C. C. Humphreys

Fascinating, well-written novel documenting the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, May 29, 1453, from both the Turkish and Greek sides. Many of the personages actually lived, but the story follows two [fictional] twin brothers: one, Gregoras, wrongly accused of treachery has had his nose cut off--a common punishment among the Byzantines--and exiled. He has come back to the city as one of several mercenaries led by a Genoese. His brother, Theon, is a diplomat; both love the same woman. show more We see preparations for the seven-week siege by both the Greeks, from emperor to the common people along with their allies from Western Europe, and the Turks from the sultan on down to the humblest peasant. The sultan's plan is to use the latter as cannon fodder, with elite troops fighting later when the Greeks are worn out. We follow the progress of the siege, the author moving from one group to another. Then follows the aftermath where we see what finally is everyone's fate.

This novel kept my interest all through, although I knew what the outcome would be. Several times the characters' remarks were clues to some of the later plot twists. The sea battle after Gregoras' rescue and the final onslaught were most gripping. I had most sympathy for Emperor Constantine XI and for the Turkish peasant Achmed. On the whole, characterizations were well drawn. Why did the author neglect as a subplot the fact that Urban, inventor of this large cannon, first approached Constantine XI to buy it? Constantine wasn't able to pay that high a price so he turned down the offer. [But he finally DID pay the price--not in money--but in his whole empire.]

Highly recommended. show less

William Coke is a highwayman with a conscience. A veteran of the Civil Wars, he now makes his living by holding up travellers, but he shies away from murder – which is probably wise, because he has a sensitive stomach. On this latest foray he is preparing to rob the wealthy passengers of a coach in Finchley, but the driver refuses to stop (on account of his being murdered), and when he finally enters the carriage, the three people inside are already dead – or in the case of the lady, show more almost dead. Thief taker Pitman, hard on the heels of the coach, is resolved to catch the murderer, even if it means joining forces – albeit reluctantly at first – with a notorious criminal. They are joined by Sarah Chalker, an actress who has vowed to catch the murderer of her husband. But they're in a race against time, because the number of victims of the plague mounts every day, and they need to stay one step ahead not only of the disease, but also of the murderer.

The author brings seventeenth-century London alive before the reader's eyes (and ears, and nose); it felt almost as if I was walking the streets alongside the characters. The scenes describing houses being shut up with the inhabitants still inside them in an effort to restrict the spread of the plague, and the conditions inside Newgate prison, felt truly terrifying, and it's not hard to imagine how people must have suffered. The novel is meticulously researched and is rich in historical details: on daily life, theatre and religion. The main characters – with the exception of the villain – are well rounded and show some neat and unusual traits, which made me engage with them throughout the book. Where the novel falls flat in my opinion is in the characterisation of the villain: despite the author's attempt to inject an unexpected twist, and despite an effort to make them appear more human (as explained in the author notes in the appendix), they are a walking cliché and I pinpointed them as the killer almost from the moment they appeared on the scene.

However, I will be reading the sequel (on the Great Fire of London) to find out the characters' fates and to experience how the author recreates an altogether different terror. show less

This book is an historical smorgasbord: the stock market crash, art theft, Nazis, gun-running, Communists, flying, the Hindenberg, the Spanish Civil War. Think of anything happening in the 1930s and C. C. Humphreys has managed to fit it in. I gobbled it up.

Roxy Loewen was the daughter of a rich man and he denied her nothing. In 1929 the last thing he bought her was a plane and she joined those first female pioneers of flying like Amelia Earhart and Louise Thaden. Then the stock market crash show more happened and her father lost everything. His former partner, Sydney Munroe, was out for his blood so he said goodbye to Roxy and stepped in front of a streetcar. Then Munroe wanted to get his hands on Roxy but she evaded his clutches, left the US and used her plane to make a living. Seven years later she was in Africa running guns for the Ethiopians trying to stave off Mussolini's army. When that cause was lost she was convinced by her Communist lover, Jocco, to head to Spain to pick up a painting. Jocco's father was an art dealer in Germany and he had heard there was an original Breugel in a church in Spain. Roxy was to meet an art expert there who would authenticate the painting and then she would fly it to Germany. Except things didn't turn out as expected. The painting ended up in Germany just in time to be shown during the 1936 Olympics and Roxy and Jocco were determined to steal it back. What could be difficult about stealing a priceless painting out from under the noses of Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goring? I'm not going to answer that; read the book.

I've read a few other books by Humphreys. Like this one they are filled with twists and turns and do somewhat strain credulity but they sure are entertaining. show less

Plague is one of the best novels of historical fiction and mystery I’ve read in years. The story is not merely set in plague-ridden 17th century England. The disease itself becomes an on-going character, a situation that colors human activities. The three primary protagonists navigate life just above its lowest level. The villain is horrifying. And, despite efforts to keep the streets clean, London streets remain a breeding ground for disease.