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The Queen's Man by Rory Clements (view source)
Revision as of 19:37, 29 August 2020
, 19:37, 29 August 2020no edit summary
Elizabethan England - a murky, dirty world full of religious strife and violent, short lives. Queen Elizabeth sits on the throne, but her seat is by no means safe - her first cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, is locked up in Sheffield Castle. Unable to leave, but by no means unable to plot and scheme with her supporters, Mary wishes to reclaim what she believes is rightfully hers - the throne. But even she cannot be prepared for the dark twists and new plots that arise.
John Shakespeare - a young barrister who has been taken on as a spy by Queen Elizabeth's advisor Francis Walsingham, is sent to investigate the goings -on at the castle, and soon finds himself thrown into a plot that is far bigger than either Mary or Elizabeth, and makes John question everything he holds close - including his own brother, William.
I've always been very interested in the Elizabethan period, and setting a spy/detective novel in that period is a fantastic idea, especially given that Sir Francis Walsingham is often referred to as the First Spymaster. Rory Clements has written five novels in this vein before, all featuring John Shakespeare, but this is the first that has gone back to the beginning - showing how he came to work for Walsingham, and of the events that occured occurred on his first mission.
Shakespeare is a very likable likeable character - intelligent, clever and witty, he's great company to spend time with. In addition, I particularly enjoyed seeing what his brother William was up to at the time - seeing William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway courting is great fun.
Clements writes a vivid Elizabethan England - the dirt, filth and danger feel incredibly real, and it's incredible to see just how little life was regarded by some. One vile character who really stands out is Richard Topcliffe - the moment where Shakespeare finds himself seated next to the man at dinner is wonderfully written, and Topcliffe is by all accounts as awful a person in life as he was in the novel.