This sequel to Blood's Game did not disappoint.
The year is 1685 and James II, cousin to King Louis XIV of France, has just ascended to the throne of England.
Holcroft Blood has returned from France and at the beginning of this book, and is fighting at the Battle of Sedgemoor as a Lieutenant in the Artillery. The battle described in the first few chapters was rather too detailed and lengthy for my liking but necessary in order to set the scene for the rest of the book.
Holcroft is a sympathetic character, despite his autistic tendencies where numbers and codes are concerned. He has to deal with Narrey, a French spy, the Irish leaders of the London slums and his corrupt fellow officers in the Army in Blood's Game.
In this book, Angus Donald has not only entertained but also educated me about English and European history at the end of the seventeenth century. This story has consolidated random facts which I already held about the sycophancy of the French and English Courts (thanks to A Level Moliere) and the characters of John and Sarah Churchill (thanks to a recent tour of Blenheim Palace).
Looking forward to the next in the series which will be about Blood in Ireland.
The year is 1685 and James II, cousin to King Louis XIV of France, has just ascended to the throne of England.
Holcroft Blood has returned from France and at the beginning of this book, and is fighting at the Battle of Sedgemoor as a Lieutenant in the Artillery. The battle described in the first few chapters was rather too detailed and lengthy for my liking but necessary in order to set the scene for the rest of the book.
Holcroft is a sympathetic character, despite his autistic tendencies where numbers and codes are concerned. He has to deal with Narrey, a French spy, the Irish leaders of the London slums and his corrupt fellow officers in the Army in Blood's Game.
In this book, Angus Donald has not only entertained but also educated me about English and European history at the end of the seventeenth century. This story has consolidated random facts which I already held about the sycophancy of the French and English Courts (thanks to A Level Moliere) and the characters of John and Sarah Churchill (thanks to a recent tour of Blenheim Palace).
Looking forward to the next in the series which will be about Blood in Ireland.