1988 historical fantasy. In 1595, Elizabeth has decided that James of
Scotland shall be her heir. But he is beset by witches, and she sends
her champion, Sir Philip Sidney, to aid him.
In 1595. Hang on, didn't he… yes. And not only did this world's
Sidney survive Zutphen, he was on hand to rescue Kit Marlowe from that
tavern in Deptford. Sidney is scholar, poet, soldier… and wizard,
trained (as he was historically!) by John Dee, and using all his gifts
in service of the Queen.
Dee's here too, of course; so are Bothwell the Wizard Earl, Walter
Raleigh, Robert Cecil, Shakespeare, and most of the people one would
expect to see in a late Elizabethan story. And while the authors have
clearly had to make choices about people's characters, which aren't
always the best estimates of modern scholarshop, this is a book from
over thirty years ago. What matters to me more than this kind of
accuracy is consistency: these are complex and real people, and they
and their relationships ring true. Even the villains make sense by
their own lights.
The actual plot is sadly straightforward: the nature of the threat to
James is soon discovered, and it's mostly a question of working round
his objections (some reasonable, some not) to give him real
protection. Side matters are more interesting, such as Sidney's wife
Frances (daughter of Walsingham) and the work she does in London while
her husband is in Edinburgh. Things may be a little slow at times but
an ongoing practical attention to detail (clothes are expensive) is
welcome. Overall I rather enjoy this, though I suspect it suffers a
little from trying to fit all the research into one book.
(Taken from kovalic.com back in the day; I can't find a copy on
dorktower.com now.)
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