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Heresy [Paperback]

S. J. Parris (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 3 Mar 2011

A vivid and gripping historical thriller set in Elizabethan England introducing Giordano Bruno, philosopher, scientist and spy for all fans of C.J.Sansom and The Name of the Rose.

In Elizabeth’s England, true faith can mean bloody murder…

OXFORD, 1583. A PLACE OF LEARNING.
AND MURDEROUS SCHEMES.

England is rife with plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and return the country to the Catholic faith. Defending the realm through his network of agents, the Queen’s spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham works tirelessly to hunt down all traitors.

His latest recruit is Giordano Bruno, a radical thinker fleeing the Inquisition, who is sent undercover to Oxford to expose a Catholic conspiracy. But he has his own secret mission at the University – one that must remain hidden at all costs.

When a series of hideous murders ruptures close-knit college life, Bruno is compelled to investigate. And what he finds makes it brutally clear that the Tudor throne itself is at stake…

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Product details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; Reprint edition (3 Mar 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007317700
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007317707
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 3.6 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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S. J. Parris
Alister E. McGrath

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Review

‘Heresy has everything – intrigue, mystery, excellent history and haunting sense of place. The beginning of a wonderful new detective series’ Kate Mosse

‘Fascinating … The period is incredibly vivid and the story utterly gripping’ Conn Iggulden (bestselling author of Bones of the Hills and The Dangerous Book for Boys)

‘Heresy is a riveting read. Rich in both historical detail and ingenious twists, S J Parris has created a character in Giordano Bruno that will endure. A true rival to C J Sansom’ Sam Bourne (bestselling author of The Righteous Men)

‘Heresy is a must-read for every fan of historical thrillers. S. J. Parris transports the reader back to an extraordinary time in history by mobilizing fascinating details, suspense, and fully-drawn characters. Giordano Bruno turns out to be that rare hero, charismatic and nuanced enough to impel an encore, and to leave us asking for more from the gifted Parris’ Matthew Pearl (author of The Dante Club)

'Parris paces her yarn perfectly' Daily Telegraph

'An atmospheric and well-written historical thriller' Guardian

'Parris succeeds where much historical fiction fails' Observer

'The places and people are vividly described with a merciful absence of period language, and the solution to this exciting, well-written tale comes as a real surprise' Literary Review

About the Author

S.J. Parris is the pseudonym of Stephanie Merritt. Born in Surrey in 1974, she has worked as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines as well as radio and television. She currently writes for the Observer.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
121 of 129 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "Blockbuster" book...? 11 Mar 2010
By Jill Meyer TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
The press notes that accompanied this book claims that it will be a "blockbuster". I think that's wishful thinking on the part of the publisher, but that's okay. True "blockbuster" books are accessible to all readers, like "The DaVinci Code" and "Love Story". They tend to "read" like the movie scripts they often become.

No, I don't think "Heresy" will become a mega-bestseller. It is much too deeply plotted and written to appeal to the average reader. I'm not saying this in a snobbish way; I just think the reader of "Heresy" must have a fairly good background in Tudor/Church history in order to understand it and enjoy it.

"Heresy" is set in Oxford in the mid-1580's, with a prologue set about ten years earlier in Naples. The main character, Giordano Bruno, a "monk, scientist, philosopher, and magician", begins questioning the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church a little too deeply - particularly in regard to Copernicus's beliefs about the earth revolving around the sun, rather than vise-versa - and departs his monastery one step before the Inquisition. He works his way to England as a "traveling scholar" and finds himself in Oxford, hired by the English government to help expose Catholics still worshiping in secret. Even though Elizabeth has been on the throne for thirty years or so and the English church is well established, her government is afraid of Catholic elements championing her cousin, Catholic Mary, Queen of Scotland, as the REAL ruler of England.

Bruno comes to Oxford, to Lincoln College (a real Oxford college) with a larger group. Soon scholars at Lincoln begin to be killed in rather disgusting ways and Bruno steps up to help find the murderer.... Read more ›
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the Marketing: Admire the Quality 14 Nov 2009
By H. meiehofer VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I have to be honest and say that I approached this book with a lot of apprehension. It seemed like such a rip off.

The pseudonym adopted by the author, SJ Parris seems closely modelled on CJ Sansom.

The subject matter is very close. Both are set in Tudor times and focus on the religious conflicts of the age and their links to the Crown. Both feature a hero who is a bit of an outsider. Here we have Bruno who is a distrusted foreigner and Sansom has Shardlake who is ridiculed for his disability. Both heroes are caught up in events as the slightly unwilling agents of close advisers (or even powers behind the throne) of the monarch, Walsingham in this book and Cromwell in the Shardlake series.

Even the plot, with a series of murders in a closed community (here an Oxford college) echoes that of the initial Shardlake story, Dissolution (set in a monastery) (which of course itself is similar to Umberto Eco's "The Name of The Rose").

However, despite the appearance of a blatant cash in SJ Parris has produced a gripping novel which combines an excellent detective story with a well researched historical novel which gives the reader insight into the age and the very real polarised religious differences which existed at the time.

Bruno was an actual historical figure (something I only discovered half way through reading the book) and we are treated to a depiction of how even though he was one of the most original thinkers of his age much of his methodology in pursuit of a proof of his theory relying as he does on his pursuit of a long forgotten text.

The thriller plot is archetypal and can be compared to a country house mystery in many ways. The "themed" murders (here based on the deaths of various martyrs) is also a well trodden path.... Read more ›
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read 6 Dec 2009
By Cath B VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I have to admit, I do love a good historical detective read and this didn't disappoint. We are introduced to an excommunicated former monk, who has an unnatural penchant (these are Tudor times) for philosophy and cosmology. I found the character to be likeable (although there were instances when you do wonder how someone from this time, does manage to sound so very modern!) and the story had pace and intrigue. As a former Oxford student, I did wonder if my interest was aided by my nostalgia, as I loved the setting, and Parris manages to capture the ancient streets beautifully.
I did end up wondering just how the central character managed to stay alive quite so long (!) and you do get a feeling of just how paranoid people must have been as acceptable religious belief shifted with alarming frequency. Nevertheless, I remained glued until the end, my only criticism being that the final 'whodunnit' was revealed quite quickly and it wasn't totally satisfying.
Overall, a good read and I look forward to the next outing!
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Dodgy Dons Done to Death in Troubled Tudor Times 2 May 2010
By A. K. Johnston VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Initially I thought of this book as "'The Name of the Rose' meets 'Elizabeth'", as it combines religious themes into a murder mystery set in Elizabethan England, but on reflection that's not quite correct. This is "'Elizabeth' meets 'Inspector Morse'".

Not only are the victims a series of Oxford University academics, who meet progressively stickier ends, but the central character is a lonely polymath with an ambivalent attitude to authority, and his own intellectual obsessions. That and the Oxford locations are both reminiscent of Dexter's stories, but this is very much its own historic tale, focused on the turmoil caused by the multiple violent shifts in English religion between the reigns of Henry and Elizabeth.

This is a well-written and captivating story, which kept me turning the pages. The characters are all well-drawn, whether heroes, victims or villains. A few are well-established historical personages, like Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, and these are portrayed very much as we might expect. Similarly the practical aspects of Elizabethan life and the physical details of the Oxford and London locations are brought clearly and colourfully to life by Parris' descriptions.

The decision to tell the story in the first person, from the standpoint of the central character, is a slightly odd one, in that it allows for no uncertainty in respect of his motives or progress. His own ambivalence on certain moral issues, and some self-doubt, are well portrayed, but overall I think I prefer a slightly more neutral viewpoint in stories of this nature.

Another minor complaint is that my pre-publication copy of the book had a few errors of typography and grammar, but I hope these will be eliminated in the fully proof-read published version.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read
great book, I love CJ Sansom and this is a really close 2nd to that. Will definitely read more if i find some
Published 24 days ago by rachel o'doherty
5.0 out of 5 stars Heresy
I have no idea about the book, I bought it as a present for someone. They enjoyed reading and have bought the two books subsequent to the above publication
Published 25 days ago by Geoffrey Coombe
5.0 out of 5 stars A good trilogy
My wife bought them for me as she knows my interest in all things historical. A good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Published 25 days ago by Mr. M. W. Wabe
2.0 out of 5 stars The Christology of the Quran: A Disputed Question
by Paul Williams

A Case Study: A Christian theologian's polemic against the Quranic understanding of Jesus and God in Alister McGrath's book Heresy: A History of... Read more
Published 25 days ago by P. A. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars A clever former monk what a find
A friend recommened this auther to me and I am very grateful to be transported back in time to the blood thisty Tudor period forbidden love lusty thoughts from our devilishly good... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tina Foley
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost as good as Shardlake
I am a great fan of the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansome. This is really not as good but, having read all of Shardlake, it is the next best thing. Read more
Published 1 month ago by carolintheforest
5.0 out of 5 stars CJ Samson fans will probably enjoy
I started to read this straight after finishing the CJ Samson 5. After much research on Amazon reading reviews of similar books set the the same time period, SJ Parris looked like... Read more
Published 1 month ago by RSM
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
Great story well written, which I am still reading in the bath every night, I can't put it down, Love it !
Published 2 months ago by Miss Maggie Kear
5.0 out of 5 stars A medaeval mystery
I really enjoy the books by S J Parris, who is an author whom I have recently discovered. The sense of time and place is extremely good and one is taken right into the sights and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Sylvia Andrews
5.0 out of 5 stars book
Bought as like the historical novels, still to read but looking forward to this book and the murder mystery etc
Published 2 months ago by Paul Snowden
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