John Shakespeare, brother of William, intrigues in old London town. A priest about to be executed for treason in Newgate asks Shakespeare to find a girl who was, misguidedly, the victim of exorcism rites. Another man tries to sell Shakespeare information about a Spanish plot, then he vanishes.THE HERETICS is set in a time and city which takes public execution and religious persecution for granted, with the English resisting Papist influence and the Inquisition rampant in Spain. The priest is convinced that both his soul and the girl's will be saved if she finds help. Thomasyn Jade was last seen in the care of the Countess of Kent, but ran away. Shakespeare reports to Queen Elizabeth who decides that Thomasyn Jade should be found. At the same time a plot is being hatched in Seville, while Elizabeth has spent so much on armies and ships that her coffers are empty and privateers such as Drake and Raleigh are expected to bring home gold. These are stirring times, but the tender reader may be upset by some of the scenes. We don't get many looks at Shakespeare's home life and women characters are not all well rounded. I liked the meeting with a Dutch man who had come to live in eastern fenland near Ely, comparing the scrawny English cattle with the large Continental ones. The environment here is well described with flooding covering the causeways between towns - visible by the church steeples. Some heavy horses pull barges, up to their withers in dank water, while men wade on tall stilts with fowling guns or eel traps. By contrast we take in a performance at the Globe Theatre. A turkey is served for a feast, which causes comment that this novelty is the biggest chicken ever seen. Plenty to hold the attention then, in this turbulent time, as well as a mystery drawn to take the investigators the length and breadth of the country. Clements is back to his best with the continuing saga of English Integlligencer, John Shakespeare, in this novel.Clements artfully spins an engaging saga of mystery, murder and treason, borrowed from true events and real people from the twilight of Elizabeth's reign. The Heretics is another great example of how history and fiction can be combined to create a world that is realistic and exciting. The London and England that John Shakespeare and his colleagues occupy is wonderfully vivid, so when Clements also nails the storyline, he creates exciting and entertaining fiction that is difficult to put down. I loved this book.
What do You think about The Heretics (2013)?
I really enjoyed this book.Rory Clements gets better and better.His best book so far.
—hanbeam
Another steady and engaging read in this delightful series from Rory Clements.
—Brittney
Another of the excellent John Shakespeare series
—winesentience
