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The Heretics (2013)

by Rory Clements(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1848544332 (ISBN13: 9781848544338)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

John Murray Publishers Ltd

series

John Shakespeare

review 1: Just finished this 5th book in the John Shakespeare sagas and it did not disappoint. I really enjoy this series about the fictional brother of Will Shakespeare. Rory Clements really does his historical research homework. I recommend this series to anyone interested in a good mystery as well as a richly detailed look at Elizabethan England. Starting the next one, The Queen's Man, in about 15 minutes.
review 2: I'm pretty sure I've read an earlier book in this series, but I'm not sure which one. The whole of Elizabeth's reign seems to have been filled with plots of one sort or another and I'm not sure how many of them were as serious as they were made out because accusing someone of treason was a good way to remove a person from circulation if not killing them... more outright. The characters are very clear and distinct - the torturer Topcliffe who is a prime example of someone who enjoys giving pain to "them", Cecil, who is always up to his eyes in paperwork and John Shakespeare himself, who is quick to pick up hints but sometimes not quite quick enough. It was interesting to read about the priests held in Wisbeck Castle and how they not only were harangued by puritans of the area but fought among themselves as well. The Jesuits are not always popular among other catholics. There are so many different divisions among both sides of the Christian divide that it is a wonder how people ever knew who they were talking to. Probably just as well to ban religion as a topic of conversation.The suggestion of draining the fens is a bit of a cheat since they did just that later on, but having Shakespeare travel through those drowned areas certainly gives a clear sense of the risks of travel in those days, not least from those who are prepared to provide services to travelers.I feel that Mr. Clements is sometimes a little free and loose with terminology, though, since I can't imagine Mr. Secretary Cecil addressing Shakespeare and other clerks as "gentlemen", especially not those other hirelings. I can't imagine anyone pushing a request onto Queen Elizabeth, either, especially when she was in a bad mood. I think she would have been much more violent than Clements portrays her. Still, it was a very good read. less

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