This series by S J Parris has been something of a slow burn for me. Her fictional account of the life of Giordano Bruno puzzled me at first. Many writers choose a real character as the central figure of their fiction; it can work very well indeed. But it is unusual to choose someone as relatively unknown to modern audiences as Bruno, and to choose someone who was famous principally for his esoteric philosophical and religious works is, perhaps, rather brave.
As the series has progressed, I have warmed to it. The Bruno the author creates is a likeable, interesting character. Well aware that his views are dangerous, he carefully feels his way through uncertain times, needing to treat everyone as potential enemies. He is never safe. But he is useful. He has skills and connections that are sought after by influential men, mainly those in the shadows. Of course, to them, he is also dispensable; and he knows it.
In this volume, he finds himself investigating a murder aboard one of the ships being prepared by Sir Francis Drake to launch an attack on Spain. He soon finds himself immersed in the murky world of Elizabethan Plymouth; a dangerous place at the best of times, but with petty rivalries, spies and local jealousies mixed in, he, as an outsider, soon finds himself in peril.
I was certainly drawn into this instalment. Bruno’s character and personality has fleshed out well over the series, and this story has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. The setting is well developed, highlighting the huge differences between the area close to London – the setting for most of the earlier books – and other parts of the country. Plymouth may not be that far from London, but any influence you may have in the capital doesn’t count for very much against powerful local interests.
Whilst I would happily recommend this book – and the series – to historical fiction fans, my puzzlement still niggles at me. Why choose Bruno? Much of the work he is known for finds little space in these volumes, and the author uses the gaps in his known biography to place him in her stories. To me, it would have been far easier to create a wholly fictional character, perhaps based on Bruno, which would have given more freedom. After all, he wasn’t the only such individual wandering around Europe at the time. And in using a real character, the author has trapped herself into Bruno’s inevitable end.
This is a review of the Harper Collins 2014 Kindle edition.
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