The Condottiero: A Tudor Deceit

Tudor Crimes #4

by Anne Stevens

King Henry's patience is growing thin, and Thomas Cromwell decides on a dangerous ploy. In the face of opposition from Sir Thomas More, he arranges a diplomatic embassy to visit Pope Clement in Rome. Though, nothing is as it seems, and Will Draper, together with Tom Wyatt and their friends find themselves pitched into a plot to deceive the Holy See. Clement is a Medici, and lives in a world of treachery, and deception that puts family before the church. He is against the king, but must be brought to do his bidding, using bribery and cohersion. Whilst Tom Wyatt, poet and diplomat, undertakes to effect a change in the Pope's views, Will Draper must deal with the wily old Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti. The Doge has little care for English politics, but knows how to twist and turn any scheme to suit his own ends. Venice is under threat from a secret alliance between Pope Clement, and Malatesta Baglioni, a notorious war lord ... condettiero ... and the Doge sees the English as perfect pawns in his game of war. Will Draper begins to realise that Thomas Cromwell is using him to support the Venetian faction, and disrupt Clement's plans. He is faced with a simple, though almost impossible task; march from Venice with a rag tag troop of volunteers and foreign mercenaries, against a professional army of twenty five thousand men, and defeat them. Along the way he will meet with an array of characters, all intent on gaining their own ends. The beautiful young Pippa, who wishes only to visit vendetta on the condottiero, Ignatius Loyola, a fiery priest, ready to change the Catholic world, Edward Wotton, zoologist and Cromwellian spy, Andrea Gritti, the ageing Doge of a once mighty empire, Alessandro Medici, Duke of Florence, and Malatesta Baglioni, the last, great condottiero. Treachery and vengeance abound, in this the exciting fourth installment of TUDOR CRIMES. All three volumes to date are available through Amazon. “Never mind, I will tell you. I wrote it down, word for word, because it amused me so much. He ‘Malatesta Baglioni is a good for nothing, full of shit, penniless brigand, and the misbegotten son of a whore.’ “ “Not a close family then?” Will says, and cannot help but laugh out loud. “A week later, the man was dead, under dubious circumstances.” The Doge closes his diary. “The elder brother was suspected, of course, as he inherited the title, but within a month, he succumbed to a bout of mushroom poisoning.” Italian politics can be every bit as dangerous as the Tudor court's, and as deadly as a scorpion's sting. Anne Stevens' romp through the court of Henry, and Tudor times in general continues without let up.

Genres: Historical

335 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 9, 2015

About the author

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Reviews

[Angie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am, almost despite myself, coming to quite enjoy this series. I accept that it is in urgent need of a competent proofreader and I admit that I do find the present tense narration rather unwieldy but, despite his almost super hero like abilities to overcome insurmountable odds, I do like Will Draper and his entourage and it is refreshing not to see Thomas Cromwell painted as villainous in his Machiavellian attempts to steer England and her increasingly mentally unstable monarch towards the Protestant religion. How long I will keep faith with the series, I cannot say as I fear the injustices perpetrated on the English language and Tudor history may eventually exceed my capacity for the willing suspension of disbelief. However, for the moment, I’ll stick with it; though if anyone knows any other good series while I wait for the next Hugh Corbett or Crispin Guest, I’m listening.

[Boffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accurate slice of Tudor historical fiction, with Venice portrayed in all of its pomp and squalor.