Honesty and Lies
This story reeled me in like a fish to the world of Queen Elizabeth 1, Tudor London and the backdrop to the Gunpowder plotters. Thirteen-year-old runaway, Honesty, arrives in London on a cabbage cart from Wales. She meets Alice, who works at Greenwich Palace, and soon Honesty is working alongside her, learning as fast as she can, and becoming storyteller to the queen. Through her wide eyes and quick wits, we witness the harshness of the city streets and meet a queen with black teeth and hair that “sings the orange joy of autumn leaves’.
But Honesty is not the only storyteller. Some chapters are told from Alice’s point of view, giving clear insights into the queen’s situation (”Some people do not think we should follow her religion. Some do not think she should be queen at all,”) as well as another side to their own story, as lies and intrigue threaten their friendship.
And there is yet another wordsmith. Eloise Williams (who was the inaugural Children’s Laureate Wales) spins this entire yarn most wonderfully. The pace is fast yet the girls’ emotional journey is beautifully charted. We see, for example, Alice struggling with her own resentment as Honesty gains favour with the queen. Themes of trust, honesty, trickery and betrayal are explored—between the two of them, and amongst the other characters at court—foreshadowing the treason that is planned. Williams has the power just to charm with a few lyrical words: ‘Dread tingles my fingers…’ or ‘the whispers of night start to purple the sky…’ Her writing also captures feelings, fears, hopes that are timeless and anchors them amidst the putrid smells and silken textures of a different age. Surely this is historical fiction at its best. An illuminating and compelling read for readers of 9+.
