Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Robert Harris, Hutchinson Heinemann, $32.99.
An imaginative re-creation of a true story: the tracking down of the ‘regicides’, the killers of King Charles 1. Attributed as being the greatest manhunt of the 17th century – in particular, the pursuit of Edward Whalley and William Goffe across New England.
It’s 1660 and two English colonels are on the run in America, accused of high treason. On their trail is a man tasked with bringing to justice those responsible for the murder. Under the provisions of the Act of Oblivion, they have been found guilty in absentia of high treason.
In London, Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is tasked with tracking down the fugitives. He’ll stop at nothing until the two men are brought to justice. The stakes could not be higher for the fugitives – faced with a mandatory death sentence of the most grisly and painful kind.
The re-creation does not disappoint, as he injects life into historical events as they could have played out. Well-shaped characters give depth not just to the turbulent times, but also does not forget the women left behind to protect themselves. They had to face adversity calmly and without excess emotion.
The events, dates and locations are accurate, and almost every character is real, apart from Richard Nyler, a persuasive villain. Harris tries to stick to the known facts, and even discovered a few that were previously unknown, such as the date and place of Goffe’s birth and the identity of Whalley’s second wife.
However, it is a novel, but should you want to investigate the story further, there is a list of sources in the acknowledgements.
