A deft imagining of intrigue and skulduggery at a delicate moment in English -- British -- history: the final years of the reign of Elizabeth I, and the fraught and secret machinations behind the transition to the reign of her cousin, James VI (of Scotland), who would be James I of England.
Like all the best novels, this works excellently well on two levels. On the surface this is a historical thriller, about two Elizabethan spies, and their efforts to reveal the truth of the religious loyalties of the prime candidate to succeed their queen. One is committed spy Geoffrey Belloc, long-time agent of Elizabeth's spymasters Walsingham and Burghley, who has good reason to loathe Catholics, and fear the possibility of their ascendancy under James. The other is a classic "fish out of water" and reluctant spy Mahmoud Ezzedine, an exile from the court of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who is persuaded to join Belloc in his dangerous quest to understand James' true heart.
As a simple thriller, this works very well, but its real strength is in undercurrents, which are both timeless and very topical: How do you judge loyalty? In an age of "fake news," how do you recognize the truth? Is it every worth hiding your true nature to succeed? To survive?
Very readable, and very moving in its depiction of Ezzedine, and what he's willing to do to get back to his family.
Like all the best novels, this works excellently well on two levels. On the surface this is a historical thriller, about two Elizabethan spies, and their efforts to reveal the truth of the religious loyalties of the prime candidate to succeed their queen. One is committed spy Geoffrey Belloc, long-time agent of Elizabeth's spymasters Walsingham and Burghley, who has good reason to loathe Catholics, and fear the possibility of their ascendancy under James. The other is a classic "fish out of water" and reluctant spy Mahmoud Ezzedine, an exile from the court of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who is persuaded to join Belloc in his dangerous quest to understand James' true heart.
As a simple thriller, this works very well, but its real strength is in undercurrents, which are both timeless and very topical: How do you judge loyalty? In an age of "fake news," how do you recognize the truth? Is it every worth hiding your true nature to succeed? To survive?
Very readable, and very moving in its depiction of Ezzedine, and what he's willing to do to get back to his family.
