The Ashes of London (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Band 1)
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Description
London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul’s is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is Richard Marwood, son of a disgraced printer, and reluctant government informer.
In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul’s, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man’s body has been mutilated and his thumbs have been tied behind his back – the sign of a Regicide, one of those who signed Charles I’s death warrant.
Under orders from the government, Marwood is tasked with hunting down the killer across the devastated city. But at a time of dangerous internal dissent and the threat of foreign invasion, Marwood finds his investigation leads him into treacherous waters – and across the path of a determined, beautiful and vengeful young woman.
Book Information
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Thank you firstly to Killer Reads for giving me the opportunity to read this book and being able to review it also. I so enjoyed this. I hadn't actually read anything of Andrew Taylors before now so I wasn't too sure on what I was going to be getting. The Synopsis had me hooked I was so excited to read about, firstly a murder mystery, but set during the great fire of London. Yep Im on it! I loved the characters. You could tell they were really well thought out. I had different images in my head on who was who while reading the book and as the story ended I could it all playing out as I was reading. The descriptions of the fire, were brilliant. I havent read about the Fire in London since I was a child but I loved hearing about it. Realising what it must have been like and then to find bodies in the fire that shouldn't have been there I was hooked. The story start out with St Paul's Cathedral going up in flames. and two of the main characters of the story actually meeting outside it watching it burn, both there for 2 very different reasons. Most of the story is set around the Fifth Monarchists who executed Charles the first and put Oliver Cromwell in power but the story starts after when Charles the second in on the throne and everyone who had anything to do with his fathers execution is classed as a Regicide and is wanted for treason. It seems through the story the mystery is left to a clerk called Marwood to solve whats going on. He almost mistakenly gets mixed up in things by trying not to have anything to do with it all. It was quite interesting reading a mystery set in a historical fiction I learned quite a bit while trying to solve the mystery. I absolutely loved this, it had me hooked from the first page, with a few twists and turns where I wasnt sure where the story was going to go. If you get the chance to read it I recommend you do.
Unfortunately, this book and many more by Andrew Taylor have not been translated into German. Therefore, this review is going to appear only in English. I’m hoping for a German translation at one point because it is a really good crime novel. The story starts at September 4th 1666, the day St. Paul’s Cathedral fell victim to the flames of the Great Fire of London. London is in shock as the people thought that at least St. Paul’s would be safe from the fire. The story starts in medias res, the male protagonist James Marwood meets the female protagonist Cat Lovett at the burning cathedral. He stops her from running into the smoldering building. In return she steals his grey cloak and runs of. The cloak makes several more appearances throughout the story. The protagonists don’t know each other and are only linked by the grey cloak. Despite that there are several similarities between the two. Both are the children of fifth Monarchists who fought on the side of Oliver Cromwell durig the Civil War and who were religious fanatics. Cat’s father is also a Regicide, meaning that he played an essential part in the execution of Charles I. James as well as Cat suffer for their fathers’ treason. Cat has to live with her aunt and uncle and has to obey their every wish. She is about to be married to a man who knows who her father is but still wants to marry her to get his hands on her inheritance. Cat suffers even more when her cousin Edward rapes her. She has enough and takes her life in her own hands. She attacks Edward, leaving him for dead and flees the house. She finds work and shelter with the cousin of her servant-guardian Jem and she is finally freer. Cat desires to be an architect and draughts(wo)man. She finds a friend and benefactor in Master Hakesby, who is a draughtsman and works closely with Dr Christopher Wren. James Marwood works in Whitehall under Master Williamson. He does the lowest work for his patron but is also of some value as he is able to read and write a decent hand. That is a rariety in those times and therefore James is of good use for Master Williamson. His father has lost his wits after spending time in prison. He wanders off and talks about the good old times under Oliver Cromwell, which after the Restoration was frowned upon and could end in imprisonment or even execution. During the story, James finds himself entangled in the web in Whitehall and starts to work for Master Chiffinch, the Clerk of the King’s Closet making him the man with the most power after the king as he controls the access to the King. Chiffinch knows everything that goes on in Whitehall and instrumentalises James for the King’s needs. James is not happy, as he knows that what the King gives, the King can take away. This one was my first one by Andrew Taylor and I loved every second of it. I could hardly put it away last night. I forced myself to go to sleep eventually. The atmosphere and London itself in this extraordinary year was described beautifully. The despair of the people trying to make a living in the ruins of the once great city was heart wrenching. I believe that the people of London were shattered when St. Paul's fell victim to the flames. At least the church should have been safe from the fire, shouldn't it? And if it wasn't safe, was the fire the work of the devil? It was after all his year. You can really feel the devastation in quarters like Alsatian. Not many people died during the fire itself but the hard times after that let the number of victim's rise to the hundreds. I liked Marwood more than I liked Cat. His struggle to keep his father safe and to survive as the son of a traitor really touched me. Cat was not the ordinary obedient Puritan woman, but I never really felt like I got to know her enough to feel sorry for her. It also remained unclear where her loyalties lay. Is she a Monarchist or Puritan? Does she support the king or is she more her father's daughter? She is also quite the egoistic and while I understand that she doesn't want to marry Sir Denzil (I wouldn't want to either), I felt like she saw herself as superior to everyone else. I didn't like that. Even when Master Hakesby helps her and then falls ill, Cat does not feel sorry for him but rather for herself because his illness could hinder her prospect of a better life. The king was awesome. Charles II is always portrayed as the party king and the insatiable womanizer (cue the horrible histories song ‘King of Bling stuck in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5abHKvUBQ and now you have to. You’re welcome
Description
London, September 1666. The Great Fire rages through the city, consuming everything in its path. Even the impregnable cathedral of St. Paul’s is engulfed in flames and reduced to ruins. Among the crowds watching its destruction is Richard Marwood, son of a disgraced printer, and reluctant government informer.
In the aftermath of the fire, a semi-mummified body is discovered in the ashes of St. Paul’s, in a tomb that should have been empty. The man’s body has been mutilated and his thumbs have been tied behind his back – the sign of a Regicide, one of those who signed Charles I’s death warrant.
Under orders from the government, Marwood is tasked with hunting down the killer across the devastated city. But at a time of dangerous internal dissent and the threat of foreign invasion, Marwood finds his investigation leads him into treacherous waters – and across the path of a determined, beautiful and vengeful young woman.
Book Information
Posts
Thank you firstly to Killer Reads for giving me the opportunity to read this book and being able to review it also. I so enjoyed this. I hadn't actually read anything of Andrew Taylors before now so I wasn't too sure on what I was going to be getting. The Synopsis had me hooked I was so excited to read about, firstly a murder mystery, but set during the great fire of London. Yep Im on it! I loved the characters. You could tell they were really well thought out. I had different images in my head on who was who while reading the book and as the story ended I could it all playing out as I was reading. The descriptions of the fire, were brilliant. I havent read about the Fire in London since I was a child but I loved hearing about it. Realising what it must have been like and then to find bodies in the fire that shouldn't have been there I was hooked. The story start out with St Paul's Cathedral going up in flames. and two of the main characters of the story actually meeting outside it watching it burn, both there for 2 very different reasons. Most of the story is set around the Fifth Monarchists who executed Charles the first and put Oliver Cromwell in power but the story starts after when Charles the second in on the throne and everyone who had anything to do with his fathers execution is classed as a Regicide and is wanted for treason. It seems through the story the mystery is left to a clerk called Marwood to solve whats going on. He almost mistakenly gets mixed up in things by trying not to have anything to do with it all. It was quite interesting reading a mystery set in a historical fiction I learned quite a bit while trying to solve the mystery. I absolutely loved this, it had me hooked from the first page, with a few twists and turns where I wasnt sure where the story was going to go. If you get the chance to read it I recommend you do.
Unfortunately, this book and many more by Andrew Taylor have not been translated into German. Therefore, this review is going to appear only in English. I’m hoping for a German translation at one point because it is a really good crime novel. The story starts at September 4th 1666, the day St. Paul’s Cathedral fell victim to the flames of the Great Fire of London. London is in shock as the people thought that at least St. Paul’s would be safe from the fire. The story starts in medias res, the male protagonist James Marwood meets the female protagonist Cat Lovett at the burning cathedral. He stops her from running into the smoldering building. In return she steals his grey cloak and runs of. The cloak makes several more appearances throughout the story. The protagonists don’t know each other and are only linked by the grey cloak. Despite that there are several similarities between the two. Both are the children of fifth Monarchists who fought on the side of Oliver Cromwell durig the Civil War and who were religious fanatics. Cat’s father is also a Regicide, meaning that he played an essential part in the execution of Charles I. James as well as Cat suffer for their fathers’ treason. Cat has to live with her aunt and uncle and has to obey their every wish. She is about to be married to a man who knows who her father is but still wants to marry her to get his hands on her inheritance. Cat suffers even more when her cousin Edward rapes her. She has enough and takes her life in her own hands. She attacks Edward, leaving him for dead and flees the house. She finds work and shelter with the cousin of her servant-guardian Jem and she is finally freer. Cat desires to be an architect and draughts(wo)man. She finds a friend and benefactor in Master Hakesby, who is a draughtsman and works closely with Dr Christopher Wren. James Marwood works in Whitehall under Master Williamson. He does the lowest work for his patron but is also of some value as he is able to read and write a decent hand. That is a rariety in those times and therefore James is of good use for Master Williamson. His father has lost his wits after spending time in prison. He wanders off and talks about the good old times under Oliver Cromwell, which after the Restoration was frowned upon and could end in imprisonment or even execution. During the story, James finds himself entangled in the web in Whitehall and starts to work for Master Chiffinch, the Clerk of the King’s Closet making him the man with the most power after the king as he controls the access to the King. Chiffinch knows everything that goes on in Whitehall and instrumentalises James for the King’s needs. James is not happy, as he knows that what the King gives, the King can take away. This one was my first one by Andrew Taylor and I loved every second of it. I could hardly put it away last night. I forced myself to go to sleep eventually. The atmosphere and London itself in this extraordinary year was described beautifully. The despair of the people trying to make a living in the ruins of the once great city was heart wrenching. I believe that the people of London were shattered when St. Paul's fell victim to the flames. At least the church should have been safe from the fire, shouldn't it? And if it wasn't safe, was the fire the work of the devil? It was after all his year. You can really feel the devastation in quarters like Alsatian. Not many people died during the fire itself but the hard times after that let the number of victim's rise to the hundreds. I liked Marwood more than I liked Cat. His struggle to keep his father safe and to survive as the son of a traitor really touched me. Cat was not the ordinary obedient Puritan woman, but I never really felt like I got to know her enough to feel sorry for her. It also remained unclear where her loyalties lay. Is she a Monarchist or Puritan? Does she support the king or is she more her father's daughter? She is also quite the egoistic and while I understand that she doesn't want to marry Sir Denzil (I wouldn't want to either), I felt like she saw herself as superior to everyone else. I didn't like that. Even when Master Hakesby helps her and then falls ill, Cat does not feel sorry for him but rather for herself because his illness could hinder her prospect of a better life. The king was awesome. Charles II is always portrayed as the party king and the insatiable womanizer (cue the horrible histories song ‘King of Bling stuck in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5abHKvUBQ and now you have to. You’re welcome