Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot (1996)

On November 5, 1605, a search party headed by Thomas Knyvet, working off information obtained from an anonymous letter sent to Baron Monteagle, checked out the area under the Parliament building in London. What they found there defined British politics and nationalism ever since. A fellow named Guy Fawkes, at first presumed to a servant man, was found guarding a pile of firewood. Under the firewood, however, was 36 barrels of gunpowder: enough to obliterate Parliament and foment a revolution. Antonia Fraser’s Faith and Treason relays the whole conspiracy of what would eventually be called the Gunpowder Plot with her usual flair and scholarship.

Fraser traces the roots of the Gunpowder Plot to Henry VIII and his efforts to separate the Church of England from the Catholic Church. This decree left English Catholics isolated and persecuted for 65 years. Two generations of English citizens had to hide their faith. The tipping point was James I’s refusal to return the country to a Catholic state or at least adequately lay out tolerance acts for all to worship. This led to a growing movement to remove James from the throne and install a more religious monarch. The plan was to destroy Parliament and install James’s daughter Elizabeth as queen.

Sadly, the ending is already painfully clear as soon as it starts. Since England’s just now its second Elizabeth, we already know that the Plot will fail. But, the failed plot is precisely the point. Since the conspiracy was exposed just before its execution, England saved itself from a unnecessary struggle for the throne (although, they would go without a monarch from 1649 to 1660). One wonders, however, what would have become of Great Britain if the plot had succeeded. That, though, is a matter for the historical fiction writers.

The book is really well-written, it has the consistency of a thriller and the feel of a work of scholarship. This is third book of Fraser’s that I have and she never disappoints. This is an incredibly thorough investigation of the Gunpowder Plot and if this is your area of expertise, her bibliography will be invaluable to your research. A great book. ( )

Very detailed. The detail makes reading a bit heavy, but fantastic resource if you want to know the comings and goings and roles played by the many, many people involved in the plot. ( )

Not my favorite of Fraser's books, but as always, she writes an engaging history of a very specific moment in time. Fraser is a master at including just enough information for the casual historian. The story of The Gunpowder Plot is in itself very colorful and makes for an interesting read. Reading her treatment of the story, Fraser seems to be rather pro-Catholic and sympathetic to many of the "plotters." I couldn't decide if this was simply Fraser questioning the long-accepted reactions of the (Protestant) English government to the plot or a real bias. Still I would recommend the book without hesitation to anyone interested in getting to know what happened that first famous 5th of November. ( )

This 1996 book by the accomplished popular historian tells the story of the tragic Gunpowder Plot as well as I think it can be told. As the Protestant historian S. E. Gardiner said: "Atrocious as the whole undertaking was, great as must have been the moral obliquity of their minds before they could have conceived such a project, there was at least nothing mean or selfish about them. They had boldly risked their lives for what they honestly believed to be the cause of God and country." It is a sad and doleful story, but told very well by Fraser. It is the 7th book I have read by her, and I have never been disappointed in any of them, ( )

I sometimes think that Faith and Treason is one of the best history books that I have ever read. It holds you like a thriller and yet provides real insight into this very pivotal incident in British history. As a result of the arrest of the plotters, a group of English Catholics seeking to re-establish their church in England, conditions became much worse for Catholics in England. James I was an incompetent ruler, and had given mixed messages about his intentions with respect to religious freedom. Catholics had expected greater toleration with the rule of James I and he had given them every reason to expect that. When it didn't happen, they became frustrated and a group of wealthy catholic nobles decided on a desperate and dangerous plan to change the government.
This is history at its best, an exciting story and a real insight into the long struggle between Catholics and Protestants in England. ( )