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A review by angelofthetardis
The King's Witch by Tracy Borman
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As Elizabeth I lay dying, Frances is on hand to provide traditional healing potions and folk remedies to ease her suffering. But the Queen's successor sees evil in such practices and is determined to stamp put the scourge of witchcraft from his new kingdom.
I very much enjoy Tracy Borman's non-fiction works, but to be honest I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this, her first historical fiction title; she is very good at explaining the history when speaking or presenting a TV show, but I do find her a little stilted sometimes when it comes to "illustrating" the more subjective parts of an episode. However, I was pleasantly surprised; this shows that she is very capable of weaving fact and imagination together seamlessly to create a thoroughly immersive work. As she states in the author's notes, although Frances really existed, very little is known about her, so there aren't those moments that feel out of character or implausible like in some novels where the character is well known to history - her existence is enough to bring life and truth to the character, and the fictional elements give her the depth.
In particular, I love that the author managed to get me hoping that she might forego the historical part of the historical fiction by the end; something that doesn't happen to me very often! The slow burn development of the main character's relationship is excellently done, and as things progressed I found myself rooting more and more for them. And even though the epilogue is almost stereotypical for this type of story, where I would normally roll my eyes I this case it gave me a little spark of warmth in my heart.
I think I would have enjoyed a little more character development for Tom, just so he felt as fully developed as Frances, but at the same time you know all you really need to about him from the text (and the history books if you're familiar with the period). On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen Robert Cecil portrayed so well as a straight-up villain of the piece. I had a visceral reaction to him and again I desperately wanted to see him get his comeuppance, whether or not it's historically accurate!
There is a quite dark scene of interrogation/torture in the book which, while certainly uncomfortable to read, does seem to reflect the reality of life at that time. It is very well handled; graphic enough to make the reader understand certain horrors and how it was often gratuitous violence, while at the same time not being so details as to be inappropriate or unnecessary.
I would say that this does almost feel like two books in one though. The title really only applies to the first half of the action, and while it doesn't motor along, you reach the pivotal scene you assume would be at the climax of the book, but you're barely half way through. The second half of the story takes us into an almost completely unrelated plot, but if you know even rudimentary English history you'll probably have a good idea where you'll end up. While it does work, part of me wonders if things had been split into a duology and more description, suspense and slow-burn action had been included, whether it might have just been that little more satisfying.
I very much enjoy Tracy Borman's non-fiction works, but to be honest I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this, her first historical fiction title; she is very good at explaining the history when speaking or presenting a TV show, but I do find her a little stilted sometimes when it comes to "illustrating" the more subjective parts of an episode. However, I was pleasantly surprised; this shows that she is very capable of weaving fact and imagination together seamlessly to create a thoroughly immersive work. As she states in the author's notes, although Frances really existed, very little is known about her, so there aren't those moments that feel out of character or implausible like in some novels where the character is well known to history - her existence is enough to bring life and truth to the character, and the fictional elements give her the depth.
In particular, I love that the author managed to get me hoping that she might forego the historical part of the historical fiction by the end; something that doesn't happen to me very often! The slow burn development of the main character's relationship is excellently done, and as things progressed I found myself rooting more and more for them. And even though the epilogue is almost stereotypical for this type of story, where I would normally roll my eyes I this case it gave me a little spark of warmth in my heart.
I think I would have enjoyed a little more character development for Tom, just so he felt as fully developed as Frances, but at the same time you know all you really need to about him from the text (and the history books if you're familiar with the period). On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen Robert Cecil portrayed so well as a straight-up villain of the piece. I had a visceral reaction to him and again I desperately wanted to see him get his comeuppance, whether or not it's historically accurate!
There is a quite dark scene of interrogation/torture in the book which, while certainly uncomfortable to read, does seem to reflect the reality of life at that time. It is very well handled; graphic enough to make the reader understand certain horrors and how it was often gratuitous violence, while at the same time not being so details as to be inappropriate or unnecessary.
I would say that this does almost feel like two books in one though. The title really only applies to the first half of the action, and while it doesn't motor along, you reach the pivotal scene you assume would be at the climax of the book, but you're barely half way through. The second half of the story takes us into an almost completely unrelated plot, but if you know even rudimentary English history you'll probably have a good idea where you'll end up. While it does work, part of me wonders if things had been split into a duology and more description, suspense and slow-burn action had been included, whether it might have just been that little more satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual content