Tag: Reading Challenges

Book Review – The Assassin of Verona by Benet Brandreth

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About the Book

Venice, 1585. William Shakespeare is disguised as a steward to the English Ambassador. He and his friends Oldcastle and Hemminges possess a deadly secret: the names of the Catholic spies in England who seek to destroy Queen Elizabeth. Before long the Pope’s agents will begin to close in and fleeing the city will be the players’ only option.

In Verona, Aemelia, the daughter of a Duke, is struggling to conceal her passionate affair with her cousin Valentine. But darker times lie ahead with the arrival of the sinister Father Thornhill, determined to seek out any who don’t conform to the Pope’s ruthless agenda . . .

Events will converge in the forests of Verona as a multitude of plots are hatched and discovered, players fall in and out of love, and disguises are adopted and then discarded. Can Shakespeare and his friends escape with their secrets – and their lives?

Format: Hardcover (384 pages) Publisher: Zaffre
Publication date: 21st September 2017 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

The Assassin of Verona is the second book in the author’s historical thriller series featuring William Shakespeare, now cast as spy as well as playwright. I haven’t read the first book, The Spy of Venice, and I felt I missed out by not knowing what happened in that book, such as how William came to be recruited into the role of spy, how his friendship with Oldcastle and Hemminges came about, and the origins of his relationship with beautiful courtesan, Isabella. The reader is rather plunged straight into the story without much recap of previous events.

The author is clearly an aficionado of Shakespeare and makes liberal use of quotations from his plays throughout the book, not just in the dialogue. The prose is not exactly Shakespearean in style but tending that way. Many of the characters’ names are drawn from Shakespeare’s plays, including Orlando (As You Like It), Prospero (The Tempest), Aemilia (The Comedy of Errors) and Valentine (The Two Gentleman of Verona). Much of the action takes place in a forest, a familiar setting of Shakespeare’s plays, and some of the characters are in disguise, including posing as the opposite sex.

I didn’t find William a particularly likeable character. He’s plunged into melancholy by events in Venice pretty early on and seems to find it difficult to shake it off, leaving his two friends in a bit of a bind. Oldcastle is an engaging character, full of bluster and supremely confident he can play whatever part is needed, leading to some humorous scenes when his bluff is called. Hemminges is the man of action, a skilled tactician and handy in a swordfight. He finds himself drawn to Aemilia, admiring her pluck even if it does land a lot of people in trouble. Although there are villains, including the fanatical Father Thornhill who likes nothing better than torturing information out of people, the plot is for the most part quite lighthearted. That is until the end when it gets much darker and for some it’s definitely not ‘all’s well that ends well’.

The Assassin of Verona is an engaging historical mystery, peppered with Shakespearean allusions, albeit a bit on the slow side.

In three words: Entertaining, witty, lively
Try something similar: Martyr (John Shakespeare #1) by Rory Clements

About the Author

Benet Brandreth is a highly regarded Intellectual Property barrister, rhetoric coach and authority on Shakespeare, working regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Donmar and others on Shakespeare’s use of language. He has also written and performed for radio and the stage – his one-man show, ‘The Brandreth Papers’, was a five-star reviewed sell-out at the Edinburgh Festival and on the London transfer. He is qualified as an instructor in the Filipino Martial Arts and as a stage combat choreographer. He lives in London with his wife and two sons and is exhausted from all his efforts at becoming a Renaissance Man.

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Book Review – The Sea Road West by Sally Rena #NOVNOV25

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About the Book

The road from the Scottish mainland to Kintillo lies across a ridge of craggy and forbidding hills, a natural barrier isolating the peninsular from the rest of the world and making Kintillo a place of both refuge and solitude. But trouble begins when Father Macabe dies, and Father James, a new, young man arrives.

Handsome and full of ideals, Father James is totally unprepared for the spell-binding beauty of the lonely country, and for the irrelevance of his philanthropic fervour to the lives of its inhabitants. For company, there is only a retired doctor, a charming and alcoholic wreck, and the inhabitants of the Hall – the Laird and his two pretty daughters.

Meriel Finlay is one of these daughters – a captivating 19 year old yearning for love and adventure. As mutual desire slowly ripens, can Father James continue to keep focus on his profession when it denies him his basic instincts?

Passions hidden below the surface, maturing in loneliness, erupt in a violent upsurge of love, hatred and jealousy which sweep through Kintillo like a storm…

Format: ebook (176 pages) Publisher: Endeavour Press
Publication date: 30th November 2014 [1975] Genre: Fiction

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My Review

I came across this book when searching on my Kindle for short novels to read for Novellas in November, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books and Rebecca at Bookish Beck. As I started reading it a lot seemed familiar which means I’ve either read something very much like it or I’ve actually read it before. I think it might be the latter.

The blurb tells you pretty much all you need to know about the story but doesn’t give a sense of the simmering emotional and sexual tension that pervades the book.

Father James comes to Kintillo hoping to make a difference to the lives of its residents but finds them frustratingly unreponsive to his efforts. They prefer to live their lives the same way they always have, resisting change even although this is ultimately inevitable. Morag, the rectory housekeeper, was devoted to the late Father Macabe and resents the arrival of Father James finding, initially, petty ways to show it. Charles Finlay, son of the ageing Laird, rarely mixes with the villagers and is emotionally distant from his two daughters – Anne and Meriel. He finds comfort in a monotonous daily routine which, one suspects, is a way of restraining more violent instincts within. ‘Such a rage overwhelmed him that it was almost voluptuous.’

On the other hand, the free-spirited Meriel Finlay yearns for change of some sort. However as she admits, ‘The trouble is I don’t know what I want.’ The arrival of Father James conveniently offers an outlet for that frustration. Meriel is aware of her sexual attractiveness but unmindful of its effect on others and perhaps careless of the consequences of her actions. Father James finds himself unable to resist her youthful energy despite knowing a sexual relationship conflicts with his priestly vows. In pursuing a relationship with Father James, Meriel is the catalyst for events which build to an explosive and rather unexpected climax.

I enjoyed the wonderful descriptions of the Scottish landscape and the way the author evokes life in a small village in which it’s difficult for anything to remain hidden for long. But the ending I wasn’t so sure about. It left me with more questions than answers, although perhaps that was the author’s intention.

The Sea Road West was first published in 1975 and does not appear to be currently available to purchase.

In three words: Atmospheric, intense, dramatic

About the Author

Sally Rena was born in Scotland and lived there until the age of sixteen. She is convent educated and spent two years of further education in France and Italy. She is married with four children.