- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (17 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007212836
- ISBN-13: 978-0007212835
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 4.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,383,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
‘A rich mix of romance, suspense, adventure and lightly-worn knowledge. Gunpowder, treason and plot have never been so entertaining.’ Kate Saunders, The Times
‘Atmospheric and impressively researched, it is highly entertaining.’ Elizabeth Buchan, The Sunday Times
‘Marries conspiracy theory to Jacobean high-jinks…a racy read…reveals the principal actors to be models of conspirators everywhere: single-minded, ideologically driven, careless of their own and others lives, believers for the wrong reasons in the efficacy of a single violent blow to change the course of history …so strangely does it resonate with our own times…sometimes one is momentarily unsure whether one is in 1605 or 2005 as one reads.’ A.C. Grayling, Financial Times
‘The Firemaster’s Mistress is that rare historical novel: utterly congruent with history and successful as a work of fiction. It tells the story of an engaging man betrayed both by his own honour and his love for a Roman Catholic woman. His skills with explosives lead him into the very heart of the conspiracy, walking a difficult line with plotters, spymasters, and his own fears. The England of James I is magnificently evoked in this engaging novel.’ Philippa Gregory
‘A tour de force on many levels. Primarily a love story set against the backdrop of 17th-century terrorism, this relates a tragedy that puts you on the rack in its literary quest for truth about November 5.’ Oxford Times
‘Brilliant historical romance.’ Sainsbury’s Magazine
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Product Description
Remember, Remember the Fifth of November …
On the fourth centenary of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up King James I and his parliament, here is the true, astonishing and never-before-told story of the infamous Gunpowder and Treason conspiracy.
Through the eyes of the courtesan Kate Peach and the Fire Master Francis Quoynt, the dramatic plot of Guy Fawkes and his fellow Papist hotheads unfolds in the gaudy, conspiracy-ridden streets of Shakespeare's Southwark, the court of King James I at Whitehall, and the lanes of the fishing village of Brighton.
The official story of the Gunpowder Plot, put together for his own advantage by the First Minister Robert Cecil, has for centuries concealed with whitewash the scale of the threat posed to the new Stuart dynasty. Cecil is not the villain, though, that title goes to Francis Bacon.
There is savage enmity between these two intellectual giants, tempestuous love between Kate Peach and Quoynt, and a terrorist incident in the 17th century on the scale of 9/11 2001 – even though it was foiled, we still remember it.
This wonderful, complex story tears a big hole in a cherished piece of history revealing a shared delusion four hundred years old, a very surprising and satisfying love story, and a new conspiracy theory that is chillingly appropriate to the present day.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book based upon the blurb on the back and I wasn't disappointed. Following along the lines of such authors as Phillipa Gregory and Margaret George the author of this novel looks at the possible story of the gunpowder plot. I felt that this novel was well written with a well thought out plot and enjoyed it a great deal as a result.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had the pleasure of meeting Christie Dickason at a book launch for The Firemaster's Mistress. I was involved in a show to mark the 400th Anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot at the same venue. After a thought-provoking and enthusiastic discussion about books, plays and history - I couldn't wait to start reading The Firemaster's Mistress. I was captivated from the start and only stopped reading when my eyelids refused to stay open for even one more word!
Historical novels are tricky creatures; any author venturing into the past wields a double-edged sword. On the one side there is a fairly rigid framework of facts and figures, artefacts and documents that provide structure and guidance, on the other side there is absolute freedom to weave a host of imaginary yet wholly believable characters into the framework, but in order to do so the author must step back in time and live and breath the air of the period, feel the cut of the cloth, taste the preservative-free food, and have a mind free of Twenty-First Century luxuries and advancements such as: medicine and healthcare, mobile phones, test messages, email, instant news, clean running water and motorised transport.
Ms Dickason has the heart and spirit of a Bard intertwined with a gloriously empathic ability to dive into the past and to bring it effortlessly into the present. Ms Dickason opens a clear path between centuries taking the reader with her on an exhilarating, poignant, edifying, eloquent, intriguing, journey.
Every twist and turn is expertly developed and beautifully resolved. The characters are so alive and real that the reader is with them every step of the way. The strength of meticulous research illuminates every page without detracting from the potency of the prose and the power of the story.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who love historical novels and to those who think history is dusty and dull - read this book and you will discover that in the hands of a master storyteller any memories of tedious history lessons will be swept away and replaced with a gripping desire to read more.
Historical novels are tricky creatures; any author venturing into the past wields a double-edged sword. On the one side there is a fairly rigid framework of facts and figures, artefacts and documents that provide structure and guidance, on the other side there is absolute freedom to weave a host of imaginary yet wholly believable characters into the framework, but in order to do so the author must step back in time and live and breath the air of the period, feel the cut of the cloth, taste the preservative-free food, and have a mind free of Twenty-First Century luxuries and advancements such as: medicine and healthcare, mobile phones, test messages, email, instant news, clean running water and motorised transport.
Ms Dickason has the heart and spirit of a Bard intertwined with a gloriously empathic ability to dive into the past and to bring it effortlessly into the present. Ms Dickason opens a clear path between centuries taking the reader with her on an exhilarating, poignant, edifying, eloquent, intriguing, journey.
Every twist and turn is expertly developed and beautifully resolved. The characters are so alive and real that the reader is with them every step of the way. The strength of meticulous research illuminates every page without detracting from the potency of the prose and the power of the story.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who love historical novels and to those who think history is dusty and dull - read this book and you will discover that in the hands of a master storyteller any memories of tedious history lessons will be swept away and replaced with a gripping desire to read more.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The opening words of this wonderful novel transports the reader back 400 years to an England torn by suspicion and darkened by conspiracy. Ms Dickason's evidently extensive research has enabled her to create the sights, smells, alleyways, alliances, loves, hates and passions of the time. A highly evocative writer, she describes events in such vivid prose you can almost smell the gunpowder and the sea and the sweat of a couple making love; you hear a man's neck break and an enraged bear growl; and all the time, the author is guiding you expertly through the labyrinth of her exquisitely realised plot.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
'The Gunpowder, Treason and Plot!'
An exciting and tense novel that centres on the build up to the Gunpowder Plot in the early seventeenth century. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. M. Carragher
Tour de force about gunpowder plot of 1605
This is a tour de force, a real crackling page turner with real inarguable characters, and realistically but so animatedly bring the events of the 1605 Gunpowder plot to life. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gary Selikow
A excellent historical read
I am a huge fan of historical books and when i came across this book i wasn't disappointed.
The author has ensured the reader has a enjoyable and educational read. Read more
The author has ensured the reader has a enjoyable and educational read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by L CLEMENTS
I kept getting lost...
This book had everything going for it for me; I'd read a prior novel by this Author: The Memory Palace' with which I was suitably impressed. Read more
Published 17 months ago by FAMOUS NAME
Lost its way!
It started off alright but kind of got bogged down as it went along. Once the plot was discovered and the threat to King and Parliament eliminated the story seemed to fizzle out,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by AdNoctum
great historical novel
I really enjoyed this book. It was quite a quick read for me. The author got straight into the action and quickly introduced all characters. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2010 by Jirina Prochazkova
England in the Reign of James I
Christie Dickason was born in the American Midwest, but as a child lived in Mexico, Thailand and Switzerland. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2008 by J. Chippindale
Read it with Antonia Fraser's 'The Gunpowder Plot'
Clever rather than emotional, a thriller rather than a romance, this is a book belied by its cover. Dickason acknowledges Fraser's book in her afterword and I think the two would... Read more
Published on 30 April 2007 by Roman Clodia
England in the Reign of James I
Christie Dickason was born in the American Midwest, but as a child lived in Mexico, Thailand and Switzerland. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2007 by J. Chippindale
A great read
At first look, after reading the synopsis of this book i didnt think it would be great to be honest. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2007 by Ms. L. J. K. Smith
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