Genre: Historical
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
In 1605, King James I sat on the thrones of England and Scotland. A group of men, led by Robert Catesby, planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London to kill King James, Queen Anne, their children, and all the lords of England. The plotters were Catholics in a time when, at best, Catholics were fined into poverty, and at worst, they were burned at the stake.
William Cranmore is one of those men. Lark Alleyne, who started his working life at court, has been recruited as a spy and is put under the direction of Cranmore, who is to teach him the sword as well as the craft of spying. During the course of their work, Cranmore, a man who has never loved anyone, falls deeply in love with the sweet natured, overtly loving younger man.
Can William and Lark foil the Gunpowder Plot before the king and his family are murdered?
The Review
In Whitehall, London, in the year 1605, there was a treasonous plot afoot. King James was concerned about the plight of the Catholics and their rebellion against the Protestant religion. Two men are sent to search out those committing treason, and they will never be identified.
Lark Alleyne, at the age of eighteen, serves Sir Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury and Secretary of State to King James. For for years, he has lived in Whitehall.
Lark’s father Christopher was not a loving or sentimental man. Christopher loved his wife Alys, and Lark was named in honor of her. Six sons had already been born to Alys and Christopher, and he really wanted a daughter. Lark’s father blamed him for his mother’s death, which resulted from complications in child birth. At five years old, his father had him doing women’s work, and Lark learned so much. His father never relented, and disapproved of Lark’s sexuality. He was eventually sent to London, in hopes that he would change.
But Lark didn’t change. Instead, he grew up to be a naive and beautiful young man, and very promiscuous. Heading back to his room in Whitehall one day, he is attacked by a common foot soldier. Luckily, he’s rescued by William Cranmore, head of the guardsmen, who trained the men to fight and handle a sword. Cranmore becomes a temptation for Lark.
On that same evening, Sir Cecil visits Lark, who has always been caring and loyal to Sir Cecil. He never speaks of Sir Cecil’s physical appearance or makes fun of him. Sir Cecil has always been concerned about Lark, and informs him that it’s time for him to learn how to protect himself. Sir Cecil has plans for Lark – he needs the young man to keep his eyes and ears open. There are those who would commit treason – Lark must report any information directly to Sir Cecil, and tell no one what he is doing.
Lark runs into Cranmore one evening at Whitehall. The head of the guardsman has come to give lessons to Lark on handling a sword, on the instruction of Lord Salisbury (Cecil). During the lesson, Lark gets angry, not only at Cranmore, but at man who attacked him, and shows his ability with a dagger. It isn’t enough that Cranmore confuses Lark – he’s also been tested by Cranmore and Salisbury. As Lark and Cranmore continue to work with each other, they become spies for King James, and learn about the “Gunpowder Plot.”
Lark is afraid, but is brave enough to infiltrate those planning treason. He will do this on his own, as Cranmore would be too easily recognized. Will Lark be able to foil this act of treason, and survive the outcome?
Alexander has created a spectacular historical tale, melded with fiction, that involves a very important event that took place in 1605 in London – the Gunpowder Plot. There was a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th, a plot to kill King James I by the English Catholics. It was led by Robert Catesby, along with Guy Fawkes and Tom Percy – Earl of Thumberland, Thomas Wintour, Francis Thresham, John and Christopher Wright. Those who were caught were executed. Father Henry Garnet, the principal Jesuit of England, was convicted of high treason, for his participation.
There are many historical names mentioned in this story, reflecting the amount of research Fyn Alexander did to compile this fascinating tale.
I especially enjoyed the part where Lark is approached by Richard Burbage of the Globe Theatre. Burbage gets Lark to perform in many of Shakespeare’s plays. The real Burbage, along with his brother Cuthbert, were actors in drama. Richard was a business associate and friend of William Shakespeare. During this period, men did all the acting, even the female parts, because women were not allowed to act in the theatre.
The heart of the story is about Lark and Cranmore. Lark falls in love with the man, but gets mixed messages that confuse him. Cranmore does love Lark, in his own special way. He also has a life outside of the being the guardsmen.
I love stories that mix historical fact with fiction. I highly recommend The Gunpowder Plot. It’s the first book I’ve read by Fyn Alexander, and I was impressed. It’s an exciting, suspenseful tale of two men who slowly fall in love with each other, and the amount of research that was done to write this interesting novel was impressive. Well done.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
