Murder By Misrule - Anna Castle

   2014; 331 pages.  Book 1 (out of 6) in the “A Francis Bacon Mystery” series.  New Author? : Yes.  Genre : Historical Mystery; Historical Fiction; English History Fiction; Romance.  Laurels: One of Kirkus Review’s “Best Indie Books of 2014”.  Overall Rating : 8½*/10.

    Young Francis Bacon is in a pickle.  He’s been banished from the court by no less a person than Queen Elizabeth herself.  Over a silly triviality: Francis had merely suggested, at length, that the English judicial code could use some improvements.  For some reason, the Queen took offense at that.

    The logical step is to do something to get back in her good graces.  But therein lies the challenge.  When you’ve been kicked out of her presence, how can you do or say something that will mollify her?

    Well, Francis’s uncle, Lord Burghley, has a suggestion.  Just the other day, on “Queen’s Day”, no less, Tobias Smythson, an esteemed barrister, was brutally murdered while out for a stroll.  Lord Burghley’s had suggested that if Francis were to investigate and figure out who did it, that might appease the Queen.  The lack of any clues or suspects is a challenge to overcome.

    Actually, it wasn’t a suggestion by Lord Burghley.  It was a demand.

What’s To Like...

    Murder By Misrule is set in Elizabethan England towards the close of 1586.  The "Society of Gray’s Inn", a quasi law school, of which 25-year-old Francis Bacon is a part, is winding down its agenda as the Christmas holidays approach, and Francis engages the help from a team of young law students in the murder investigation.

    The “Historical Mystery” angle is dome well.  There is a Sherlock Holmesian tone to the story, with one student, Thomas Clarady, playing Watson to Bacon’s Sherlock, and the rest of the solicited law students forming a kind of “Baker Street Irregulars” crew.  But this isn’t an Arthur Conan Doyle wannabee.  Our protagonists are concerned with the “who” done it, not the “how”, and Francis is perfectly capable of making some errors in deduction.  Also, the “police” (Sir Walter Ralegh and the Earl of Cumberland) are not the blithering idiots like Holmes had to deal with.

    All the characters are “gray”, which is a definite plus.  Francis may be the star of the story, but he can be arrogant, fawning, and even obnoxious at times.  Clarady is prone to being a butthead, and the rest of the team squabble among themselves, blab when they should keep silent, and pick fights when they ought to be discreet.  I loved it.

    I found the book to be unexpectedly witty.  Bacon and his team may have their faults, but they are sharp of tongue, and the banter includes things like the riddle “how many lawyers are wanted to light a lanthorn?”  The answer is in the book.

    The “Historical Fiction” aspect of the book was great,  The setting truly felt like 16^th-century London, and I enjoyed the details of the time, such as what they used back then as toilet paper.  The answer may surprise you.  There’s a modicum of cussing, mostly variations on the word sh*t, but more often Anna Castle has the boys come up with original phrases, such as spur-galled gudgeon, knotty-pated pompions, foul pustule, oniony puttock, and my personal favorite, pompous potbellied porker.

    Interwoven among all the mayhem, banter, and sleuthing is the more serious theme of the time – the strife between Protestants and Roman Catholics for control of England.  Some present-day hot-button topics are also examined, such as equal job opportunities for women, and what is euphemistically called “intramasculine amores”.  I should mention that there is a “Romance” aspect as well, developed enough to appeal to female readers, yet not be off-putting to male ones.

    There are a couple of neat plot twists along the way, including; the one that involved Trumpet completely blindsided me.  The ending is good; it’s a bit “over the top”, but that’s okay, it makes for a more dramatic (literally) and exciting finish.  All the major plot threads are resolved, although things like the Tom’s romantic options presumably carry over to Book Two.

Kewlest New Word ...

Hobbledehoy (n.) : a clumsy or awkward youth..

Others : Farthingale (n.), Pipkin (n.), Marl (v.), Wherry (n.), Spondulate (adj., and with unknown meaning), Gleeking (v.), Moot (n.) Verisimilitude (n.).

Excerpts...

    He’d asked for a modest salary of four hundred pounds per annum, with two clerks.  An ambitious proposal, certainly, but arrogant?  He still could not comprehend that charge.  He was young, yes, but his gifts were evident.  His parents had taught him not to disguise his God-given talents with false modesty, but to exercise them for the benefit of society.  If his manner tended to be reserved, it was through fault of bashfulness, not pride.

    Apparently the distinction between a lack of false modesty and arrogance was one he had yet to master.  (loc. 552)

  “Her lips are too big.”  Trumpet broke into his reverie.  He sounded like he’d been pondering the topic for some time and had reached a final ruling.  “They seem unwholesome, like overripe fruit.”

    “Her lips are magnificent,” Tom said.

    “Her eyes are too deeply set,” Trumpet said.  “They look secretive, ill-tempered.  That type doesn’t age well.  Trust me, in a few years, she’ll look like a hag.”

    “Angels never age.”  Tom’s love was imperturbable.  (loc. 2563)

Kindle Details...

    Murder By Misrule is currently (and usually) free at Amazon.  The next book in the series, Death by Disputation, is a mere $0.99, and the rest of the books in the series are priced at $4.99 each.  Anna Castle also writes a series titled “Professor and Mrs. Moriarty Mysteries”, which at present consists of three books.  They go for $4.99 apiece.   

 “I hated the Hermits. (…) “For one thing, if they’re so devoted to hermitation, why do they go about in a group?”  (loc. 145)

    There’s really not a lot to quibble about in Murder By Misrule.  Some of the names of historical people seemed to be deliberately misspelled, such as "Ralegh" for "Raleigh".  Maybe these were Middle English spellings.  The fate of Clara’s husband seemed telegraphed to me, but frankly I say the same thing about every Hallmark TV movie that my wife watches this time of year.

    Some Amazon reviewers didn’t like all the obscure and/or archaic Middle English words used in the tale, but I thought they were great.  Other reviewers were turned off by the sex, violence, and cussing, but hey, this is NOT a cozy mystery.  Also, beyond the “intramasculine amores” angle, there seemed a subtle and unanswered question of whether Francis himself was gay or bi.  I suspect this will be examined again later on in the series, and I’m sure some will be upset by it.

    In summary, I found Murder By Misrule to be a great read.  The pacing was good, the characters were all unique and well-developed, the history was detailed without being a bunch of info-dumps, and the whodunits were both interesting and logically resolved.  Book Two, Death By Disputation, awaits on my Kindle.

    8½ Stars.  The book’s titular holiday, called the “Season of Misrule”, was once a real celebratory time in England.  Nowadays it’s pretty much disappeared.  Wikipedia has a small-but-informative article about it, which you can read here.