mattsykes

A young monk in Italy, Giordano Bruno, has a passion for learning. Unfortunately for him, some of the books he reads are on the list of books forbidden by the Catholic church, and when he is caught by his superiors, the local Inquisitor is sent for. He manages to escape before the Inquisitor arrives and spends years on the run from the Inquisition and is excommunicated from the Catholic church for heresy. Some years later he has made his way to England where he is enlisted as a spy in the queen's service. This is during the reign of Elizabeth I, in the late 1500's. Elizabeth was a fascinating woman, as I've learned from a separate biography. She is only briefly mentioned in this novel. England was Protestant and all Catholics had either left the country, sworn loyalty to the Protestants, or were executed. Bruno's main mission is to try to find these hidden Catholics, who were assumed to be plotting against the English throne, and thus help protect the queen. Bruno is sent to Oxford University with the cover story of holding a "disputation," or debate, with the Rector of Oxford. One of Bruno's radical beliefs is that the Earth revolves around the sun. I find the setting fascinating. What a different time - full of religious persecution and secrecy for those still trying to be faithful Catholics. One character, who is one of the undercover Catholics, tells Bruno that while their beliefs are different, they are both willing to risk death for their beliefs. To make matters more complicated, someone is murdered, in an apparent attempt to duplicate one of the deaths of a martyr as described in Foxe's "Book of Martyrs." Then someone else is murdered in another recreation of a martyr's death, and so on, and Bruno is trying to solve the mystery of the killings. The physical descriptions of the murder scenes, and an execution at the end of the novel, are rather graphic. I enjoy this in a book because it is easy to skim through the unpleasant parts, unlike in a movie where your only option is to close your eyes. I found the plot to be very interesting, with many twists and turns. This novel also gives the reader something to think about, as Bruno struggles with the rightness of the executions of these Catholics who clearly do not have assassinating the queen in mind. Bruno is revealed as a man of character who tries to do what he thinks is right, regardless of the consequences.

2022-11-14 18:03