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Book Description
Gloriana’s Torch is the third of Patricia Finney’s three novels set in late 16th century England, but you don’t need to read the first two, Unicorn’s Blood and Firedrake’s Eye, to thoroughly enjoy this one. Finney vividly animates a complicated historical period, in which religious issues roil England (and, indeed, all parts of the known world), slavery extends its tentacles ever further into the European continent, and Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, is beset by threats to her rule both from within and outside England. The most immediate danger is that Philip II of Spain is intent on invading England and restoring a Catholic monarch to the throne. Two of the Queen’s loyal subjects, David Becket and Simon Ames (both of whom figure prominently in the earlier novels) are caught up in the events of the day. Becket, still recovering physically and emotionally from his horrendous experiences as a prisoner in the Tower of London, discovers that large quantities of gunpowder destined for use against the invaders have disappeared. Has a traitor diverted them to the Spanish cause? Meanwhile, Ames is captured by the Inquisition in Lisbon while on a secret mission for the Queen, and is forced to serve as a galley slave on a boat in the Spanish Armada. Becket, Ames’ wife, Rebecca, and her African slave, Merula (one of the best characters in the book) set out on the difficult task of rescuing him. Historical fiction doesn’t come any better than this series; I recommend it highly for all fans of the genre.
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