James Forrester (1) (1967–)

...a stunning conclusion to a saga of loyalty, faith and endurance!

The concluding chapter to this Tudor conspiracy saga was excellent. Like some massive Chaucerian pilgrimage the relentlessness momentum surrounding the lives, loves and tragedies of those involved rolls on inexorably.
It seems like every page has a line, a gem, that you want to ponder before moving on. However the story line is so intense that all I could do was note them so that I can return and meditate.
What is the final show more sacrament? The idea is heavy with meaning and symbolism.
William Harvey(Clarenceux) comes to know and understand. We the reader come to know and understand somewhat. The final sacrament can allude to many things, but in his fight for loyalty and truth even unto death Harvey the man, not just the Herald, embodies the idea.
As he says, 'Loyalty has been the driving force of my life and betrayal my greatest fear...'
The biblical Job comparison to Clarenceux at the start is a telling comment on all Harvey has faced and will face.
The crux of the three novels is the supposed marriage document of Anne Boleyn to Lord Percy. A document that might illegitimatize Elizabeth and place the Scottish child prince, Charles James Stewart, on the throne. At this time, for a Protestant England especially, the fear of more civil unrest, deaths and persecution, and a possibility of a return to the times of bloody Mary Tudor is a real danger.
Elizabeth learns the truth about the document and the gift of legitimacy her mother, Anne Boleyn had her in reconciling herself with King Henry before going to her death. Again a reference to the idea of 'final sacrament.'
I found Walsingham's later talks to Lord Cecil about Elizabeth insightful, 'She must...do all she can to stay alive--and that means not marrying, not becoming pregnant, not being seen to be womanly or weak, but playing the part of God's angel in England.' Another sort of final sacrament?
The events that leads to this series' culmination, this third act, pares back like an onion being peeled away precisely and carefully, layer upon layer, with a stringency that leaves you helpless in the onslaught of dissection, even as you are brought to tears.
Always the 'Document', the sword of Damocles, hanging across our characters lives.
Walsingham wants the document to keep the throne and England secure. As does Cecil.
The bitter harbinger of vengeance, Lady Percy has commanded an army of assassins to destroy those near to Harvey, paving the way for her to secure the documents and throw the English throne into turmoil, returning Catholicism to it's former place. Towards the end, a third player, strategically hidden, is also revealed.
What Harvey wants and is trying to prevent is an England free from the threat of revolution and unrest, and safety for his family, the touchstone of his life and joy.
What I find telling is that in this novel that I am thinking about him and referring to him more and more as William Harvey, the man, the husband, the father, not Clarenceux the Herald of Arms.
Harvey's reflections throughout are wonderful.
When he muses on a quote from Aristotle about memory he reasons,
'Memory is imagination...If that is so...then all recorded memory is merely fable. And the document I guard...is also nothing more than fable. The illegitimacy of the Queen becomes untrue. But the truth is the truth, and always will be; so the truth of the past is changeable even if God alone knows it.'
'In all our struggles the last word is hope...in the final struggle the last word is love.'
If you like Tudor era historical suspense this series is a must!

A NetGalley ARC show less

'In that one thing--hope--we are brothers'

...poignant words between Clarenceux and raw Carew, pirate extraordinaire, at their last moment together. Just prior to this Clarenceux declares the family motto he might adopt if so inclined,'In all our struggles, the last word is hope.'
1564, Southampton Waters: the calm before the storm. Captain Gray is in his cabin with a young girl, his men are dicing on deck, all quickly broken by the cry of 'Boarders--Boarders on deck!' The only warning before show more all hell breaks loose and the ship is captured.
The opening scenes of a pirate raid propel you quickly into scenes of violence overlaid by a distinct impression of honour or a code that Crew, the pirate Captain adheres to.
Carew is seeking the Catholic treasure and Gray has information he wants.
And in London, William Harvey, Clarenceux King of Arms, is reflecting on papers he holds for safekeeping. Dangerous, treasonous papers that would likely kill him, and the path that's lead him to this point. With the documents in his care, 'never did he feel safe. Not for one moment!'
Clarenceux's trials and tribulations continue in this historical thriller of the first water.
All roads keep leading back to Clarenceux and the documents he has secreted, holding in fear and trepidation.
For Clarenceux, circumstances just keep deteriorating. Pursued by the Knights of the Round Table (the Catholic dissenters), Cecil and Walsingham, and raw Carew, he is fighting once more for his life, for his family and his quest for peace.
I love the way Clarenceux's knowledge of heraldry is given space to be a strength that he puts to use in these unremitting circumstances he's been thrown into.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Machyn's life is once more dictated by powerful and implacable forces.
Murders, spies, plots and counterplots, torture and treason and betrayals surrounding the truth about Tudor England and the Elizabethan throne make for mighty fine reading and a story one can revel in. Stimulating and enjoyable. Although the gritty reality of Tudor life leaves one grimacing. 'Roots of betrayal lie in friendship, in treason loyalty,' indeed!

A NetGalley ARC show less

Author James Forrester has presented us with an unlikely hero in the guise of the elderly Herald, Sir William Harley, known throughout to all as Clarenceux. The setting is Tudor England at the height of the "succession" question where Catholics were putting forth one Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, as the successor to both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The whole country is on tenter-hooks as treason and traitors are discovered and removed from all levels of Tudor society.

In this first instalment, show more Willam or Clarenceux, finds himself in possession of a "chronicle" written by an old friend, yet delivered in the dead of night. Not only is he now the custodian of this rather unique book, but also of the secret entrusted to him by its author, Henry Machyn. And so we are taken on a quest to discover and decypher the secret before the authorities (in the form of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's spymaster) take hold of William and "persuade" him to reveal all to them.

The action is non-stop as William goes in search of those known as the Knights of the Round Table - and hopefully discover the secret that could see his own life hang in the balance.

"Sacred Treason" is but the first instalment - two more adventures follow in "The Roots of Betrayal" and "The Final Sacrament". show less

Oooh, this one was a rip-roarer. Do not start it right before bed. You will not sleep. In fact I was about two thirds of the way through last night and I stayed up to finish it. I couldn't stop turning the pages. It's one of those books that gets your heart pumping!

The hero of the book, Clarenceux is a gentleman, a herald of England and a friend to Queen Elizabeth's most ardent supporter, Cecil. One night he is approached by a man he has known for years and given a chronicle and some show more mysterious instructions. This leads him and the man's widow on a dangerous journey to find the meaning behind the chronicle while being chased by some very anxious followers of Walsingham who is seeing plots and treason everywhere and lying to Cecil along the way.

Clarenceux is a very upright, noble and honest character but he sees all that he knows destroyed by the government he trusts without so much as a conversation. He finds his true self on his journey to discovering the meaning behind the chronicle left in his care.

As I said at the start, this was a page turner. Exciting from start to finish I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy (I think it's a trilogy) to come out. It's a Tudor book without one single appearance by a Tudor so it doesn't feel like I've read it all before. Cecil is wise and Walsingham is downright evil and he just at the beginning of his reign as spymaster.

The book was downright fun if violent to the extreme at times. Trying to figure out the mystery kept me quite enthralled right up to the end. Mr. Forrester is a writer that certainly keeps the action flowing. The characters are well developed and memorable. A book to go on my re-read shelf for sure! show less