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A review by preethijoseph
The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn
4.0
As much as I love reading Historical fiction , I always find myself more inclined towards British Literature and stories around Tudor kings and queen ! This is exactly why I chose this book and Boy did I enjoy it ! From the very first page till the end I was completely hooked ! This is the author’s debut novel and I am in awe of what a brilliant storytelling capability .
It isn’t always easy to write historical fiction In fact it is one of the most difficult genres to write given the fact that you have to ensure historical correctness which is very important and involves extensive research whilst on the other hand there should also be a creative plot-line and story to it so that the book would not just read like a History text book. In this book the author has managed to strike a perfect balance between both !!
The smallest man is the bildungsroman/ coming of age story of Nat(Nathaniel)Davy a Dwarf ! Nat Davy gets sold to the Duke of Buckingham by his own father for 11 shillings . At the age of 10 Nat still is the size of a 2yr old and because of his physical appearance his dad is ashamed of him! The Duke gifts Nat to the Queen of England Henrietta Maria to be the Queens Dwarf.. From 10 years we follow Nat’s life upto 30 yrs and how the 11 shillings changed his life overnight. This book was an amazing journey I wish everyone could go on !
I googled a lot to find out about the real Nat , sir Jeffrey Hudson from the 1960’s who was the inspiration for Nat’s character and that took the whole reading experience to another level . I like how the author has spun a beautiful tale out of around King Charles 1, Queen Henrietta , Oliver Cromwell etc
Absolutely adored the writing style , story line, pace and everything about the book ! There are some amazing friendships, well crafted likeable characters, love bonds , politics , war and all the elements needed in a book. But Nat is the hero and will live in our hearts forever ! If not for things getting a bit dragged in the middle and rushed up towards the end this could have easily been a 5 star read for me ! Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I will read anything the author writes in the future .
The whole time , while reading this book I had Tyrion Lannister or should I say Peter Dinklage stuck in my head and if this book was ever adapted to a movie casting him that would be an epitome of sheer perfection
It isn’t always easy to write historical fiction In fact it is one of the most difficult genres to write given the fact that you have to ensure historical correctness which is very important and involves extensive research whilst on the other hand there should also be a creative plot-line and story to it so that the book would not just read like a History text book. In this book the author has managed to strike a perfect balance between both !!
The smallest man is the bildungsroman/ coming of age story of Nat(Nathaniel)Davy a Dwarf ! Nat Davy gets sold to the Duke of Buckingham by his own father for 11 shillings . At the age of 10 Nat still is the size of a 2yr old and because of his physical appearance his dad is ashamed of him! The Duke gifts Nat to the Queen of England Henrietta Maria to be the Queens Dwarf.. From 10 years we follow Nat’s life upto 30 yrs and how the 11 shillings changed his life overnight. This book was an amazing journey I wish everyone could go on !
I googled a lot to find out about the real Nat , sir Jeffrey Hudson from the 1960’s who was the inspiration for Nat’s character and that took the whole reading experience to another level . I like how the author has spun a beautiful tale out of around King Charles 1, Queen Henrietta , Oliver Cromwell etc
Absolutely adored the writing style , story line, pace and everything about the book ! There are some amazing friendships, well crafted likeable characters, love bonds , politics , war and all the elements needed in a book. But Nat is the hero and will live in our hearts forever ! If not for things getting a bit dragged in the middle and rushed up towards the end this could have easily been a 5 star read for me ! Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I will read anything the author writes in the future .
The whole time , while reading this book I had Tyrion Lannister or should I say Peter Dinklage stuck in my head and if this book was ever adapted to a movie casting him that would be an epitome of sheer perfection