Villiers first became a royal favorite in 1615 when he was in his early 20s, and even in van Miereveld’s portrait you can still see why: the seductive eyes, the bold facial features, the inviting lips. James was deeply and obviously smitten, and Villiers’ fortunes prospered accordingly. He began as a cupbearer to the king, a job that was anything but empty ceremony, as Woolley engagingly and accurately conveys: I have spoken to you of the first principle of knowledge: that we are beings of two parts. Every man, from the lowest worm to the highest king, has two souls."

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. - Wikipedia Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. - Wikipedia

The heady mix of fear and awe Berren remembered as his apprentice were gone, not a trace of it left. What he saw now both made him feel pity and repulsion." The right characters leave us and a new story emerges for our young "thief taker" Berren. It was cool getting to know Tarn and Syannis' younger brother and the "idiot" brother. The story behind their idiot brother was a cool too. A compelling, messy end to the series. The route Berren takes through the book is chaotic and, I feel, true to life.Read More The chilling true story of the real-life ‘fasting girls’ who inspired Netflix’s The Wonder intentionally, but parsing the difference between killing and murdering would probably be a bit unwieldy for a book title. Still, some short passages of the novel describe a long time passing, and it felt like certain parts were just brushed over, giving the novel the feel that it was perhaps shorter than it could or should have been. Where in the first two novels, you were there with Berren nearly every day, and at every step, this novel spans several years, and some of it felt a bit too much like it was a step up to the integration into the other series that Deas is writing.

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Still, the overlap between the series is a fascinating idea, especially since there are some ongoing mysteries building in that other series.Read More Mary Queen of Scots’ secret letters are found - and decoded to reveal her true intentions I hope there is another book coming from this series. Deas is a crafty writer and he keeps me engaged throughout the story. The emotional Berren and him coming to terms with who is is interesting and a little annoying at times. But nothing you cannot get past. I find myself in a very odd position in rating the book. While I can’t deny that it’s a solid biography of a fascinating person, I felt that it was hard work: I can’t quite push it up to four stars, despite its intellectual weight and profusion of quotes, of which I feel compelled to approve as a historian. But perhaps that density was the very problem. I felt that I had to read it with one end of the thread constantly in hand, like Theseus, to stop myself from getting lost in the detail. But does that say more about me than about the book? I’d be extremely interested to know how other people found it. Could it be that my brain is beginning to shut down as I approach the brink of middle age? Good heavens, I hope not. I’ve got far too many Russian novels and history books to get through before my intellect dribbles out through my ears… As with his piety, the pederasty of James I was one of the wonders of his age. The father of the 1611 “King James Bible” and the self-styled representative of Christ on earth, James nevertheless made no secret of his homoerotic and almost certainly sexual pleasure in the company of handsome and intelligent young men. To the scandal of the godly, the new king conferred his largesse and his famously slobbering public kisses on a succession of Adonis-faced royal beaux.