by DK Wilson (Sphere)
The year 1536 was not a good year for Henry VIII – or his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
A serious jousting accident in January, had, according to historical documents, turned “sporty, generous” Henry, 44 at the time, into, “cruel, tyrannical, paranoid” Henry.
As for Anne Boleyn, in May that year she faced the executioner’s block, courageously declaring her innocence (of various accusations), as history records.
On that day, as this Tudor whodunnit would have it, Goldsmith Master Thomas Treviot, suffering a hangover and forced, due to his position in society, to be present at the beheading, manages to vomit over the smart black gown of the man next to him. Not a good start to his week – and it gets worse.
The “core of fact” at the centre of this author’s dark, but rollicking, tale, much of it set in the lively and colourful streets of Tudor London, dwells on a real, unsolved murder of the time, that of prominent London goldsmith and member of the House of Commons, Robert Packington, mentor and close friend of Treviot.
Packington was well liked. A friend and confidant of Sir Thomas Cromwell, he belonged to the so-called “Christian Brothers”. The group was at the forefront of the promotion of the “New Learning” and party to the dangerous smuggling, into England, of the New Testament, translated into English by William Tyndale. For his efforts, Tyndale was burnt at the stake.
If you are a fan of the BBC series The Tudors, you may remember this crime cropping up. Historically, it is said that Packington was the first person in London to be murdered by handgun, or wheel lock as it was then known.
When Treviot, helped by a somewhat motley crew of well-meaning helpers, decides to seek those who instigated the murder of his good friend, plus the mysterious assassin, he finds himself neck-deep in murder, mayhem and dark conspiracies. Many fascinating and often violent events of real history play out in the background.
Cleverly combining historical fact with a “it could have happened like this” plot, the author has woven a tense tale, peppered with a rich tapestry of well-developed characters who people an inventive storyline.
Plaudits for an author who is so richly descriptive, London of Tudor times is almost tangible.