Blood’s Revolution
This is an enjoyable and atmospheric story set in the years towards the end of the 17th Century and is a second outing for Donald’s excellent Holcroft Blood. This Century is famous for so many things and it clear that Donald knows his source material as the tale is littered with real historical characters from the time including King James II, Jack Churchill and the female spy Aphra Behn.
I have enjoyed several books over the last few years about the 17th Century including those by C S Quinn (featuring Charile Tuesday), Michael Arnold (featuring Captain Stryker), Andrew Taylor (featuring James Marwood), and Richard Woodman’s brilliant trilogy Sword of State (featuring the real-life George Monck). Holcroft Blood is in fine company with these 17th protagonists.
The story conjurs up the conflicted state of Britain with religion taking center stage. James II is a Catholic monarch in a country that only the previous century had split from Catholic Church under Henry VIII. A sizeable number of people are not happy about this position and Donald paints the picture how discontent lead to the ‘Glorious Revolution’ in 1685. It could be argued that the non-Catholics were intolerant of the suggested changes James II wished to make but the book indicates that it is much more complicated than that.
Holcroft Blood is an interesting character and through his eyes we witness a variety of true historical events including the battle of Sedgemoor, the Execution of the Duke of Monmouth and what life in the Tower of London was like. There is also a nice protagonist for Blood in the form of Narrey, a French spy. There are also so other unsavory characters who want Blood dead.
The book is a fine read and includes violence, death, politics, religious differences and espionage. At the end of the book matters appear to have come full circle and is a prime illustration of the fact that there will always be change and people’s views are not always set in stone.
This is an enjoyable and atmospheric story set in the years towards the end of the 17th Century and is a second outing for Donald’s excellent Holcroft Blood. This Century is famous for so many things and it clear that Donald knows his source material as the tale is littered with real historical characters from the time including King James II, Jack Churchill and the female spy Aphra Behn.
I have enjoyed several books over the last few years about the 17th Century including those by C S Quinn (featuring Charile Tuesday), Michael Arnold (featuring Captain Stryker), Andrew Taylor (featuring James Marwood), and Richard Woodman’s brilliant trilogy Sword of State (featuring the real-life George Monck). Holcroft Blood is in fine company with these 17th protagonists.
The story conjurs up the conflicted state of Britain with religion taking center stage. James II is a Catholic monarch in a country that only the previous century had split from Catholic Church under Henry VIII. A sizeable number of people are not happy about this position and Donald paints the picture how discontent lead to the ‘Glorious Revolution’ in 1685. It could be argued that the non-Catholics were intolerant of the suggested changes James II wished to make but the book indicates that it is much more complicated than that.
Holcroft Blood is an interesting character and through his eyes we witness a variety of true historical events including the battle of Sedgemoor, the Execution of the Duke of Monmouth and what life in the Tower of London was like. There is also a nice protagonist for Blood in the form of Narrey, a French spy. There are also so other unsavory characters who want Blood dead.
The book is a fine read and includes violence, death, politics, religious differences and espionage. At the end of the book matters appear to have come full circle and is a prime illustration of the fact that there will always be change and people’s views are not always set in stone.