The Ashes of London (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1)

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England won the final one-day international in Taunton by 69 runs on Tuesday to take the 50-over series 2-1 and draw the series. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot.' The Times, Books of the Year

The Ashes of London- free sampler by Andrew Taylor | Goodreads

July: Third one-day international, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton - England won by 69 runs

The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes' The Times Andrew Taylor has also written a number of novellas with ghostly or other-worldly themes, originally as Kindle Singles. The first three have now been published in print form under the title Fireside Gothic.

The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor | Waterstones

Most of the characters try to think ahead and calculate how a recent bit of information could affect their situation, but of course they miscalculate and you want to yell at them, especially Catherine whose first reaction to anything bad is to run as far and fast as she can. Even if you've read Pepys on the Great Fire you don't get as vivid a portrait as Taylor gives in this novel. The heat, the winds, the burning embers, the almost spontaneous flaming and the fact that it went on for months after the main fire was subdued are all vividly portrayed in this novel, which is apparently the first in a series. The TMS team will again by led by Jonathan Agnew for the men's Ashes, with Isa Guha, Simon Mann, Alison Mitchell, Daniel Norcross and Jim Maxwell also joining as commentators.Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II. The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era ... the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale' Financial Times There will be a new episode of the Test Match Special podcast every day throughout the summer while the Tailenders podcast with England bowler James Anderson and No Balls with England bowler Kate Cross and former England spinner Alex Hartley will also provide their unique take on the action. The Great Fire rages in London. James Marwood, the narrator, who works as an underling reporter for Joseph Williamson, who in turn is in the employ of the Earl of Arlington, is despatched to discover what the feelings on the streets are amongst the populace about the conflagration. James’s father, a printer, was a convicted Fifth Monarchist, who had been imprisoned for participating in Thomas Venner’s 1661 uprising, but is now entering senility. Story Behind The Scent of Death". Upcoming4.me. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013 . Retrieved 18 October 2013.

The Ashes of London - Historical Novel Society

Marwood is the better-drawn; everyman, trying to do right, trying to advance in the world while being unwillingly dragged into murder, plots and political secrets. He relates much of the always believable action in the first person and his gentle, sometimes frustrated, relationship with his dementia-affected father provides a touching counterpoint to the world of envy, self-seeking, debauchery, machinations and brutality in which he finds himself.The story behind The Silent Boy". Upcoming4.me. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014 . Retrieved 6 September 2014. This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.' Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph This was an interesting historical mystery/thriller set during the Restoration Era or more specifically in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. The setting was really good, and so was the description of the region and area. There were a number of times that I wanted to query a character or the author but each time it was immediately followed by Taylor's explanation or justification.

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With Charles I beheaded and Oliver Cromwell in his grave, King Charles II has claimed the throne. Now his reign is threatened by unrepentant republicans, the most radical being the Fifth Monarchists who want a Puritan theocracy with King Jesus as ruler. Trapped in these shenanigans are Catherine “Cat” Lovett, whose father fought against Charles I, and James Marwood, whose father, now pardoned, followed Cromwell. While seeking her father in the aftermath of the fire, Cat lives with her Alderley cousins, who resent and exploit her. Meantime Marwood has been extorted into working for Whitehall by a shadowy figure he knows as Williamson, a man who apparently has significant influence with the king, Privy Council, and Common Council. Williamson demands Marwood find Cat’s father, still a threat. Soon Cat and Marwood find themselves in danger. Taylor's ( The Silent Boy, 2015, etc.) characterizations are distinctive, with Marwood cautious, constantly worried his physically weak and senile father will be returned to prison; and Cat fascinated by architecture, pushing against social barriers to become assistant to Master Hakesby, an artist rendering Christopher Wren’s plans to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral. Taylor is marvelous at replicating a historical world that might otherwise be relegated to dusty history books, especially through his renditions of the era’s arch speech and his approach to class and status. Additionally, when a character remarks after an assault that “it was well known that young women were lascivious creatures,” Taylor again shows his talent for adding depth by weaving in examples of the historical subjugation and oppression of women. It’s worth noting that these fascinating minutiae interlaced into the narrative have no negative effect on focus or pace. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Our Fathers’s Lies” is the third novel in the “Dougal” series and was released in the year 1985. There is some unfinished business that Dougal and his father have that they have to sort out. It has a little to do with Celia Prentisse, who is William’s ex-girlfriend. Her father, a historian, is found drowned and the whole thing is called a suicide. Celia does not buy it for a minute, because his clothes (which he abandoned) were found with a brand of gin he did not drink, and a short volume of Schopenhauer’s essays. That really is not a lot to go off of, but it is enough to send his father (and her godfather) British intelligence officer Major Ted Dougal, who is retired and William off on the case. They find an arsenic poisoning that happened in the 1930s and a court martial that is still classified from World War One. Andrew Taylor (born 14 October 1951) is a British author best known for his crime and historical novels, which include the Lydmouth series, the Roth Trilogy and historical novels such as the number-one best-selling The American Boy and The Ashes of London. His accolades include the Diamond Dagger, Britain's top crime-writing award. In the year 2007, “The Roth Trilogy” was made into a three part drama for television that starred Emilia Fox and Charles Dance. It was given the title “Fallen Angel”.I found the descriptions of London vivid, convincing and authentic with every sense catered for so that I could not have been more impressed by the quality of research and realism in this brilliantly conveyed narrative. The Ashes of London has a filmic quality I thought was simply fabulous.