Setting
The book is set during the late 1500s, the Tudor period during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. English Catholics attempted to dethrone Elizabeth, a Protestant and replace her with her Catholic cousin, Queen Mary. There were numerous conspiracies and plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I which eventually led to the execution of Queen Mary. Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster created a spy ring to uncover such plots and thwart the attacks.
Storyline
The story follows two time periods 2021 and 1584. In 2021 Mathilde, a photojournalist who leads a nomadic life receives a letter regarding a property in England. After the initial hesitation, she travels to Norfolk, England where she finds out that she has inherited a house called Lutton Hall from her father. A father whom she presumed to be dead was alive all this while and was searching for her. She also meets her stepsister and niece with whom she struggles to build a relationship having spent all her life alone without any close relation. In 1584, Tom wends his way to England from France and gets hired as the queens' apothecary's assistant. When Queen's spymaster Walsingham discovers his ability to lip read, he hires him in his spy ring.
My Thoughts
Another alternating timeline story. It was fascinating to read how the author mirrored the lives of the two protagonists from different periods- Tom and Mathilde. Both of them travelling to England from France in search of their roots and eventually finding home and family there made an interesting read. Setting an espionage thriller in Tudor times was an act of genius by the author. A deaf and mute apothecary working as a spy for Queen Elizabeth I was the frosting on the cake. It's a well-researched book where Marchant has used real people and events like Queen Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham or the Babington plot and woven her tale around them. But what ruined it for me was the present timeline. It kept interrupting the flow and stopped me from getting completely invested in Tom's story. It also affected the pace of the story and made me rush through it to get back to the Tudor times. The premise had great potential but falls short.
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