January 1670. London is enduring its worst winter in decades.
But for Samuel Pepys, the darkest days are yet to come.
When a strange young man turns up at his office on Seething Lane asking for help, Samuel Pepys is too distracted to take him seriously. Nell Gwyn is about to make her scandalous return to the stage and he wouldn’t miss it for all the world.
But in the cold of a winter’s dawn, tragedy strikes. Called upon to investigate the brutal murder of a libertine aristocrat, Pepys discovers that the dead man is connected to his mysterious visitor in the most shocking way possible.
A trail of secrets leads Pepys from the backstreets of London to the glamorous world of the theatre, where nothing is quite as it seems. But whatever the dangers, he may find that the deadliest threat lies closer to home…
Reimagining one of Britain’s greatest historical figures through a 21st century lens, Seething Lane sees the return of infamous diarist Samuel Pepys, complete with his trademark audacious wit, keen eye for observation and gripping historical adventure.
My thoughts: Samuel Pepys is a fascinating person, he lived through a tumultuous time in history and luckily for us, documented it all in his famous diaries.
This book, the sequel to The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, sees him during the time he served in the Admiralty offices, but also imagines him working for a secret organisation serving Charles II, as an investigator. There weren’t really police at the time so he isn’t stepping on any toes as he looks into two murders.
It also features the king’s most intriguing mistress, actress Nell Gwynn. She’s a lot of fun, as I imagine the real Nell probably was. She plays a fairly important role in the story, helping Pepys go undercover at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The Duke of Monmouth, Charles’ illegitimate son, is implicated in a plot to get himself on the throne as Charles had no legitimate children with his wife. His best friend is one of the murder victims that Pepys and his colleague Will are trying to find the killer of.
Pepys is also investigating a non-conformist preacher, Wrath, who is very fire and brimstone and possibly preaching sedition at the same time.
As Pepys investigates, all the threads start to slowly come together and he finds that his investigations have connections. His wife Elizabeth is unwell and her poor health worries him, but the work distracts him from his concerns.
It’s a really enjoyable and interesting book, I like the characterisation of Pepys and how he handles his work, although his official job gets badly neglected, but since it’s on the king’s business he gets away with it. I felt bad for Elizabeth, Pepys isn’t really there for her and medicine in the 17th century was really primitive.
The court is full of fascinating figures, most of them real, and I liked the way Jewers portrays the king and Nell, as well as Lady Castlemaine, the outgoing mistress. Jewers does a great job of bringing the world of Restoration London to vivid life.
I hope there’s more cases for Pepys and the other characters, he’s an astute investigator, putting things together, often without much evidence.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 