Revenger (John Shakespeare #2) by Rory Clements

urlThe second book in the John Shakespeare series, Revenger, is a terrific and taut addition to what’s fast becoming one of my favourite Elizabethan series.

While the first book was set in 1587, this one moves ahead five years in time to 1592. Sir Francis Walsingham has been dead two years, the Spanish Armada defeated in 1588 and the Earl of Leicester, the queen’s favourite, dead four years. Two groups of people now contest the reigns of power, headed by two men who loathe each other: the Earl of Essex on one side and Robert Cecil on the other. These men are ones that John Shakespeare, retired from spying and now a schoolmaster, hopes never to have to deal with again – or so he claims.

Summoned by Cecil to not only solve the mystery of a young woman from a missing colony in the New World who has suddenly appeared on English shores, as well as find papers the Earl of Essex has upon his person and intends to use to bribe the queen, and solve the death of two young lovers at a wedding, John, along with the loyal and able Boltfoot Cooper, is dragged back into intelligencing.

Forced to confront old enemies and make some new deadly ones, John is nothing if not persistent.

In the meantime, his marriage to Catholic Catherine is falling apart as he struggles with her Papist tendencies and the danger it poses for not just his beloved wife, but their whole family. How can he protect them when England needs him too?

And, watching and waiting in the wings to pounce, is the psychopathic Richard Topcliffe who would like nothing better than to slowly and tortuously kill both John and his beautiful wife.

But when John uncovers the extent of the plot that’s brewing and understands the players involved, he realises the queen is facing the biggest threat to her safety yet. Only, exactly who poses the biggest threat isn’t yet clear for there are those claiming to be working for her that seem to have their own interests at heart, interests that if curtailed pose great danger to not just the realm, but John and his family.

Once more, Clements captures the era authentically and with a storyteller’s flair. The plot is fast-paced, the writing wonderful and the characters believable. Sometimes compared to C.J. Sansom (my absolute favourite Tudor historical fiction writer – his books are brilliant) and the Shardlake series, I’m not convinced the unfavourable comparisons are fair or accurate. For a start, the Shardlake books are set during Henry’s reign, Shardlake is a lawyer and the entire tone and pace is very different to what Clement offers.

I enjoy both series, which though set a few decades apart, reflect the eras they explore with accuracy and beauty, demonstrating that from one generation to the next there were huge ideological and social changes affecting and defining England and its people.

I think both writers do their chosen material great justice and bring so much pleasure to readers.

Again, I finished Revenger and moved straight on to the next in the series, Prince. A terrific read.

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Martyr (John Shakespeare #1) by Rory Clements

imgresA fabulous, well-paced historical crime book set during the latter years of Elizabeth’s reign (it opens in 1587), a time when conspiracies abounded, suspicions towards Catholics and fears for Elizabeth’s life were rife in a country still trying to lay firm Protestant foundations. This was an era when paranoia was alive and well (and often with good reason) and Mister Secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham and his spies or intelligencers played a significant role in shoring up the safety of the land and its monarch.

 

Enter John Shakespeare, brother to William and a clever, generous and handsome bloke to boot, who is recruited into Walsingham’s network. Between the brutal murder of one of the queen’s cousins in a burnt out house on London Bridge and a plot to assassinate Sir Francis Drake, John has his work cut out. Alongside all this, King Philip and his armada threatens, Mary Stuart is poised for execution, while Jesuit priests walk the streets, harvesting English souls, evading capture by hiding in the houses of Catholic sympathisers.

 

Tasked with discovering Drake’s would-be assassin, the killer of the queen’s cousin and the recusants hiding the Jesuits, Shakespeare is forced to confront his own beliefs, his heart’s desire and the fears and realities of both Protestants and Catholics alike.

 

Watching his every move but always seeming to be one step ahead is the awful character of Richard Topcliffe who, in real life, was known to be a blood-thirsty sociopath with a genuine love for torture. His name alone was enough to cast a long and horrifying shadow – and if you read books on the torture of the time and what this man did, it still will…

 

Topcliffe knows John has secrets, secrets that could undermine his position, family and his life. But when the assassin and Topcliffe start to threaten those John has grown to love, the stakes become even higher.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed what at times is a very, very gory book that doesn’t hold back from the shocking realities of Elizabethan life for the men and poor women who were held in thrall by violent, powerful people. The constant pressure brought to bear on Catholics and the religious schism that existed at the time is painful to read, but also reflects what was again a reality for many folk.

 

In some reviews I’ve read, readers’ criticise Clement, the author, for giving his hero what they term “modern religious sensibilities”, meaning, I think, a tolerance for both sides of the religious divide. The historical facts record that just like in any period, while there were fundamentalists and those who truly believed their soul was at stake if they adhered to a different set of religious principles, there were also those very tolerant and even ambivalent about specific religious practices, even if they never doubted God. This period was not as black and white as many other writers of the era make out, so in that regard, I think Clement has done something very original and interesting with John Shakespeare and the other characters who populate this book. Certainly, his evocation of the era is outstanding and his use of language rich and fruity.

 

I really enjoyed this book and upon finishing it, immediately commenced the next in the series.

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