Martyr: John Shakespeare 1

Martyr (John Shakespeare 1) For fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris, MARTYR is the third in chronological order of Rory Clements' acclaimed.
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A WW2 novel about resistance, love and the courage to stand up and do the right thing. Based on a true story. Product details File Size: June 11, Sold by: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention john shakespeare sir francis rory clements francis drake older brother queen elizabeth spanish armada richard topcliffe lady blanche elizabethan thriller blanche howard young woman historical mystery look forward matthew shardlake forward to reading elizabethan london brother william shakespeare finds shakespeare is the older.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Clements isn't a great writer. Let me say that from the outset. He uses all the right words, but his tone still ends up on the dry side. Nevertheless, "Martyr" is a good enough story, all on its own, that the book is well above average and well with reading.

The main character carries a famous name. But, the name Shakespeare is famous in our time, not in his.

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No one stops John Shakespeare in the street to gasp and say, "You're related to the guy who wrote 'King Lear'? It's true his brother, William Shakespeare, makes a brief appearance in the book well, come now, you knew he had to turn up at some point, didn't you? So, I think the naming of the main character had more to do with marketing than with plot. I do think it was bold of the author to make John Shakespeare not wholly likable. What I mean by that is that John is an enlightened man for his times, but he still is very much a man of his times. That means many of his beliefs and actions are unsavory to a modern audience with our pesky "due process of law" views.

Clements also chooses to paint an accurate picture of Elizabethan London with all of its ills. There's no "Tudors" glamour here. You do feel a bit sick from the squalor of it all. I also have to say that I didn't like Catherine Marvell much. She seemed more like a caricature than a character.

From head to toe, she was merely the standard beautiful, spunky girl who spars with the hero and then wins his heart with her fiery spirit. Also, considering her faith, I doubt she would have made many of the personal decisions she did. Despite all of that, the book is a top-notch thriller and mystery. Once it got going, I was compelled to race through to the end as soon as possible. I will also pick up the second novel. I hear the series is up to five. I don't know if my interest will last quite so long, but I certainly have enough left for the next book.

One person found this helpful. It is followed by "Revenger" which has just been published. Clements has written a fine novel in "Martyr".

Martyr : John Shakespeare Series : Book 1 | Buy Fiction

John Shakespeare - older brother to that writer-guy - is employed by Sir Francis Walsingham, a close adviser to Queen Elizabeth - as an investigator. He "looks into" things for Walsingham, often providing with "muscle" as well as "brains". The "muscles" might not be his own, but the "brains" certainly are.

In "Martyr", Shakespeare is charged with looking into the brutal murder of a young woman with court connections, as well as a plot against Sir Francis Drake, purportedly instigated by Elizabeth's traditional enemy, Phillip II of Spain. Getting rid of Drake - and his mastery of English ships - would make Spain's planned invasion of England easier. And why does Spain want to invade England in the 's? Why to force England back into the "True Church" after it's wicked turn to Protestantism. John Shakespeare has some special powers endowed on him by this association with Walsingham, but so does his rival, Richard Topcliffe, the Queen's Servant, who's also charged to looking into similar problems.

Clements has written a story which contains references to almost every level of Elizabethan society and manages to do it in a fairly uncomplicated way. Lots of characters are introduced, lots of plot lines examined, but surprisingly, it all fits together in the book. That's not an easy thing for a writer to do, but Clements pulls it off very well.

Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I enjoyed this book very much. I am intrigued by Tudor-Stuart England.

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My family is traced back to 12th century England and it's my favorite place to visit. This book makes you feel like you're actually in England at the time. The religious intrigue, descriptions of the people and their way of life are excellent. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Elizabethan age and especially the religious turmoil present at the time. John Shakespeare is a wonderful character and I look forward to reading more books about him and his adventures.

I like the way Rory Clements writes. The story was set against an authentic historical backdrop during the reign of Elizabeth I, a period of intrigue and secrecy, with swashbuckling sea captains, swords brandished and fierce loyalty in their hearts, claiming land, gold and glory for their queen and cunning ne'er-do-wells and bawdy maids doing their best to escape the squalid conditions that is their lot in life.

The characters are well-drawn for the short context of their appearance, but the author deserves a special congratulation for his use of authentic vocabulary and terminology and his knowledge of social, architectural and political practices of the time. Plot and characters keep the reader turning the pages.

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It was a pleasant holiday read. I've been looking for good "Tudor fiction" pieces, and this is one of the highest rated ones on Amazon. If that's the case, I suspect the bar is set pretty low. I could only get about half way through this book. It's a potboiler, and the Tudor setting is really just window dressing for a series of manufactured crises, hackneyed characters and mediocre writing. I suspect I'll be better off just reading history books and biographies about the era, and forgoing any attempts at fiction.

If you enjoy C J Sansom and the Shardlake series, you will enjoy this. Personally speaking, as a character I would still prefer to grab a coffee with Matthew Shardlake rather than Rory Clements' John Shakespeare but in my opinion this series is a very good second best. It describes the life and mood of London well, based around a credible plot. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series and trust that I will continue to enjoy the life of Elizabethan London through Shakespeare's eyes.

See all 23 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 1 year ago. Published on June 14, There's no "Tudors" glamour here. You do feel a bit sick from the squalor of it all. I also have to say that I didn't like Catherine Marvell much. She seemed more like a caricature than a character. From head to toe, she was merely the standard beautiful, spunky girl who spars with the hero and then wins his heart with her fiery spirit. Also, considering her faith, I doubt she would have made many of the personal decisions she did.

Despite all of that, the book is a top-notch thriller and mystery. Once it got going, I was compelled to race through to the end as soon as possible. I will also pick up the second novel. I hear the series is up to five. I don't know if my interest will last quite so long, but I certainly have enough left for the next book. It is followed by "Revenger" which has just been published. Clements has written a fine novel in "Martyr".


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John Shakespeare - older brother to that writer-guy - is employed by Sir Francis Walsingham, a close adviser to Queen Elizabeth - as an investigator. He "looks into" things for Walsingham, often providing with "muscle" as well as "brains". The "muscles" might not be his own, but the "brains" certainly are. In "Martyr", Shakespeare is charged with looking into the brutal murder of a young woman with court connections, as well as a plot against Sir Francis Drake, purportedly instigated by Elizabeth's traditional enemy, Phillip II of Spain.

Getting rid of Drake - and his mastery of English ships - would make Spain's planned invasion of England easier. And why does Spain want to invade England in the 's? Why to force England back into the "True Church" after it's wicked turn to Protestantism. John Shakespeare has some special powers endowed on him by this association with Walsingham, but so does his rival, Richard Topcliffe, the Queen's Servant, who's also charged to looking into similar problems.

Clements has written a story which contains references to almost every level of Elizabethan society and manages to do it in a fairly uncomplicated way. Lots of characters are introduced, lots of plot lines examined, but surprisingly, it all fits together in the book. That's not an easy thing for a writer to do, but Clements pulls it off very well.

I enjoyed this book very much. I am intrigued by Tudor-Stuart England. My family is traced back to 12th century England and it's my favorite place to visit.

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This book makes you feel like you're actually in England at the time. The religious intrigue, descriptions of the people and their way of life are excellent. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Elizabethan age and especially the religious turmoil present at the time.

John Shakespeare is a wonderful character and I look forward to reading more books about him and his adventures. I like the way Rory Clements writes. The story was set against an authentic historical backdrop during the reign of Elizabeth I, a period of intrigue and secrecy, with swashbuckling sea captains, swords brandished and fierce loyalty in their hearts, claiming land, gold and glory for their queen and cunning ne'er-do-wells and bawdy maids doing their best to escape the squalid conditions that is their lot in life.

The characters are well-drawn for the short context of their appearance, but the author deserves a special congratulation for his use of authentic vocabulary and terminology and his knowledge of social, architectural and political practices of the time. Plot and characters keep the reader turning the pages. It was a pleasant holiday read. I've been looking for good "Tudor fiction" pieces, and this is one of the highest rated ones on Amazon.

If that's the case, I suspect the bar is set pretty low.