The Poison Bed by E C Fremantle

 

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Michael Joseph (14 Jun. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718180488
• ISBN-13: 978-0718180485

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

One of them did it.

Which one of them will die for it?

Autumn 1615.

A scandal pervades the Jacobean court.

A popular, much admired couple are imprisoned for murder.

SHE is young and captivating. Rescued from an abusive marriage, she is determined to make a new life with her second husband . . . Whatever the cost.

HE has risen from nothing to become one of the countries most powerful men. But to get to the top, you cannot help making enemies.

Now, a man is dead.

And someone must pay with their life.

Who has the most to lose?

Who is willing to commit murder?

 

Review

The Poison Bed is based on true events from the early seventeenth century and tells the story of Frances Howard and Robert Carr, the Count and Countess of Somerset, and the accusation of murder against them.  Each chapter is simply titled Him or Her as we read their differing stories from how they met until the murder accusation and the consequences  from that event.

The Jacobean Court of James I has so much intrigue and machinations that lends itself to brilliant historical fiction.  The Poison Bed has it all; politics, intrigue, love, secrets, lies, witchcraft and murder that weave together to make a rich tapestry of historical fiction. The characters are all flawed and have too many vices to mention, which makes for a wonderful read.  Frances Howard, from one of the big political families of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, is a pawn in the political machinations  of her family, however, she is not to be underestimated.  Frances is obviously well educated, confident, beautiful and has a mind of her own; she knows what she wants and will use her womanly  wiles to get it and to control others.  Considering women were seen as second class citizens, and only used to make political alliances, Frances has a strength of character and a confidence that was unusual in her day.  Having her first marriage to the Earl of Essex annulled after it was no longer proving useful to her family, it was decided she should marry Robert Carr, the favourite of the King and one whose star was rising at the court.  Robert Carr came from nothing, he was an orphan but had caught the King’s eye, and it is said, as in this novel, that he became the James I lover.  It is a very strange affair, a Howard girl to an non titled homosexual lover of the King, but it makes for a brilliant novel.  The man they allegedly murdered, Sir  Thomas Overbury, a friend of Carr who tried to stop the marriage with blackmail, he was apparently in love with Carr himself. This was a time with warring families and changes in alliance that meant those who were favourites also had many enemies, who were willing to spread rumours and kill to try to bring those people down.

E.C.Fremantle puts a lot of detail and research into her books, and focuses on strong women of the period; I reviewed The Girl in the Glass Tower last year about Arbella Stuart.  She has a wonderful way of bringing the period and it’s character’s to life, immersing the reader in the Jacobean court, with all its intrigue, scandal and secrets. There are times it easy to forget that this is based on fact, and was one of the nails in the coffin of the Stuart dynasty.

The Poison Bed is a wonderfully engaging and thrilling read with love, intrigue, secrets and lies at its heart.  Enter the scandalous world of the Jacobean Court, and loose yourself in the wonderful characters, the political intrigue and the life and loves of Frances and Robert, Count and Countess of Somerset.  Simply a stunning read.

 

Thank you for reading my review of The Poison Bed, I hope it inspires some of you to read it.  I previously reviewed The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Fremantle so please have a look at that as well.