The Queen's Lender

Title:

The Queen's Lender

Author:

Findlay, Jean

Subject:

Renaissance

Royalty

Romance

Fiction

Historical

Description:

'Royal court intrigue at its finest.' - Historical Writers Association 'A stunning novel about the birth of the United Kingdom that demonstrates the scholarship of the author, as well as her imaginative power.' - Richard Holloway A new historical novel offering wonderful insight into life in 17th century Edinburgh and London, and in particular the extravagant, intrigue-ridden, courts of James Stuart and his Danish consort, Anna. George Heriot, jeweler to King James VI, moves with the Court from Edinburgh to London when James inherits the English throne. It is 1603. Life is a Babel of languages and glittering new wealth. The Scottish court speaks Danish, German, Middle Scots, French and Latin. James gives Shakespeare his first secure position. To calm the perfidious religious tensions in the country, he commissions his translation of the Bible. He creates the Union Jack, called after himself.

Publisher:

Scotland Street Press

Date:

2024-02-13

Summary

'Royal court intrigue at its finest.' - Historical Writers Association 'A stunning novel about the birth of the United Kingdom that demonstrates the scholarship of the author, as well as her imaginative power.' - Richard Holloway George Heriot, jeweller to King James VI and I, moves with the Court from Edinburgh to London to take over the English throne. It is 1603. Life is a Babel of languages and glittering new wealth. The Scottish court speaks Danish, German, Middle Scots, French and Latin. King James gives Shakespeare his first secure position, and to calm the perfidious religious tensions, he commissions his translation of the Bible.George becomes wealthier than the king as he creates a fashion for hat jewels and mingles with Drummond of Hawthornden, Ben Johnson, Inigo Jones and the mysterious ambassador Luca Von Modrich... However both king and courtier bow before the power invested in their wives.

Author Notes

Jean Findlay was born in Edinburgh and studied Law and French at Edinburgh University and theatre in Cracow, Poland. She has worked as a playwright and as a journalist has written for The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Independent, and the BBC. She is the author of Chasing Lost Time - The Life of C. K. Scott-Moncrieff, Soldier, Spy and Translator published in 2014 by Chatto & Windus, London 2014, by Vintage paperback 2015 and by FSG, New York 2015, and now Picador 2023. For writing The Queen's Lender she won a Hawthornden Fellowship 2017 and a Lavigny International Fellowship 2018.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A royal jeweler to King James VI of Scotland finds his life uprooted when James succeeds Queen Elizabeth as the ruler of England. The most surprising thing about Findlay's fictionalized history of the court of King James Vl is its length. Historical novels tend to be colossal in size, laden--and sometimes weighed down--with facts and descriptions. But Findlay's nimble work clocks in at less than 200 pages without losing any of its appeal. A playwright and journalist, she makes every word count in this entertaining retelling of Scottish history. The story is largely seen from the perspective of George Heriot, jeweler to the king of Scotland and a special favorite of the gem-besotted Queen Anna. Like the rest of the court, Heriot finds his life in Edinburgh uprooted in 1603, when Queen Elizabeth dies. King James takes over the British throne, and the move to England alters Heriot's life in tragic and lucrative ways. Findlay's seamless narrative weaves confidently through court intrigue and hard economic realities. Heriot, who is also a moneylender, is particular about his ledgers, but the king is careless and extravagant: He'll risk the displeasure of all others to please his wife. Religious complications abound throughout the story: The king's Catholic mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed, but he has sworn to uphold Protestant values and sees himself as a peacemaker. Other real-life characters appear throughout the book, among them poet William Drummond, architect Inigo Jones, and playwright Ben Jonson, as well as his more famous counterpart, William Shakespeare. Sometimes storylines could have been fleshed out more--the creation of the King James Bible, for example, deserves more attention--and sometimes Heriot's personal losses feel a bit passed over. But, overall, Findlay's economy of words works in the novel's favor. She leaves the reader wishing for more, which is really all a writer can hope for. A slim but intriguing view of the court of James VI of Scotland. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.