Murder by Misrule
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4.1 • 245 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss -- and in danger.
Francis Bacon is charged with investigating the murder of a fellow barrister at Gray's Inn. He recruits his unwanted protégé Thomas Clarady to do the tiresome legwork. The son of a privateer, Clarady will do anything to climb the Elizabethan social ladder.
Bacon's powerful uncle Lord Burghley suspects Catholic conspirators of the crime, but other motives quickly emerge. Rival barristers contend for the murdered man's legal honors and wealthy clients. Highly-placed courtiers are implicated as the investigation reaches from Whitehall to the London streets.
Bacon does the thinking; Clarady does the fencing. Everyone has something up his pinked and padded sleeve. Even the brilliant Francis Bacon is at a loss — and in danger — until he sees through the disguises of the season of Misrule.
"Castle's characters brim with zest and real feeling." — Kirkus Starred Review.
Don't dally! Jump right into this first book in the award-winning Francis Bacon mystery series.
Customer Reviews
Historical Fiction: My Guilty Pleasure
I recently binged a podcast called, “Historical Figures,” and found the Sir Francis Bacon episode (Season 1, Episode 32) particularly intriguing. I think that played a large part in getting me to take up this tale.
I have begun to find I really enjoy the melding of fictionalized situations with historical people and places. I think you’ll really enjoy this tale, if you’ll give it a try.
Earns 5+/5 Gray’s Inn’s Barristers…Clever and Engaging Entertainment!
History meets mystery…I greatly enjoy having history tweaked into a fictional mystery, and Anna Castle is a master at that with her Francis Bacon Mystery series. She transports readers (listeners in this case) to sixteenth century England enveloped in vivid descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells along with offering a challenging investigative style: no crime scene photos, DNA, or computer databases. The twenty-five-year-old Francis Bacon has fallen out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I and banished from court, too much forward thinking is not welcomed, which isn’t a death sentence, but includes restrictions that amount to being “nobody; a man with no prospects, no future...until further notice.” Does it mean one can’t roam the city? Well, it should when Bacon literally stumbles on the body of his former tutor, Tobias Smythson. His lord uncle has charged Bacon to investigate, explaining his own connection to a covert mission that may be more the reason for the murder than thievery, and dangles the idea that solving the murder might be one way to regain his status at court. So when Bacon is approached by a quartet of young law students in need of a tutor, he accepts the position and proceeds to strengthen their knowledge of the law by investigating Smythson’s murder. The young men use their street-wise attitude to track down evidence, interrogate witness and suspects, and report back to Bacon. Clever. Detailed. Educational. Entertaining.
Confusing
I am still not sure how these misers happened. The history was interesting but not helpful to solve mystery. Even though this is billed as a Bacon mystery I would call it a Tom Clarady mystery. He is the more interesting character.