Heirs and graces
Dawnlands Philippa Gregory Simon & Schuster, £20
Fast-paced, gripping and meticulously researched, the latest novel from Philippa Gregory is historical fiction at its best.
It’s 1685 and England is once again on the verge of civil war. On one side is the recently crowned James II, whose Catholicism and French connections are alarming his subjects. On the other is Charles II’s illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, who is planning an uprising against the new king.
Set against this turbulent struggle is the tale of Alinor Reekie, once a midwife and herbalist accused of witchcraft, but now a grandmother with a thriving shipping business on the Thames.
Ned Ferryman, her younger brother, has just returned from the US and joins Monmouth’s army
“to help set my countrymen free”.
Gregory is particularly adept at highlighting history’s forgotten women and Queen Mary of Modena (above), James II’s second wife, plays a key role. At 26, she’s desperate to give her husband a male heir but he seems more interested in his mistress than her. And Alinor and her family are drawn into dangerous waters when Livia Avery, Queen Mary’s manipulative confidante, drags them into a plot to save the Queen from Monmouth’s invasion.
Livia will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even smuggling a pauper’s newborn baby boy into the royal bedchamber in case the Queen doesn’t give birth to a son.
Few authors bring history to life like Philippa Gregory and her vivid descriptions of 17th century life give readers a ringside seat at the action.