The King's Spy (The Rebellion Series, Book 1)

 

When I asked Mark Turnbull to write the forward of my novel Generalissima, I was impressed by his credentials as both a novelist and biographer, as well as his vast knowledge of the period known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms aka the English Civil Wars. As an American who grew up near a battlefield of our own Civil War, I have friends who know the details of every conflict, of every regiment, of who died where and how, and so on. Mark Turnbull is similarly familiar with the highly complicated warfare amid shifting alliances that comprised the English Civil Wars. He also has the ability to tell a riveting story while building fascinating characters. The King's Spy, a thriller of a novella, is the first of a trilogy about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, The Rebellion Series. Mark is also author of the award-winning novel Allegiance of Blood, likewise about the English Civil Wars. I enjoyed and reviewed his biography of Charles I and look forward to the new biography of Prince Rupert.

 

From the Amazon page:

14th June 1645. The Battle of Naseby is set to decide the outcome of the civil war in England.

The armies of King Charles I face those of Parliament and its untested New Model Army. Yet amidst the carnage, an intensely personal battle takes place between two men.

Captain Maxwell Walker is a royalist cavalry officer, widower and father. Loyal and brave, but haunted by his grief, Maxwell thirsts for revenge. His life has never been the same since his encounter with the parliamentarian Gervase Harper, a man whose ruthless streak sees him prosecute the war with vigour. Harper cuts down anyone who gets in his way. Maxwell’s wife was no exception.

The outcome of Naseby causes Maxwell to be tasked with a royal rescue mission. The King’s most personal possession must be retrieved. His cypher would allow Parliament to decode captured royal correspondence and that would deal a major blow in the propaganda war.

The soldier must play the spy.

His actions, however, earn him the enmity of both sides. The hunter becomes the hunted.

Facing a murder charge, as well as a great siege, Maxwell makes a discovery that might just save himself and the King’s remaining cavalry.

However, all of this rests upon his next encounter with Gervase Harper. (Read more.)

A most moving scene is of an aged Anglican pastor after he and his church have been attacked by the Puritan army. The Puritans hated altars, vestments and stained glass, all the things Charles I insisted upon having in his churches. Such vignettes convey the religious upheavals which seared the souls of the populace, along with the other atrocities.

 

Since The King's Spy begins with a description of Naseby and the immediate fallout after the battle, I waited to read it until now when I am researching the final volume in the Henrietta of France Trilogy. It is an excellent book for young readers as a politically incorrect, non-woke introduction into the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Because, as I have found, well-researched historical fiction tends to challenge our contemporary preconceptions, giving us a glimpse into a lost world. Share