The Conscience of the King

Henry Gresham #2

by Martin Stephen

It is 1612. Robert Cecil, Chief Secretary to King James I, is dying. Now the threat from the Catholics has decayed, the Puritan majority are gaining an increasing stranglehold over English society. Parliament is starting to flex its muscles against the King whose court drifts shamelessly towards decadence and corruption. And the great period of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama has ended with the abrupt retreat from public life of William Shakespeare. Then Henry Gresham is asked by Cecil's protege, Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke, to trace a precious hand-written play manuscript that has gone missing, presumed stolen by a Cambridge bookseller. Gresham has no cause to realise that he is being used as live bait to draw out a murderous madman who is determined to destroy James I, a madman who was supposed to have died twenty years before, or that he is set to unravel the truth behind the authorship of one of the greatest plays the world has ever seen...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Shakespeare

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George Martin Stephen is High Master of St Paul's School,London, and ex-High Master of The Manchester Grammar School. He is the author of 16 academic titles on English literature, modern naval history and war poetry, as well as the highly-acclaimed Henry Gresham historical crime novels, set in the London and Cambridge of Elizabeth I and James I.

Reviews

[Alan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the Henry Gresham series certainly improved on the first. I felt there was more depth to the characters and a stronger emotional attachment created by the author.

The lead characters, while still being somewhat stereotypical, come across as more vulnerable and believable than they did in The Desperate Remedy.

The plot again picks up on the writers historical knowledge and expertise, creating a fictional narrative from rumours and speculation of the time. This time around, the plot revolves around the authenticity of Shakespeare's plays and some missing letters associated with the King.

To enjoy this book to the fullest, you have to not examine it too closely and to go with the flow. The villain of the tale almost feels like he belongs in a pantomime rather than in this story. He's always escaping, standing in the shadows and portrayed as evil and dastardly with the ability to pull the strings.

I did scream inwardly every time the author wrote Scottish dialogue attributed to King James. It was truly dreadful, unnecessary and came close to spoiling the book. I was also disappointed by the Epilogue chapter, whisking the reader to modern day. I felt it was a weak ending, but in keeping with the way the narrative was put together.

All in all, despite the negatives, I felt this was an improvement on the author's first book, and if you don't take it too seriously it was a good swashbuckling romp.

[Lisa Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Henry Gresham books are a wonderful vision of Elizabethan/Jacobean times.

[M.J. Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi there, I really expected to like and enjoy this but was a little disappointed. The descriptions of London and Cambridge were very good as were the understanding of the politics of the period. Whilst , the theory of the authorship of Shakespeare's plays was interesting. Every body who was anybody at the time seem to have written them except for Shakespeare himself. He was just a masterly editor and rewriter (according to this novel)

However, I found Henry Gresham to be an annoying character - a sort of Elizabethan James Bond without the charm. The constant head to heads became a little tedious and the whole thing seemed rushed at the end, as if the author had become as bored of it as I had.

Shame. Promised so much but in the end disappointed.

[Linda Cloud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn' put this down!

This intriguing historical thriller kept me enthralled for the two straight days I spent devouring it. I love the setting of Jacobean England, but it was the fluid prose and multidimensional characters that made this one of the best books I've read in a long time. I started this series out of order, but I am definitely going to read the others. I couldn't recommend this book more highly. You should read this!

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneath the surface there are some surprising elements of the thriller genre. Scenes of attempted murder, gang fighting in the Globe Theatre. You gain the feeling that the author knows a lot about everyday life in Jacobean England even if you can't agree with his ideas about the authorship of Shakespeare's plays.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

i fell in love with these books was able to read them all except one these books are so interesting as it is about the history of england in fiction format as far as henry gresham is concerned the whole collection that i read were enticinig and as the reader wanting more really enjoyed this collection

[Carla Nayland]

Action-packed spy thriller set at the court of King James I/VI in 17th-century England, offering a plethora of historical conspiracy theories and a James Bond-style hero to solve them.
Review: http://www.carlanayland.org/reviews/c...

[Zeenat A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good book to read for contextual reference, must admit i proabaly wouldn't have read it in terms of personal preference! but i'm glad i did since i learned quite a bit.

[Batsap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

[Lynn C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series, bit of realism to history but still keeps the story going.

[Vivien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read in the Henry Gresham series.