The Players
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley November 12, 2024
Author Minette Walters
Distributor: Allen and Unwin.
ISBN: 9781761471834
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
Release Date: November 2024
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Set in 1685, during the time when the beloved King Charles I had died, the throne of England is taken by James II and England is in turmoil. Minette Walters latest historic fiction The Players is placed during the time when Protestant tolerance is being forced to give way to Catholic intolerance.
The Duke of Monmouth, Charles’ illegitimate son, who has been living in exile, believes he is the rightful heir to the throne and has set about attempting to raise an army to overtake James. Landing in Dorset, his army fails to reach the numbers he had hoped for, being easily defeated by the might of James. He is captured and sent to the Tower of London.
James is determined to see every man involved in the rebellion is put to death, sending his special envoy Lord Jeffery’s to Dorset to carry out the trials of the men who are traitors to the Crown. This begins one of the bloodiest times in the history of England known as ‘The Bloody Assizes’.
Elias, a man who has worked for the Government of the day clandestinely, as did his father, his mother Lady Jayne Harrier, a lauded healer and a reclusive young woman Althea, come together to try and rescue as many men as possible.
Lord Jeffrey’s, a man of poor health and unforgiving temperament, becomes ill during his time in Dorset and is in need of lady Jayne’s administration. How these main characters, players in an intriguing portion of history, work off one another and in spite of one another, makes a fascinating, carefully woven tale through the looking glass of fiction.
In amongst the bloodshed, horror and ever increasing levels of danger, a delicate story of love begins to bloom between a man who looks at life from a different perspective and a ferociously intelligent woman who has spent her life shying away from public life.
The Players is the long awaited sequel to The Swift and The Harrier but can also be read as a standalone book of deceit, guile, tragedy and love coming together to create an unforgettable story. A must read for 2024.