Review: The Pirate's Physician by Amy Maroney

Judging the HWA Crown Nonfiction awards has taken up most of my reading time this summer, not that I'm complaining! It's been a pleasure and a privilege, but now I'm gradually catching up with some other reading.  Unless she has any books that she wrote in her teens/childhood hidden away unpublished in a desk drawer somewhere, I can confidently say that I've read all of Amy Maroney's books and novellas. So of course, when I heard that she had a new novella out, I had to read it! (Even if, because I've been working my way through a whole pile of books, it's taken me a while and I missed the launch.)

The Pirate's Physician is a standalone companion novella to the Sea & Stone Chronicles, and readers familiar with those books will recognise the odd name in this new adventure.

It features Giuliana Rinaldi, niece to Amalia, who lives in Genoa and might be able to help when Giuliana finds herself in a desperate predicament. Much of the story is taken up with Giuliana's quest to travel to Genoa, but fate, and scheming characters, conspire to prevent her.

Lucky, then, that a Basque Pirate is on hand to help out...

That's as much as I'll say about the plot, because it's a novella, not a novel, and you won't want to know too much in advance because you'll enjoy savouring every plot twist and turn, and there are plenty of those.

What I love about Maroney's writing is that, seemingly effortlessly, she picks the reader up and drops them right into the heart of her story. You can see the scenes at the harbour, you can hear the creak of the rigging on the ships, you can smell the food and even feel the streets underneath the characters' shoes. To create this world the author has had to undertake a serious amount of research, but she drops the details in so delicately it's like a master baker has slaved all morning in the kitchens and all you see, and get to enjoy, is the beautiful cake.

Giuliana is no fragile, cowering woman, but neither is she a feisty heroine who sits awkwardly in her time period. She is, first and foremost, a product of her age, and that means that she cannot be a full mistress of her own destiny and in this, Maroney reminds us just how dependent - and vulnerable - women were in this era. Along the way, she is offered various choices, none of which is perfect, and we are reminded that compromise was very much the order of the day for women, much more so than for a lot of men, particularly those men with financial independence.

However, there is a flicker of hope. I do hope that we haven't read the last of Giuliana and her pirate...

If you enjoy well-researched authentic historical fiction, with romance, drama, adventure and danger, then this story will not leave you disappointed. I highly recommend it.

Blurb:

When her world shatters, she dares to trust a pirate. Will she survive what comes next?

The Pirate's Physician is the story of Giuliana Rinaldi, a student at Salerno's famed medical school, whose lifelong dream of becoming a physician crumbles when her uncle and mentor dies suddenly.

Faced with an unwanted marriage to a ruthless merchant, Giuliana enlists the help of a Basque pirate and flees the only home she's ever known for the dangers of the open sea.

Will Giuliana make it to Genoa, where her only remaining relative awaits? Or will this impulsive decision seal her own doom?

Related Posts:

Guest post by Amy Maroney

My review of The Queen's Scribe

Guest post by Amy Maroney

Interview with Amy Maroney

Review: Son of Prophecy by Nathen Amin

 I've been so busy being part of the judging panel for the Historical Writers' Association Crown Nonfiction Award that I've fallen behind with my usual reading, and the review copy of Nathen Amin's Son of Prophecy has been sitting for too long on my shelf. Luckily there's been a pause in the judging as we've now decided on our longlist, and I've been able to get round to reading this wonderful book. 

Yes, this is a book about the rise of Henry Tudor but it begins with his forebear, Ednyved Fychan, the right-hand-man of Llewelyn Fawr (of whom readers of Sharon Penman or Edith Pargeter will be familiar).

What we have here is a well-constructed, impeccably researched book which charts the fates and fortunes of the members of the family which came to be known as the Tudors, and it is a fascinating read. I am familiar with the Welsh names, and the pronunciations thereof, but if you're not, don't worry. Amin has a knack of introducing the characters so deftly that at no point do the names become confusing.

So much has been written about the Tudors and yet this book adds to our understanding and needed to be written. It is a rarity - perhaps unique - in that it focuses on the history of the Welsh, through their battles with King John, Henry III, Edward I and into the period known as the Wars of the Roses. It is refreshing to read about history from the other side of the border, as it were, and yet Amin tells the story with an even hand, never shying away from pointing out where either side behaved badly, or even abominably.

That said, whether it was his intention or not, Jasper Tudor, for me anyway, emerges as a true hero - seemingly almost alone in being able to remain true to his allegiance throughout a period where so many changed their loyalties as often as political expediency dictated.

Amin also remains true to the title of his book: in showing us the history of a frankly beleaguered Wales he makes it clear why it was so important to have faith, a belief that one day the son of prophecy would rise up to reverse Welsh fortunes, even if a few along the way showed promise, only ultimately to fail. 

Learning so much about Henry Tudor's upbringing gives insight into the man he became, whereas so often we only read about him as he emerges victorious from the field at Bosworth. Additionally, by doing nothing more than laying out the bare bones of Margaret Beaufort's story, he elicits our sympathies without overtly directing us. 

Often books which focus on this period of history tend to concentrate on the Yorkist rule, their fallings out with Warwick and each other, and the scramble for the throne when Richard of Gloucester took charge of his young nephews and the crown. It's sometimes as if Henry Tudor then appeared from nowhere, to seize that crown on the field at Bosworth. Amin's book gives us the background to Henry's life, from his birth and his formative years in Wales, and his exile on the Continent until the moment came for him to take what he and his supporters believed was his crown by right. Yet the nuances are there; the very fact that Henry did not initially aim to be king shows how much more there is to this story, and Amin serves us the details which really round out his character. We even learn why he garnered a reputation in later life of being punctilious with his finances. We also see how his mother, Margaret, sought always to do right by her son, further his career, but not necessarily at any expense and she is seen here showing political astuteness and an ability to read the situation realistically.

Just as we should not forget how much of a Welsh story this was, neither did Henry. No, he didn't have buckets of Welsh blood, but he never forgot those in Wales who supported him and the book ends with the details of how Henry rewarded the Welshmen who had championed him, helping him to become that Son of Prophecy.

This is powerful story-telling and a riveting read and deepened my understanding of the period. I highly recommend it.