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The Counterplot
It’s 1605 in London, and Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare, is finding life a struggle. With his career waning and his patron, Lord D’Aubigny, growing tired of him, he throws caution to the wind and writes a satirical play, Eastward Ho! But its laughs at the expense of the monarch cost Jonson dearly, and he lands in jail with his reputation in tatters.
On his release, he searches for his estranged wife, Anne, and discovers that his own long absences and the deaths of their three children from the plague have led her to take comfort with a furtive crew of ardent papists.
Out of concern for his wife, Ben becomes entangled with this seditious group and learns of a violent plot its members are hatching. When this plot - the infamous Gunpowder Plot - is exposed, Ben and his wife find their own lives in danger.
Set in the London of Shakespeare’s heyday, The Counterplot is a mix of historical novel and gripping adventure.
On his release, he searches for his estranged wife, Anne, and discovers that his own long absences and the deaths of their three children from the plague have led her to take comfort with a furtive crew of ardent papists.
Out of concern for his wife, Ben becomes entangled with this seditious group and learns of a violent plot its members are hatching. When this plot - the infamous Gunpowder Plot - is exposed, Ben and his wife find their own lives in danger.
Set in the London of Shakespeare’s heyday, The Counterplot is a mix of historical novel and gripping adventure.
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Published December 23, 2019
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December 28, 2019
Set in the early 17th century, this is a tale of intrigue, but also one of a man who simply tries to reconcile his ambitions with his broken marriage and with his life in general. In a way the author creates a correlation between past and present by doing so.
The normality of his worries and attempts to make a living, whilst trying to regain some semblance of his previous marital relationship are really not that much different from someone in our day and age. Barring the ambitious assassination plots, the possibility of being jailed and beheaded for contentious words both written and spoken of course, perhaps even more dangerous when your words are played out on the stage for the entire city to experience.
The story is written very much with the feel and sound of the era, so at times it feels as if the listener has stepped into the 17th century and is standing in the midst of the bustling streets listening to the characters or standing in the children’s chambers as the parents confront their grief.
Chapter 19 is tragic and yet equally as beautiful in its unavoidable pain, horror and tragedy. Perceived as a natural occurrence and an event one shouldn’t and couldn’t spend time fixating on or indeed on loss.
It’s an historical thriller plotted with the pace of a piece of literary fiction – it’s visceral and engrossing. George gives his listeners a combination of almost poetic like exchanges – old English – and a character who stumbles through life with an almost accidental propensity for danger, pain, embarrassment and ultimately survival.
The normality of his worries and attempts to make a living, whilst trying to regain some semblance of his previous marital relationship are really not that much different from someone in our day and age. Barring the ambitious assassination plots, the possibility of being jailed and beheaded for contentious words both written and spoken of course, perhaps even more dangerous when your words are played out on the stage for the entire city to experience.
The story is written very much with the feel and sound of the era, so at times it feels as if the listener has stepped into the 17th century and is standing in the midst of the bustling streets listening to the characters or standing in the children’s chambers as the parents confront their grief.
Chapter 19 is tragic and yet equally as beautiful in its unavoidable pain, horror and tragedy. Perceived as a natural occurrence and an event one shouldn’t and couldn’t spend time fixating on or indeed on loss.
It’s an historical thriller plotted with the pace of a piece of literary fiction – it’s visceral and engrossing. George gives his listeners a combination of almost poetic like exchanges – old English – and a character who stumbles through life with an almost accidental propensity for danger, pain, embarrassment and ultimately survival.
Displaying 1 of 1 review