he must make his way to Rome and paint for the pope.

The Vatican in particular and Rome in general are hotbeds of political intrigue. Raphael is told time and again that he’s too nice for Rome. The lovely thing about this novel is that Raphael actually is nice. He succeeds because of it, not in spite of it, sometimes accidentally, sometimes from sheer dumb luck, and mostly because of his talent.

The book is told in Raphael’s voice and he is the only narrator. Although his rivalry with Michelangelo is every bit as tense and competitive as was Leonardo’s, in this novel we don’t get to see the world from both points of view. Raphael’s is the one that matters. He’s tired of being a peripheral figure in Michelangelo’s world and this is his chance to tell his side of things.

Raphael’s voice is witty, youthful, clever, a little bit smarmy—he comes across as every bit the courtier he’s known to be. He is inherently honest, a rare trait for a man in Rome, but learns to lie when necessary. He’s ambitious, but doesn’t let ambition ruin him, choosing to do the right thing even when it means thwarting his own aims.

The novel deals with the politics of the times only through the lens of how it affects the art, in particular the competition between Raphael and Michelangelo. The pope, a true patron of the arts for all his other, numerous flaws, decides that by making them competitors, he can wring the best work out of both. The competition makes for an exciting narrative. But it’s Rafael’s personal journey, independent of Michelangelo, that makes this a beautiful novel.

BOOK REVIEW: A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein

 It seems whenever I’ve read anything about Shakespeare, fiction or nonfiction, there has been a tantalizing glimpse of Christopher (Kit) Marlowe somewhere in the background. Marlowe was a contemporary of Shakespeare’s, also a playwright and poet, a witty, aggressively misbehaving genius, who died too young. It’s also pretty well established, though difficult to prove, that he was a spy for Queen Elizabeth.

A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein is a superb newly released historical novel that takes what is known about Kit Marlowe and runs with it. Beginning with his impoverished student days at Cambridge, the novel guides Marlowe (and the reader) through the twists and turns of Elizabethan political intrigue and the Protestant-Catholic struggles. By focusing on Marlowe, the story avoids getting bogged down in the historical complexities, but nevertheless presents a richly detailed picture of the problem as well as a fascinating look at the man.

Kit Marlowe is a complicated protagonist. Admired by most, loved by few, and hated by many, Marlowe had a difficult life made more difficult by his obvious, multifaceted genius. His wit could be cruel. He could be crude. He was a blasphemous atheist. His loyalties were to his friends and to the man he loved, not to any greater cause. But it was the “greater cause” that ruled his life and that ended it, though he would have preferred to live long, love well, and write plays.

The pace of the story builds throughout. Marlowe is a conflicted man who sees that each choice he makes has disturbing consequences, and much of the time he is forced merely to choose the lesser of two evils. Choice may not even be the right word, since he is often coerced along the path by events beyond his control, or by mistakes he should have avoided but could not, being the man that he was.

This life of Marlowe’s making is a stew of moral ambiguity. The reader is confronted with the difficult questions and quandaries the artist/spy faced. Epstein’s marvelous writing and careful plotting twine together Marlowe’s art and his reality. The heart-wrenching ending of the book is a masterful culmination of all Marlowe worked for and all he worked to avoid.

Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo by Stephanie Storey

 I needed a novel for the European Reading Challenge. I also wanted to read something about men for a change, other than historical mystery/thrillers. So I picked Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo by Stephanie Storey.

The novel covers the years 1499 through 1505 and is mainly set in Florence, Italy. Chapters alternate between the viewpoints of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. During this time period, each completes a masterwork. For Leonardo, it is the Mona Lisa. For Michelangelo, it is his David.

The two artists are as different as could be, and the novel plays up their differences and the rivalry between them.

Leonardo is in his fifties and is at the height of his fame. He is charming, well-liked, and is known as a profligate lover and seducer of many of those who commission work from him. However, he’s also a dabbler, often more interested in his scientific and engineering endeavors, particularly his dream of inventing a means for human flight, than he is in his art. As a result, he has left a string of unfinished works in his wake. He’s always looking for that next project rather than completing what he has begun. Moreover, he’s a bit of a jerk. He’s vain and selfish, self-important and condescending.  When he doesn’t get a commission he wants, he sells himself and his ideas for war machines to Florence’s enemies. When he sees a young artist as a potential competitor, he does everything he can to humiliate and thwart him.

Michelangelo is young, uncouth, largely unknown, devout, and passionate only about his art. When he wins the commission to carve a new statue of David from a massive block of damaged marble, the task consumes him. He’ll do whatever is necessary to complete it. He craves the love and respect of his family and has a few close friends, but he is not the gadabout that da Vinci is. He’s able to respect Leonardo’s work even if he hates the man. Michelangelo, un-charming though he may be, comes across as the better man in this novel.

Leonardo is saved, to some extent, by a chance meeting with a merchant’s wife. He is enchanted by her and, after a time, is able to wring a commission from her husband to paint her. She is the model for the Mona Lisa. From her, he learns something about emotional depth that softens his rough edges.

There is a lot going on in Florence besides the workings of these two. The city is threatened by Borgia’s army and by followers of the Medici. In the greater world, popes die and new popes are named. Their policies will affect the people of Florence. The politics of the times influence the city’s patronage of the artists.

The author knows the subject matter well and is able to make the historical events and the rivalry between the two great masters come alive. In addition, she guides the reader step-by-step through the creation of these two masterpieces so that they are almost visible on the page. This is engrossing historical fiction.

BOOK REVIEW: Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell

I told myself no more plague books. But I’ve been hearing so much hype about Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O’Farrell that I had to read it. This book is a beautifully written historical novel based on the family of William Shakespeare. It centers on his rather unearthly wife, Agnes, and their children, the eldest, Susanna, and the twins, Hamnet and Judith. 

The early lives of William and Agnes are difficult, shaped by violence and loss. Their courtship is furtive, not welcomed by either family, and their marriage is finagled by the pair (primarily instigated by Agnes) with a pre-marital pregnancy. They are happy in their marriage but not necessarily in their lives. William is sinking into depression as he envisions the drudgery of following in his father’s footsteps as a glove maker. Agnes takes charge again, finagling a way to see him off to London, where he will make his name.

Unfortunately, while he is gone, the plague comes to Stratford, sickening first Judith and then Hamnet. The Shakespeares have to adapt to the loss of Hamnet, a loss which leads to the near disintegration of the family.

It’s a difficult book to read because the author does such an incredible job of making grief real. The focus is not on the plague’s widening circles of death and the universal fear it causes, as was the case in other novels I’ve read recently. Rather, this is an intimate look at the loss of one person and how it affects those around him. It’s something to think about as the overwhelming death tolls from our own era’s plague seem to become more about statistical losses than about individual lives gone. 

BOOK REVIEW: Loving Luther by Allison Pittman

What a wonderful book I just read! Loving Luther by Allison Pittman was utterly captivating.

I’d seen the book on Netgalley and thought about requesting it because the subject interested me: a fictional biography of Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther’s wife. But I was dissuaded by the cover. (I know that’s not how I should judge a book.) The pretty, rather flirty woman gazing out from the cover made me think the book would be less serious, more of a Romance. And while I certainly read Historical Romance, I admit to being squeamish about reading one featuring Martin Luther as alpha male.

However, at the end of October, with the 500^th anniversary of Luther’s nailing his Theses to the church door in Wittenberg and kicking off the Reformation, bits of Luther’s biography made its way into my consciousness in various venues. The fact that he was an ex-monk who married an ex-nun is a great basis for a historical novel. So I decided to give the book a shot.

I’m so glad! This is a beautiful, thoughtful story that explores the emotional and spiritual journey of this strong, independent-minded woman.

We are introduced to Katharina as a six-year-old child, abandoned at the door of an abbey by a weak-willed and impoverished father. She has a good family name and memories of her dead mother, but nothing else. Nothing unless you count her deep faith, inner strength, and innate intelligence. She is befriended by two slightly older girls who teach her the ropes, along with a bit of mischief and subdued subversion.

Katharina grows to young adulthood under the care of nuns. When she comes of age, despite serious doubts about her calling, she sees no choice but to take the veil. The novel portrays life in a nunnery in compelling, realistic detail–the good and the bad.

Although a devoted Christian, she continues to harbor doubts about God’s plan for her. When one of her friends begins smuggling in the writings of Martin Luther, Katharina’s consciousness awakes. She becomes a leader of a group of discontented, similarly questioning women. And when the chance arises, she leads the escape, orchestrated on the outside by Luther.

Luther understands the dilemma facing women who have fled the convent. They have nothing to their names. They can only hope their families take them back or that they will find husbands quickly. As he has an extensive network of friends from many backgrounds, he is quick to arrange introductions for those who need them. In the novel, at least, these introductions lead to happy marriages. Except for Katharina.

There is mutual admiration and friendship between Luther and Katharina from the moment they meet. But she doesn’t jump from the nunnery into his arms. Luther is significantly older, poor, and dedicated to his work. He’s attracted to her, but tries to set her up with someone more suitable, someone with more to offer.

Historically, we know how this is going to work out. Still, the pleasure in reading this novel comes from the way their relationship plays out. So without giving any more of the plot arc away, I’ll just reiterate what a lovely story it is. Pittman does this remarkable true love story justice. Highly recommended!

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Lady. A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer by Charlene Ball

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. And then, I lost the book! I turned my house upside down looking in all the places I usually stash books, and couldn’t find it anywhere. It was one I really wanted to read, so I bought it. I’m glad I did.

Dark Lady. A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer by Charlene Ball is the story of a woman at the very fringes of Queen Elizabeth’s court who became the first, or one of the first, professional female poets in England.

Emilia’s position was always precarious. The daughter of a court musician, she was an exceptionally skilled musician herself. Her father died when she was seven, and her mother made the difficult choice to send her to be fostered at the home of a countess who had very liberal views on female education. Emilia learned Latin as well as court skills. A beautiful girl, she attracted attention but generally of the unwanted kind, since her rank was too low to interest any young lords in marriage. The early part of the book glides quickly over her early years setting up what is to come.

Eventually, Emilia’s patron remarries and she is cast back upon her family: her mother, dying of consumption, and a host of cousins, particularly the concerned, motherly Lucrezia, who explains to Emilia that she comes from a family of converted Jews, some more converted than others.

Emilia has another supporter as well. The generous-hearted (and significantly older) Lord Hunsdon, Henry Carey, the cousin of the queen, has known her since she was a child. He watched her grow up, continued to treat her kindly after she is essentially abandoned by her other court friends, and sends aid and a well-respected physician to her home to treat her mother. Emilia’s fondness for him grows and she agrees to become his mistress, after seeking counsel from Lucrezia. With his backing, she returns to court where she is accepted by many and shunned by others. The female intelligentsia of the court are particularly welcoming.

As time passes, Hunsdon, who is one of the queen’s top military leaders, must spend significant time away from London. Plus, he is aging. Emilia enjoys a great degree of independence because her status as his mistress is known. She meets William Shakespeare and is attracted to his intelligence, charm, and good looks. His flirtation excites her adventurous spirit. She becomes Shakespeare’s lover as well.

Emilia is a strong-willed, passionate woman, who fights for her right to be taken seriously despite her gender. She makes some bad decisions, but has a forgiving nature and generally manages to smooth troubled waters with graciousness.

Emilia is a bold, fascinating character and this novel does a lovely job imagining her story.

BOOK REVIEW: The Spy of Venice by Benet Brandreth

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

Here is the jacket blurb of The Spy of Venice by Benet Brandreth to show why I was interested in reading this historical novel:


CJ Samson meets Shakespeare in Love - a historical thriller with a swashbuckling twist and a hero like you've never seen him before. When he's caught out by one ill-advised seduction too many, young William Shakespeare flees Stratford to seek his fortune. Cast adrift in London, Will falls in with a band of players - but greater men have their eye on this talented young wordsmith.
England's very survival hangs in the balance, and Will finds himself dispatched to Venice on a crucial embassy. Dazzled by the city's masques - and its beauties - Will little realises the peril in which he finds himself. Catholic assassins would stop at nothing to end his mission on the point of their sharpened knives, and lurking in the shadows is a killer as clever as he is cruel.

As a new convert to the historical thrillers of C.J. Samson, I thought I would enjoy this one. The premise is promising. Unfortunately, the story takes a long time to get going, and even though at 448 pages it isn’t overly long, it reads much longer.

Roughly the first half of the book is taken up setting the stage for the adventure. It establishes young Will Shakespeare as a thoroughly unlikeable character, a man far too full of himself, whose idea of a clever prank to forestall the vengeance of a powerful townsman he has insulted is to seduce that man’s pretty young daughter. Since the girl doesn’t mind, I suppose we are supposed to cheer his lark. But it brings down more trouble on his doting parents and long-suffering wife and children and he’s banished to London. He’s a bit miffed to learn that his family is able to get along happily without him. He joins forces with a troupe of players, making some new enemies along the way, none of whom will actually be important to the plot. This set-up plods along, but I continued reading with the hope that the pace would pick up when Shakespeare and his crew finally connected with the main thread of the story.

There are other forces at play. Already at odds with the Pope, England fears she will soon be at war with Catholic Spain. She needs an ally and turns her face to Venice, a powerful city whose only allegiance is to whoever serves her interests. The Queen’s spymaster is setting out to offer an alliance to Venice. For some reason, he feels the need for an additional spy, someone who is clever but not too clever, so he searches around for a player and chooses Will.

Finally, the story moves on to Venice. It’s a fairly dull trip, necessarily punctuated by the spymaster’s lecturing to Will about current politics, until their company is accosted by that of the villain, an agent of the Pope.

Once the meat of the story begins, the pace picks up, but the complicated plotting of the various people involved is laid out in such detail that there isn’t much mystery or suspense. Things just have to wind their way to the violent conclusion. Since we know William Shakespeare has gone on to better things (and will incorporate names and situations from his Venice adventure into his later plays), there isn’t even much concern how things will end for him. The goals of the main characters are fairly straightforward and credible, but some of the situations are not particularly plausible.

Overall, the story at half the length would have been an enjoyable romp but I was out of patience before the spy ever made it to Venice so I don’t think I was able to appreciate the unfolding of the tale.

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom

I’ve started a few series in the past several months. Some of these were published a while ago so there are a fair number of books already out and I have a lot of catching up to do. Over the weekend, I read the second book in C.J. Sansom’s historical mystery series starring Matthew Shardlake: Dark Fire.

I was very impressed by the first novel, Dissolution, and enjoyed Dark Fire just as much. In it, we return to Tudor England with Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer whose sharp mind has made him one of Thomas Cromwell’s more useful aides. Shardlake was once an ardent reformer, but his faith has been shaken by the misery unleashed by the dissolution of the monasteries and the persecution of religious dissenters.

This novel opens in 1540, three years after the assignment given to Shardlake by Cromwell in Dissolution. Since then, Shardlake has concentrated on the law and on staying out of Cromwell’s way. He no longer wants anything to do with the man who was once the most powerful person in England after the king. Cromwell has been falling from favor ever since finding Anne of Cleves for the king to wed. Vultures are circling. Matthew fears Cromwell, but even more, he fears what will happen to Cromwell’s adherents if Cromwell falls.

He has a couple of cases ongoing. One is against a fellow lawyer whose corruption has grown so great that Matthew is willing to break an unwritten rule that says lawyers don’t expose their fellows. A second case is even more difficult. A young woman, niece of an old friend of Matthew’s, has been charged with murdering her cousin by pushing him into a well. The uncle (who is not the boy’s father) cannot believe the girl did it. The most perplexing problem is that the girl, taken into custody and thrown in jail, refuses to speak. That stance will end with her being tortured to death. Matthew also believes her innocent, but has very little time to prove it.

These things pale in comparison to what comes next. Cromwell, who is growing desperate to remain in the king’s good graces, has learned about a secret weapon discovered in one of the monasteries that is being dismantled. The weapon is Greek Fire, or Dark Fire, an old Byzantine incendiary device, the secret of which is long lost. This fire can burn complete ships within moments. It can burn in water. King Henry, who has been collecting powerful enemies such as France and Spain, would love to have this weapon. The men who discovered it have been able to duplicate the formula and demonstrate its power to Cromwell, and they are willing to hand it over for a fee. Cromwell has promised it to Henry, but the men who have it are too slow to complete the deal, and Cromwell fears some sort of double-cross. He sends Matthew to get it, providing him with some muscle for back-up, a coarse young ruffian named Barak. When Matthew and Barak reach the home of the men with the formula, they find them murdered.

The race is on. Matthew must find the murderers, the formula, and the person high up in the government who hired the murderers. He must also save the young girl from execution by solving the mystery of who really killed the boy. And he has to adapt to this new assistant, Barak, who is ill-bred and yet, oddly companionable. Matthew must also struggle with his conscience–does he really want to be responsible for loosing this weapon upon the world?

Like Dissolution, Dark Fire is a grim book, showing the cruelty and grit of Tudor England. It’s densely written, with numerous subplots that intersect over and over, so that you have to pay attention or risk missing something important. The period detail is exquisite. The characters are richly developed. It’s a marvelous book. You don’t absolutely have to read Dissolution first, though I’d recommend doing so. This is a series, and an author, that I’ll be sticking with for a long time.

BOOK REVIEW: Dissolution. A Novel of Tudor England by C.J. Sansom

I’m starting off the new year with a historical novel! Also, it was a library book so I’m kicking off two challenges with one book.

I’ve seen many novels authored by C.J. Sansom over the years, but had yet to read one. Since I’ve been reading more historical mysteries/thrillers recently, I decided it was time to give this author a try. I started with Dissolution. A Novel of Tudor England.

This is a dark book that plunges the reader into a world torn apart by the machinations of King Henry VIII and his able henchman, Lord Cromwell. Henry needs money and property to bind men to him, and Cromwell needs to consolidate his position of power, no matter the means. Although ostensibly a reformer (anti-papist, anti-Catholic), any ideals Cromwell may once have possessed have been stripped from him in the pursuit of his goals.

The hunchbacked lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, is one of Cromwell’s men. Shardlake is an avid reformer, with reasons of his own for turning against the Church. However, Shardlake is sincere in his zeal for reform. He understands that the country must go through a difficult time, but he believes a more ideal society will emerge at the end of it all. He believes the king and Cromwell will be just and fair, eventually, and that the common people will be better off. He believes this despite all evidence to the contrary.

Shardlake is sent to the monastery at Scarnsea, a once powerful house that has been diminished by the recent travails and by reports of corruption and sexual misconduct. Cromwell wants the abbey dissolved, but he wants the monks to voluntarily agree to this. He previously sent a commissioner named Singleton to pressure the monks, but word came from Singleton’s assistant that the commissioner was foully murdered. Shardlake is sent in to discover the murderer, clean up the mess, and get the abbey to fold.

Shardlake reluctantly sets off for Scarnsea, his handsome young ward Mark in tow. Although indebted to Shardlake, and generally deferential, Mark has a mind of his own. He sees things for what they are and is not as invested in reform as Shardlake is.

The abbey is a mess. The longer they stay, the more complex the riddle. Too many of the monks have reason to wish Singleton dead, and now Shardlake, too. But there is no proof of anything. And then, the murders multiply. It’s a complicated case and Cromwell is not a patient man.

Dissolution provides a satisfying murder mystery, but there is more to the story than the murder plot. Shardlake is a flawed but sympathetic character, who is forced to examine his own motives and that of the movement he so strongly believes in as he comes face to face with the horrible consequences of Cromwell’s reform. Solving the murder is the least of Shardlake’s problems.

This was book one of this series, and I’m sure I’ll be back for more.

(If you like this, I’d also recommend the wonderful book, Love’s Alchemy by Bryan Crockett.)

BOOK REVIEW: The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner

I spent last weekend at the Historical Novel Society’s North American Conference in Denver. I think there were over 400 people there! For anyone who loves historical fiction, I can’t recommend this society or this conference highly enough.

I didn’t come away with the enormous book haul that I usually do because I’m so far behind in my TBR pile. Still, I couldn’t resist adding a couple new ones to the pile.

One new addition that I started on the plane ride home was The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner. After enjoying Mademoiselle Chanel so much, I knew I’d have to delve into his earlier novels that deal with characters from medieval/Renaissance time periods. This novel did not disappoint.

Catherine is the last of the famous/infamous of the Medici line. Brought up to redeem their fallen fortunes, she is wed to the son of the king of France–the second son, but the first son is sickly and so...

Catherine does become dauphine. However, she has obstacles to overcome. Her husband is enamored of his longstanding mistress, Diane de Poitiers. And he is a surrounded by a cadre of friends/advisors who look upon her as an Italian of no account.

Through patience, persistence, and with the help of second sight and her own advisor, Nostradamus, she is able to slowly win over her husband’s acceptance and build a life as his wife and consort. The necessary children follow and become the center of her world.

Catherine is determined to build a strong legacy in France for her sons. Unfortunately, France is in the midst of a religious upheaval with Catholics and Huguenots at each other’s throats. Moreover, all of Europe is engulfed in the same conflict, hampering Catherine’s attempts to build political alliances with Spain and England. And, if she might have a chance to find love herself, religion and politics interfere.

The novel provides a wonderful blend of history and exploration into the psyche of a complex, fascinating woman. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read!

ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran

I accomplished one thing this week, I finished another book from my TBR pile challenge. I don’t remember when I acquired The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran, but it has been on my shelf for a few years. The lady of the story is Ann More. The poet is John Donne. Although it’s really the lady’s story, told in first person from her POV, it’s the poet who caught my attention and made me buy the book.

I like to think that I like Donne, but in fact, we read a couple of his poems in a survey course in high school and I liked those poems. Even more, I thought the snippet of Donne’s accompanying biography made him interesting. So when I saw a novel that fictionalized the love story that changed his life, I wanted to read that novel.

I wanted to read it, but not all that urgently. The book sat on my shelf. I’d consider it every once in a while, but there was always something I wanted to read more. I finally put it on my challenge list to give it some priority.

In all honesty, the first couple of chapters didn’t particularly captivate me, and if it weren’t for the TBR-pile challenge, I might have been tempted to give it up and turn to something else. Ann’s voice was a bit overly romantic for my taste and the story seemed like just another tale of lovers kept apart by families and societal conventions. But once I got farther in to the story, I grew used to Ann’s voice and wanted to see how she and Donne managed to find each other.

Ann More is one of four daughters of Sir George More, a gentleman of Queen Elizabeth’s court who has high ambitions for himself and his family. His daughters must serve the family by marrying well. He expects complete obedience from them. However, he has left them to be brought up by his own parents, and Ann has spent a good deal of time in her grandfather’s library. She is extremely well educated; she can read Latin and Greek. She’s also much too outspoken for a well-bred girl of her time. Her father despairs of her; nevertheless, he has found a man willing, in fact eager, to marry her. Mr. Manners is handsome and will one day be wealthy, but in the meantime his father controls the purse-strings and the older Mr. Manners will not agree to the betrothal until dowry conditions are ironed out.

With negotiations in flux, Ann is sent to London to live with her aunt. Her uncle is Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and it is expected that Ann will find a place at court serving the queen. But while at her aunt’s, Ann meets her uncle’s secretary, John Donne.

Donne has a horrible reputation as a womanizer and a writer of licentious verse. Ann sees the bad side and some surprising good sides of the poet during the course of her stay. She falls in love despite her better judgment. Donne falls in love as well.

This is not a match that Ann’s father would ever approve of. Donne is not a gentleman. His reputation is scandalous. And the fact that the two of them have been living in the same house means that Ann’s reputation would also be ruined if any hint of an attachment got out.

The obstacles to their ultimate happiness are plentiful and would seem insurmountable. But Ann is stubborn and courageous. Donne is determined and, despite accusations leveled against him, he is no fortune hunter. He truly loves Ann. He’s also an enormously talented poet.

In the end, I enjoyed this book and its interpretation of the love story and the struggles these two went through. Haran did a good job placing the story in its historical context, but the focus was very squarely on Ann. I’m not sure, though, that I ever really felt emotionally caught up in the tale. I found myself wanting, curiously, to hear the story from the poet’s POV rather than the lady’s.

This is my ninth book for the TBR pile challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader and the twenty-fourth for the Historical Fiction challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.

ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

I should have put Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel on my 2013 TBR pile challenge list–then I’d have one book checked off! Wolf Hall has been on my TBR list since it came out and on my bookshelf since 2010. My husband, who rarely reads fiction, was intrigued by all he kept hearing about it and actually read it before I did. He wrote a guest post for me back in January 2011. At that time, I imagined I’d get to it soon. I don’t know why, but the book kept dropping down my priority list.

And then, my historical fiction/history book club chose it for our next meeting. Finally! A deadline! I read the book.

As everyone knows, Wolf Hall is another Tudor book, but it’s not just another Tudor book. This one has literary cred. Not only did it win the Man Booker Prize in 2009, but the sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, just won another.

Hilary Mantel tells us the story of Henry VIII’s obsession with Anne Boleyn, but he tells it from the perspective of the man who is to become the second most powerful man in the kingdom: Thomas Cromwell.

The son of a n’er-do-well blacksmith, Thomas Cromwell leaves home at a young age to make his way in the world, and make it he does. He enters the service of Cardinal Wolsey, serving him faithfully, even when Wolsey’s break with the king (and Anne) means his ruin. Wolsey is ruined, but Cromwell lands on his feet and transfers his loyalty to the king (and to Anne.)

Cromwell is a man you want working on your side. Not only is he loyal, but he’s hardworking and clearly the most brilliant man in the kingdom. Whatever needs doing, he’ll get it done–even something as impossible as ending King Henry’s marriage to Queen Katherine to pave the way for the king’s marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Wolf Hall is a marvelously detailed work of historical fiction. Mantel teases out the political, religious, economic, and interpersonal period details so that you end up with a very broad (if one-sided) view of Henry’s court from 1500 to 1535. Cromwell is a fascinating character to choose as the protagonist (despite or because of the awkward third person narrative voice) because he had a finger in every pot. Cromwell can certainly inform the reader what is going on in England. Moreover, the moral ambiguity of his character adds a great deal of depth to the read. I can admire his many skills, but what, exactly, are his goals? Is it mere ambition driving him? Desire for vengeance? Wealth? Is it only the desire to serve his master–to prove himself? Is it that he craves the reward of having his talent recognized by those who want to believe themselves "above" him? He can be kind and introspective in one passage and in the next, ruthless and fatalistic.

　

Wolf Hall is, of course, a worthwhile read for historical fiction fans and for anyone who would like to know more about the Tudors. But I can’t honestly say that it was an easy read, or that I was engrossed. The novel had slipped down my priority list in part because of its reputation for being a "doorstop." I have the hardcover and it looks like a time-sink. In fact, it’s 532 pages, and the print is a reasonable font size, not tiny. So it isn’t a daunting book when you actually open it up and look at it. But, for me, it read like a much longer book. Mantel uses a very carefully crafted style that means you’ll have to concentrate while you’re reading. I often had to read passages more than once to figure out who was speaking or what character was being discussed. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to make your readers slow down and pay attention to what you’re saying. There’s a lot of sly humor sprinkled through the book that I might have missed if I were reading along at my usual pace. But, Wolf Hall was the longest 500 page book that I’ve enjoyed that I’ve ever read.

The historical fiction challenge 2013 is hosted by Historical Tapestry. Join in!