A Net for Small Fishes: ‘The Thelma and Louise of the seventeenth century’ Lawrence Norfolk

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Regardless, the whole got much better in the last 1/3rd but also, for me, barely connected outside of the Frankie and Anne's friendship. Published by Bloomsbury, and Flatiron Books in the USA and available to purchase through these retailers. they make for an unlikely pair of friends, but the love, friendship and hardships they face head on together will leave a long lasting impression on those around them and those who read about their escapades. Reading a historical novel is something I like to do from time to time and I’m glad I read this one. In this world you can be on the brink of ruin but social status means the difference between elevation and destitution, it is a tightrope act in cost and reward.

Anne is bright, witty, and sees nothing wrong in wanting to tweak the circumstances in her life to gain happiness for herself and her family, and Frankie has the nerve to want an annulment, a groundbreaking act for a woman. It’s narrated by Anne which gives an interesting aspect on the events related in this book, the title of which is very apt. While her family has slid down the social ladder, she is determined to use her skills as a dressmaker and friendship with Frances to improve her circumstances. Jago has a great flair for the sensuous image and evokes the heady mix of gaudy glamour and grime that characterises the era with a distinctive, dense poetry. C. Fremantles‘s ‚The Poison Bed‘ not long before this about the exact same event - the Overbury murder - and I loved it.the Court is fractious, full of rivalries and jealousy, and more than one family has fallen when losing the favour of the King. The mysterious beauty of his creations draw others to him, but can they lay hold of that which possesses him?

When these two very different women meet in the strangest of circumstances, a powerful friendship is sparked. I love the historical fiction genre, but it's pretty rare for me to pick up a book set in the 17th century. Anne and Frankie begin to form a strong bond as Anne dresses Frankie in a manner that brings her increasing public attention in the Royal court to the great displeasure of her husband. Five very different lives, linked by a common thread, for all have experienced the true and extraordinary beauty of life, bursting through the veil of daily existence, only to disappear again before it can be fully grasped. These, though, are small gripes compared with the many things there are to love in this scintillating novel that plunges you head-first into a darkly compelling chapter of British history.Overall, a well written and entertaining novel revealing a fascinating world of court, scandal and plot through the eyes of a commoner. At court, one character is “keen to prove himself modern by not taking fright at a woman speaking in public”. I liked the friendship between Lucy and Anne, it was very well written and believable, despite their different stations. Jago makes her a brilliantly engaging narrator … Jago is excellent on clothes … Throughout the novel, surface detail is deftly handled to convey deeper anxieties and shifts in attitude . However, it builds up to an excellent and moving finale and the Den can see this being made into a drama for screen in the future.

It seems that the poet and courtier Thomas Overbury was poisoned while a prisoner in the Tower of London. The book sits well in its time and has the reader feeling at the heart of the Royal Court in the early 17th. Beautifully written, an enticing tale of female friendship and love set in the court of King James I.it’s only in recent months that I’ve started to lean into my unanticipated love for historical fiction. A marriage that gossip claimed never to have been consummated brought much ridicule to the Earl of Essex. Jago is excellent on clothes: the “glittering husks of power” that once belonged to Elizabeth, now waiting for the new queen to step into them; the “gold and silver constructions” that make the power-grabbing Howards seem “larger and, were it not a sin to say it, somewhat divine”. The genuine connection across the class divide was surprising and endearing, openly discussing secrets and desires, which was a risk for that era.