Having said that, certain historical facts have inspired this story. As readers of Sacred Treason will be aware, there really was a company of men called the Knights of the Round Table, and one of its members was Henry Machyn, a merchant tailor who died in 1563, leaving a chronicle or diary (which is now in the British Library). His first wife bore him a son, John, who survived him and whose second wife (in reality called Dorothy, not Rebecca) bore him three children who died in infancy. They did live in the parish of Little Trinity, London. Similarly, elements of Clarenceux’s domestic situation are drawn from historical evidence. His real name was William Harvey, not Harley, and he was Clarenceux King of Arms from 1557 until his death in 1567. One picture of him is known, from a manuscript illumination of an initial. He lived in the parish of St. Bride’s and his wife was indeed called Awdrey, and their daughters were Annie and Mildred.
Certain other characters are based on real historical personages. Francis Walsingham, for example, is so famous that he needs no introduction. Mildred, Lady Cecil (wife of Sir William), was pregnant in May 1564 as described in this book, and she was godmother to William Harvey’s younger daughter. Sir Peter Carew and his brothers George and Philip were also real people. Sir Peter was commissioned in 1564 to sweep the Channel clear of pirates, and later he spent years trying to claim the barony of Idrone in Ireland. George Carew was captain of the Rysbank Tower after the death of his first wife; he died on the Mary Rose as described in this book. The third Carew brother, Philip, did die on Malta. The family crest is accurately described, as is the motto. The story of Pedro Serrano is taken from Edward Leslie’s remarkable book Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls (Macmillan, 1988), and I’d like to thank my friend Andy Gardner for bringing this to my attention and lending me a copy.
The point at which a historical personage took this story in a new direction was when I did a little research into James Parkinson, who was captain of Calshot and constable of Southampton Castle for many years in the late sixteenth century. For a long time I was undecided whether to locate the Two Swans in Portsmouth or Southampton. I eventually opted for Southampton because of the situation of Calshot and the fact that Captain Parkinson did indeed run a local extortion business in Southampton Water, exploiting his official position as the queen’s officer in charge of the defense of the two forts. The description of Calshot is based on a close examination of the building (my thanks go to the very patient gentleman on duty that day, who kept the fort open for me long after everyone else had left) and the early eighteenth-century engraving of it by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck. Those who see the fort in its modern state and think of attempting the leap mentioned at the end of this book should, of course, not even dream of doing anything so foolhardy; but I should point out that it was an even bigger distance in the sixteenth century, as the gatehouse was enlarged considerably in about 1780. Just in case anyone feels that this precision means that this part of the book might be “accurate,” let me dispel such thoughts by saying that, in the absence of any known picture of Parkinson, I based his appearance on the marble bust of the Roman Emperor Caracalla in the museum at Naples, which I spent an hour or so looking at in the summer of 2010. If you are trying to think through a dramatic scene involving a despot, and find yourself looking into the marble eyes of the very embodiment of cruel authority, it is difficult not to be affected by what you see.
Since childhood I have tried to understand what it was like to live in past ages. I am therefore sensitive to the fact that attitudes toward the “old religion” were changing very rapidly in Elizabeth’s reign, as was the rhetoric about recusants, and it would be very difficult to “get it right” because at any time there was a wide spectrum of opinion. The worst of the anti-Catholic legislation did not materialize until after the pope “deposed” Elizabeth in 1570, and the worst persecutions were not passed until after the coming of the first Jesuit priests in 1580. With reference to Raw Carew’s atheism (which would have been unthinkable fifty years earlier), this accusation was leveled at several Elizabethans, albeit more frequently later in the reign; and so I have felt justified introducing this element as a foil to Clarenceux’s religiosity. As for the document that lies at the heart of this story, I would refer readers to the historical note at the back of Sacred Treason, where the possibilities of such a document having existed, and its implications, are explained. Needless to say, no such document exists today and probably nothing resembling it was ever made. Again, it is merely a signifier for a series of circumstances, in this case the much-discussed possible illegitimacy of Queen Elizabeth I.
As for Raw Carew, let’s just say that I met him once, in a pub.
—(Ian) James Forrester (Mortimer)
About the Author
James Forrester is the pen name (the middle names) of the historian Dr. Ian Mortimer. Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and winner of its Alexander Prize for his work on social history, he is the author of four highly acclaimed medieval biographies and the Sunday Times bestseller The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England. He lives with his wife and three children on the edge of Dartmoor.
Sacred Treason
James Forrester
Your God. Your country. Your kin. Who do you betray?
1563: Anyone could be a suspect; any Catholic could be accused of plotting against the throne. Clarenceux keeps his head down and his religion quiet. But when a friend desperately pleads with Clarenceux to hide a manuscript for him, he is drawn into a web of treachery and conspiracy he may never untangle. Is there no refuge if your faith is your enemy?
Bestselling author Dr. Ian Mortimer, writing as James Forrester, has crafted a chilling, brilliant story that re-imagines how the explosive mix of faith and fear can tear a country apart. Sacred Treason tells a thrilling story of murder, betrayal, and loyalty—and the power of the written word.
Praise for Sacred Treason:
“I liked this novel intensely. A gripping read.” —Philippa Gregory
“Vivid and dramatic.” —The Guardian
“Arresting.” —Daily Telegraph
“An Elizabethan romp featuring a conspiracy, a secret manuscript, and whispers about Anne Boleyn.” —Sunday Times
For more James Forrester books, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
The Roots of Betrayal Page 37
