I am proud to be the next stop on Steve Berry’s blog tour
for THE KING'S DECEPTION! Read on for a review and then a Q&A with the author.
This is a very complex novel, but the ease with which Berry
ties all factors neatly together marks a truly fascinating and engrossing read.
What do Elizabethan times in British history, going from the reign of Henry
VIII to Queen Elizabeth I and her successor, the return of one of the
terrorists in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing to Libya due to humanitarian
reasons based on his terminal cancer, and questions of territory granted to
Irish Protestants by Elizabeth I have to do with one another?
A possible answer to this is presented by Steve Berry in his
latest Cotton Malone novel. Malone is returning to Denmark with his son Gary
via a stopover in England. His previous employer, the CIA, has asked him to
escort a teenager that fled England rather than endanger himself by providing
facts about a murder he saw. Looks like an easy drop, with a delivery of the
fugitive to British authorities than on to Denmark with Gary for a much needed
father and son get together visit.
No such luck, the boy and Gary are kidnapped by persons
unknown and Malone enters into the midst of a conspiracy involving the US CIA,
the British equivalent of the FBI, a visit to Oxford University, exploration of
London underground, and tours of the tombs of deceased British royalty interred
in Westminster Abbey.
Steve Berry and his wife, Elizabeth, are fascinated by
history and together founded a foundation called History Matters, which is
dedicated to historic preservation. He incorporates his love of history with a
great story featuring a theory about Elizabeth I changing the way she is
featured, and based upon interpretation from writings of her contemporaries as
well as an essay published by Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula showcasing
that change in view of her. The concept of a different Elizabeth I and what it
could mean if true has the possibility of reshaping the UK. King's Deception is
fiction, but a reading of certain facts presented by Berry in the course of the
novel are sure to provoke the reception of new ideas and theories on the part
of the reader.
In keeping with the
formats of his last several books, Steve Berry's research into other times
leads to alternative ideas of that period and I certainly look forward to his
next novel.
--6/13 Paul Lane for the
BookBitchBlog
Q&A with Steve Berry
1. Your latest
novel, The King’s Deception, tackles quite a controversial conspiracy
surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s real gender and identity. Do you believe the
conspiracy is legitimate or did you just find it to be a fascinating premise
for a novel?
I think its
both possible and fascinating. The most
wonderful fiction always has a ring of truth to it. Here, everything centers around the Bisley
Boy legend. Three years ago, Elizabeth
and I were north of London doing some publicity work for my British publisher
when our guide told me about a local legend.
In the village of Bisley, for many centuries on a day certain, the
locals would dress a young boy in female Elizabethan costume and parade him
through the streets. How odd. I then discovered that Bram Stoker, in the
early part of the 20thcentury (the man who wrote Dracula), also heard the tale
and wrote about it in a book called Famous Imposters, which I read. I then began to read about Elizabeth I and
learned of many odd things associated with her.
2. What was so
odd about her?
Elizabeth
wore wigs all of her life. Heavy face
paint all of her life. Clothes that did
not flatter her body. She refused to
allow doctors to examine her. When she
died she left orders that there was to be no autopsy. Her number one duty as queen was to have an
heir, yet she refused to marry, refused to have a child, and proclaimed herself
the Virgin Queen. And then the strangest
of all—when she dies they bury her with her sister, Mary, in the same grave so
that their bones would mingle together.
All of that adds up to to the fact that Elizabeth I was not exactly what
she appeared.
3. Now I'm intrigued. What was the mystery?
The legend
is that Elizabeth died at age thirteen and was buried in Bisley. Her governess was so afraid of Henry VIII’s
wrath that she substituted a young boy in her place. The ruse worked and, once done, it could not
be undone. Twelve years later the
imposter became Queen and England and ruled 40 years.
4. Is there any way to prove that?
There
is. Open the grave of Elizabeth I and do
some comparative anatomy and DNA testing.
That would answer the question.
But Elizabeth's grave has never been opened. It’s one of the few royal
tombs never breached. So I sent Cotton
Malone, my recurring hero from 7 previous novels, to England to solve the
mystery.
Visit the author's website at www.steveberry.org
Posts
