‘Ashes of London is terrific’ Sarah Hilary
‘The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era … the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale’ Financial Times
‘In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I’ Sunday Express
‘One of the most reliably enjoyable of historical novelists … Taylor demonstrates his usual command of plot and historical background’ The Sunday Times
'A complex weave of history and mystery and the first of a new series from Andrew Taylor' The i
‘The author conveys the confusion and uncertainty of the times in a pacy story of Charles II’s desire for vengeance, the struggle to rebuild a stricken city and the hunt for a murderer’ Daily Mail
‘This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.’ Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph
'The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes' The Times
‘Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot.’ The Times, Books of the Year
‘Thrilling… Gripping, fast-moving and credible… It’s a well-constructed political thriller with moments of horror, admirable and enjoyable. Taylor has done his research so thoroughly as to be unobtrusive’ Spectator
‘Finely wrought and solidly researched… The novel’s plot is fiendishly complex’ Sunday Telegraph
10/15/2016
Winner of the Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger and three-time winner of its Ellis Peters Historical Award, Taylor returns with a new historical that has already won UK raves. After the Great Fire engulfs London in 1666, a partly mummified body is found in what should have been an empty tomb at burnt-down St. Paul's, and reluctant government informer James Marwood must find the killer. With a 50,000-copy first printing.
2017-06-06
As the Great Fire burns the heart of London in 1666, political manipulators and religious fundamentalists struggle behind the scenes for control of the kingdom.With Charles I beheaded and Oliver Cromwell in his grave, King Charles II has claimed the throne. Now his reign is threatened by unrepentant republicans, the most radical being the Fifth Monarchists who want a Puritan theocracy with King Jesus as ruler. Trapped in these shenanigans are Catherine "Cat" Lovett, whose father fought against Charles I, and James Marwood, whose father, now pardoned, followed Cromwell. While seeking her father in the aftermath of the fire, Cat lives with her Alderley cousins, who resent and exploit her. Meantime Marwood has been extorted into working for Whitehall by a shadowy figure he knows as Williamson, a man who apparently has significant influence with the king, Privy Council, and Common Council. Williamson demands Marwood find Cat's father, still a threat. Soon Cat and Marwood find themselves in danger. Taylor's (The Silent Boy, 2015, etc.) characterizations are distinctive, with Marwood cautious, constantly worried his physically weak and senile father will be returned to prison; and Cat fascinated by architecture, pushing against social barriers to become assistant to Master Hakesby, an artist rendering Christopher Wren's plans to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral. Taylor is marvelous at replicating a historical world that might otherwise be relegated to dusty history books, especially through his renditions of the era's arch speech and his approach to class and status. Additionally, when a character remarks after an assault that "it was well known that young women were lascivious creatures," Taylor again shows his talent for adding depth by weaving in examples of the historical subjugation and oppression of women. It's worth noting that these fascinating minutiae interlaced into the narrative have no negative effect on focus or pace. Excellent historical fiction.