5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: A favourite author, was looking forward to it.
In a Nutshell: Historical fiction with a fantastical element.
Amy Dudley, neglected wife of Lord Robert Dudley, walks through the story of her life with him ... after she has departed this world. She is led from place to place, from situation to situation, by her companion: Death. The purpose of this journey is to uncover the truth, and thus allow her to rest in peace, behind not only her mysterious passing, but the crumbling of her once happy marriage, as the love between Dudley and Queen Elizabeth I deepens.
I'm not into the genre of fantasy at all, but this book worked for me so well. I loved it. It didn't feel like fantasy as such, I think because the events portrayed really did happen.
Amy and Death discuss the machinations of her husband and his ill-fated relationship with the queen, shown to them via their invisible presence in scenes from the past. I found this a perfect way to tell such a story; a straight fiction from the points of view of Elizabeth, Robert and Amy would not have been half so compelling.
The twist on the likely truth behind Amy's demise is clever and interesting, written in the mode of any good murder mystery, though the notes at the back of the book reveal the author's actual thoughts on the matter (I too am in agreement with the general opinion). However, this is not all the book is about. It's the story of a love that couldn't be, of ambition and deceit, of the Queen's triumph of sense over passion; it makes one ponder an abandoned woman's lot in such times, and also the value of life itself, with some wise observations from the not-at-all-demonic Death.
'The wisdom of others should never be ignored, but it should also never be followed with such slavish abandon that we forget to use the matter of our own minds'
'All things must end, that is the way of things. But other beings than me, grief, bitterness, resentment, these are the true enemies, for they steal life still there to live. They make people think life, this precious and unlikely gift, is not worth living, and the worst of it is, it is a lie and people are tricked into believing it. I am not the enemy, just the end. Those who steal away life from those still living, they are the enemy'
It is observations such as these that reiterate to me why Gemma Lawrence is so successful at her chosen profession. Well done.
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