Review: The King's Intelligencer by Elizabeth St John

 I've been busy since the early summer judging the Historical Writers' Association Nonfiction Crown Awards, so it's been a marathon reading session of high quality historical nonfiction.

As I write this review we are in a little lull; having announced the long list a couple of weeks ago we will be meeting this week to decide the short list. I'd like to say that things will get spicy and heated, but they won't - everyone on the panel is too lovely for that! Anyway, as a little palate-cleanser as it were, I've had the chance to grab another historical fiction book that's been sitting on my sadly neglected TBR pile. 

And I can say it's been a privilege to have an advance copy of Elizabeth St John's latest page-turner. I've read all her novels and was particularly thrilled that this one, whilst it can be read as a standalone, references her last book, The Godmother's Secret, which is also an outstanding novel.

Here's the blurb for The King's Intelligencer:

"London, 1674: When children’s bones are unexpectedly unearthed in the Tower of London, England’s most haunting mystery—the fate of the missing princes—is reignited.

Franny Apsley, confidante to Lady Mary Stuart, heir to King Charles’s throne, becomes embroiled in the royal court’s excitement over the discovery of children’s bones. Could they be the missing princes? As a devastating family secret emerges, Franny is recruited by her cousin Nan Wilmot to determine the truth behind the bones. Her investigation, complicated by an attraction to the secretive court artist Nicholas Jameson and the influence of an enigmatic royal spy, reveals a startling plot threatening the throne and England’s stability.

In a glittering and debauched society where love is treacherous and loyalty masked, Franny must navigate a world where a woman’s voice is often silenced and confront the ultimate question: What is she willing to risk for the sake of her country, her happiness, and her family’s safety?"

My Review (without spoilers for either book):

Well, it's certainly true that there are secrets, and if you've read The Godmother's Secret then you will know some of what Franny sets out to discover. But this is not a backwards-looking book, for as always the author roots her story firmly in its time period. What came across strongly for me - aside from the always impeccable research - was how much Franny was tied, not only by her personal loyalty to her family, but to the framework of societal expectations. 

In many ways, this is not a quest that Franny willingly undertakes and we see her navigating a world of strictly observed protocol, being careful not to be seen in the 'wrong' places and being made unhappily aware of arranged marriage, where women have no say in the match, but must help their family by marrying. This applies whether it's to bolster the family's income, or, in the case of Lady Mary, to strengthen political alliances.

Family of course, is all. The modern reader will be, like me, fascinated that these people not only were real, but are also the ancestors of the author. Ancestry matters, and it did to the people in this novel, too. Crucially though, the actions of the ancestors have a bearing on the characters in this book and we see how they are threatened by the concerns of the day: income, religion, status. The glitter of the court can be a facade when you become aware that 'rich' people in fact own very little. Franny's family are in a precarious position and this could be made worse by what she discovers.

And talking of lines to the past, it is interesting to be reminded that people who to us are historical were also interested in history, and that of course division - political and religious - was not swept away by the restoration of Charles II in 1660. The political significance of the bones of the princes is brought to the fore and shows that historical periods are not discrete - history is an unbroken line and wherever along it you happen to live, what happened then matters now.

I suppose the point I'm really trying to make is how recognisable and relatable these characters are. The author of course will have a special relationship with them, given that they really are family, but they come alive so wonderfully on the page. Yes, they are authentically in their own world and period, but their human emotions, dramas and dilemmas seem very real to us, the reader. 

Franny is particularly three-dimensional, neither 'feisty heroine' nor obedient daughter. Yes, she's both those things, but she is also a little flawed, prone to envy, and a lover of mischief. This roundedness makes her a very sympathetic character. So too for Nicholas - we develop the same conflicted feelings for him (perhaps not quite so intense as Franny's) and we see both the good and the bad, meaning we can also sympathise with Franny's confusion. 

Indeed, there are no caricatures here. Even Rochester, the famed libertine, shows both a debauched and a tender side. And there are no real baddies, either. What is brought into sharp focus is how passionate everyone is about their beliefs, their duty, and their hopes for a country which has been through so much in living memory: civil war, plague, fire...

If you want to be thoroughly immersed in the late seventeenth century, and be caught up in an intriguing mystery, then this is definitely the book for you.

The King's Intelligencer will be published on October 15th and is available to pre-order now