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'Like Hilary Mantel on acid' (Reader review) - A queer historical novel set in the court of James I for fans of Sarah Waters and Annie Garthwaite
'Witty, original and clever, this tale of Jacobean power and lust is a blast' THE TIMES, Best Historical Fiction of the Year
Francis Bacon, philosopher, politician, writer, is an outsider at the court of King James I. He is clever but not aristocratic, has ambition but no money. So when his political enemies form a deadly alliance against him, centred around the King's poisonous lover Robert Carr, Bacon has no choice but to fight for his survival.
Together with the neglected Queen, Bacon resolves to find a beguiling young man who can supplant Carr in the King's bed. But as Bacon soon discovers, desire is not something that can be controlled.
Bold, irreverent and utterly original, The Dangerous Kingdom of Love is a darkly witty satire about power, and a moving queer love story that resonates through time.
Author: Neil Blackmore
Paperback Published September 2022 320 pages
Recommended by Graeme:
"The court of James I of England is brought richly and vividly to life through the eyes of writer, philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. This is a world of male favourites, complicated plots to win royal favour, spies in the royal bed chamber, secret messages written in ciphers, and the looming threat of imprisonment, torture or some grisly execution. The novel is based on real-life people (King James I, Queen Anne, playwrights William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson) but as the Dramatis Personae makes clear at the start of the book, Blackmore is writing in an irreverent modern style. King James is described as ‘a sodomite and failed intellectual’, his favourite Robert Carr as ‘a pretty whore’. The crux of the story is like something from a high octane soap opera - Bacon is the King’s righthand man but is frustrated by the King’s favourite Robert Carr, who relishes using his power to punish Bacon at his whim. Note - Bacon also once made a sexual overture to Carr and was rejected! Bacon retaliates by plotting with Queen Anne to groom a more beautiful and compliant favourite to win over the King and supplant the troublesome Carr. Enter the perfect sensual youth, George Villiers - however, Bacon makes the fatal mistake of falling for this boy himself.... This novel is certainly not Wolf Hall and you will likely wonder about the historical facts but the book is an absolute page-turner and so thoroughly entertaining you are unlikely to care."
'An entertaining and very funny read with something to say about both the love of power and the power of love' -SUNDAY TIMES
'Brilliant ... Like Wolf Hall meets Succession ... Scandalous, politically perceptive and unexpectedly heartfelt' -APPLE