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If you think that we live in trying times, spare a thought for the residents of London in the mid-17th century. A forty-year-old man in 1666, when ASHES OF LONDON is set, would have been affected by the periodic outbreaks of conflict commonly called the Civil War and could well have participated in the action on one side or the other. If, unlike the narrator of ASHES, he did not actually witness the beheading of Charles I, he certainly would have been shaken by it, and he might also, when the monarchy was restored, have seen those convicted of regicide drawn and quartered for their offence. Those Londoners alive in 1666 had survived the Great Plague of the previous year that killed perhaps twenty-five percent of the city's population. And now, as the novel opens, London itself is being all but destroyed by fire. It must have seemed that there was nothing at all that could be counted upon as certain.
Still, survivors of all this turmoil did have to live as best they could and deal with both the challenges of the present and the remnants of the past. ASHES OF LONDON focusses on two young people, James Marwood, the son of a religious zealot, his father a "Fifth Monarchist" who anticipated the return of "King Jesus," and Catherine Lovett, daughter of a named and fugitive Regicide. Marwood tells his own story; Cat's is narrated in the third person. These characters have one thing in common - both are the children of men whose side ultimately lost everything when the monarchy was restored. A chief difference between them is that Marwood's father is suffering from senile dementia and is essentially harmless, whereas Cat's may be in the grip of religious mania but is capable of considerable damage. Another is that whereas Marwood has concluded that his best road forward is to keep his head down and avoid attention, Cat is not allowed that luxury and must act decisively, even violently, when her liberty is threatened.
Although their fathers knew one another and participated in a common cause, Marwood and Catherine are not acquainted and their two stories unfold separately though along arcs that will ultimately bring them together. Marwood has been coerced into acting as a sort of private investigator, looking into things that concern the authorities. Among these are a couple of bodies that have been found with their thumbs bound, murdered. He is less than happy in his work, but carries it out it both ably and conscientiously, knowing that his father's continued freedom depends on his satisfactory performance.
Cat, on the other hand, is in a far more dangerous position. First, her father, a named Regicide, is still at large and being sought. If caught, he can expect a terrible end. As a woman, she has far less freedom of action than Marwood. She is being sheltered by relatives who have arranged a marriage for her to the piggy Sir Denzil Croughton, who is looking forward to getting hold of her estate. But before the wedding can take place, Cat is on the run, disguised as a servant and hiding out as best she can. She is resourceful, but more, she is determined to control her own life as far as she is able and willing to act decisively, even with violence, when she must. Taylor's reversal of the usual gender roles is unusual, but convincing.
ASHES OF LONDON is, as we might anticipate, brilliantly plotted and richly detailed. In following the adventures of the two protagonists, we are treated to a tour of London after the Great Fire, into areas scorched but not destroyed by its flames. Some are medieval survivals, like the liberty of "Alsatia," (Whitefriars), where thieves, murderers, and lawbreakers of all sorts maintained their right of sanctuary in an aggressively defended no-go zone. We get a glimpse of the work going into clearing the rubble of the fires and the planning for the new London to be erected on its ashes. We see how the government attempts to maintain order and continuity in the wake of the terrific strains of the past few decades. Most particularly, we are treated to a view of the earliest stages in the emergence of a modern city at a time when its inhabitants knew that change was occurring but had little idea of what it all meant.
Any reader familiar with Andrew Taylor's previous work will know what a thoroughly admirable historical novelist he is. He is almost uniquely able to combine an engrossing story with a wealth of detail that is never forced upon the reader. In his company we are in the fortunate position of a kind of time traveller, safely conveyed to dangerous times, a witness to history.
It would appear that the US release of ASHES has been delayed. It is, however, readily available in both Canada and Britain, and certainly worth the small effort it takes to get hold of a copy. It's a perfect choice for a summer read - expansive, engaging, yet challenging and ultimately hopeful. Though we have not had to deal with the extent of catastrophe that was visited on Taylor's 17th century Londoners, we do live in parlous times nevertheless, and have something to learn from how they learned to rise from their ashes.
§ Yvonne Klein is a writer, translator, and retired college English professor who lives in Montreal. She's been editing RTE since 2008.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, May 2016
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