License to Quill is a page-turning James Bond-esque spy thriller starring William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe during history’s real life Gunpowder Plot. The story follows the fascinating golden age of English espionage, the tumultuous cold war gripping post-Reformation Europe, the cloak-and-dagger politics of Shakespeare’s England, and lastly, the mysterious origins of the Bard’s most … Bard’s most haunting play: Macbeth. You won’t want to miss this fast-paced historical retelling!
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I heard many good things about License to Quill from someone whose taste I trust (my dearest fan ;-), and being a historical fiction fan the book held a natural interest.
*** What to Expect
London, 1604/05. On the backdrop of King James VI of Scotland becoming James I of England, of the brewing Catholic-backed Gunpowder Plot, William Shakespeare writes the great Scottish Play, Macbeth. While this books explores all this, it does so in a lighthearted, fast-paced dark comedy style.
Expect Shakespeare working for the Ordnance Office (the Double-O), with himself as Bond, Sir Walsingham (the real-life English spymaster) as M, and Francis Bacon (father of modern science) as Q. Christopher Marlowe has also been recruited as a fellow agent (his demise a decade earlier apparently a ruse), and the plot spills and spans from England to Venice, across years of plague and other natural disasters.
This is a fast-paced, humorous, oh-so-slightly more than natural take on real events and people, in what were undoubtedly one of England’s most exciting times.
*** What I liked
I loved the clear intimate familiarity of della Quercia with the period. Bacon training ravens to act as almost supernatural guards? Backed by his writings. An anaesthetic for surgery made of equal measures of boar bile, opium, hemlock, and lettuce (amongst other things)? A dwale straight out of 15th century recipe. Whenever della Quercia comes up with something outlandish, a small footnote of original sources shows where he got the idea from — and makes us wonder about the rest of it.
*** What to be aware of
While the fast pace leads to a bit of too-fast jumping around (just like in a typical Bond movie), action scenes are a bit lacklustre. Also bear in mind that though this novel may be filed under “historical fantasy” for the anachronistic tropes, it’s historical fiction. Excellent one, but not fantastical in the way most fantasy readers might expect.
*** Felix’s Review
Felix had a run-in with his own government’s version of priest-spies (again a slight exaggeration of reality), and all but applauded hiring the world’s best dramatist into the role. While many things have changed in Britain since Rome ruled it, he found it comforting to know that, one, many of the foundational pieces of his culture remained as the underpinnings of civilisations millennia to come, and, two, how human nature had changed so little, what with all the backstabbing and plagues.
His only complaint was that the book would have been better written as a play, because the fight scenes were clearly badly staged even if the dialogue was brilliant.
*** Summary
It’s a lovely piece for anyone who enjoys Shakespeare and the 16th/17th century London, in all its grime and glory.
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Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He’s the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
First and foremost, how can you put down a book about William Shakespeare, the world’s greatest writer and dramatist? And as if he wasn’t enough, Jacopo aimed to attract the readers with Christopher Marlow, another prominent English playwright and poet during the Elizabethan era. This book is jampacked with historical legends like Former Lord Chancellor and English philosopher, Francis Bacon, Thomas Walsingham (English chronicler), Richard Burbage (famous Globe Theatre actor), Guy Fawkes (famously known as the culprit of the failed Gunpowder Plot in 1605), and more. I also liked the involvement of witches, ravens, and Aston (the silver stallion) because they made the story even more enticing to read. And because Jacopo blessed us with so many interesting characters, the conversations were naturally compelling, and the setting was geographically amazing. If producers would do a movie adaptation, this is bound to have an incredible cinematography.
Frankly, my spirits upon reading “License to Quill” was unfathomable. I couldn’t quite pinpoint if I was ecstatic, woeful, thrilled, tense or amuse; it was a mix of many emotions, but I am certain that the story took me to a long and fast joyride. Overall, the novel was a mix of whacky and intelligent work of art by Jacopo della Quercia and I highly recommend this book to readers who love historical fiction.