The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn

Synopsis
My name is Nat Davy. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? There was a time when people up and down the land knew my name, though they only ever knew half the story.

The year of 1625, it was, when a single shilling changed my life. That shilling got me taken off to London, where they hid me in a pie, of all things, so I could be given as a gift to the new queen of England.

They called me the queen’s dwarf, but I was more than that. I was her friend, when she had no one else, and later on, when the people of England turned against their king, it was me who saved her life. When they turned the world upside down, I was there, right at the heart of it, and this is my story.

Review
The Smallest Man in the title refers to our narrator Nat Davy. As a child he dreamed that one day he would grow and be like his brother Sam, and the other boys in the village, he even goes to the fair to see the fairy in the hope that she can help him with a spell. At ten years old, his father sells him to the Duke of Buckingham who wants to give him to the new Queen Henrietta Maria as a gift, and so Nat starts a journey that changed his life. He may start his court life as her Dwarf, there to entertain but over the years he becomes her friend, confident and defender. This is not only Nat’s story but by association also Queen Henrietta Maria’s story.

The Smallest Man is an absolute gem of a read. The combination of a witty, and charming narrator, the mixture of fact and fiction and a troubled period in English history make this such a compelling read. I loved Nat as a narrator and anybody reading this book won’t be able to stop themselves falling a little bit in love with him. He may be small in stature but he is huge in heart and personality as we follow him through lifes highs and lows. Until the age of ten years he believed that he would grow eventually to be like other boys his age, it was not unti he arives a court that he learns of the term Dwarf and the reality that he won’t ever grow.He obviously feels aggrieved at being sold for being of no use to his family, but at court he has the opportunity of an education, and lessons in shooting and archery, to be warm and well fed and to make friends. At ten, Nat is only five years younger than Queen Henritta Maria, and both find confort from each other in being seperated from their family, and so starts a long friendship and respect between the two. Nat’s bravery, courage and loyalty to shines through in this book, not just to the Queen but also to his friends, willing to put his happiness aside for theirs.

What I loved most about this book, apart from Nat, was the different perpective his narraion gave to Queen Henrietta Maria and the English Civil War. Henietta Maria grows from a vunerable young girl to a Queen fighting for her husbands throne. We see her as head of a band of soldiers, leading them in an assualt against the Parlimentary forces showing her understanding of war and bravery, and as the strength behind King Charles I. Frances Quinn’s research is impeccable with her attention to detail, inclusion of many of the key points in the life of the Queen and of Jeffrey Hudson, the inspiration for Nat Davy. I loved reading more about this turbulant time in English history, those at the centre of it, how it effcted the country and the lengths the Queen went to to support her husband. However, this book is also about friendship, overcoming adversity and having the courage to believe in yourself and those around you.

To say I loved reading The Smallest Man would be an understatement. This is a fascinating story of a young boy who grows into a man with a big heart and who shows that how anything is possible if you believe in it. Nat’s narration is wonderful, giving a different perspective to an important period of history and the character of Queen Henrietta Maria. Beautifully written, this really is captivating book that you can’t help but loose youseld in. This is not published until 7 January, but is well worth waiting for and will give you a fabulous literary start to 2021.

I would like to thank Simon & Schuster and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for my copy of this brilliant book in return for my honest review.