An entrancing book, wonderfully narrated

This is a brilliant book, by turns funny and dark set in the court of the course James I. The narrator is Francis Bacon who narrates his own story with wry self-awareness.
If you are offended by crude words, this is not the book for you. But, although sex plays a major part in the book, the descriptions are never graphic.

The story of love and power is intriguing and characters rise and fall with stunning rapidity. The relationship between Francis Bacon and George Villiiers which is at the heart of the book is very believable and the denoument is genuinely moving,

I cannot imagine how the narration could be improved upon - its briliant. Philip Stevens uses an impressive array of voices for the characters, male and female. The voice that he gives to George Villiers is absolutely pitch perfect. It fits 'the perfect boy, the beguiling boy' to perfection.

1 person found this helpful

Bawdy but brilliant!

I bought this after reading an excellent review in the Times and I wasn't disappointed. It was fun, using real characters from history and weaving an intimate tale around their interactions. The narration can make or break a good book and the narration here was perfect, with a great performance by Philip Stevens. The language can be eye watering at times but is entirely in keeping with the story and the characters. Just don't listen on loudspeaker when great aunt Mabel is around.