Scan barcode
A review by jmatkinson1
A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago
4.0
Anne Turner is the wife of a court physician, although genteel she is not wealthy and dependent on the money she makes as a dresser. When she is asked to work with Frances Howard she falls under the spell of a beautiful but mercurial woman in an abusive marriage. Frances' husband, the Earl of Essex, is impotent and despises his wife but when Frances meets Robert Carr, favourite of King James, suddenly the marriage becomes a cause celebre that splits the court. In order to help Frances, Anne risks all.
The scandal around the divorce of the Essex and the subsequent death of a courtier were part of the history of the court of James I. Here Jago has created a fictionalised account but much of the history is accurate and well-researched. The character of Anne is quite cleverly drawn, she is neither the innocent or the witch but she is also portrayed as a woman who has selfish motives for many of her actions. What I also liked was the juxtaposition between the show of court life and the banality of 'normal' life and the way that for many middle-class women the reliance on a male breadwinner was a precarious way to survive.
The scandal around the divorce of the Essex and the subsequent death of a courtier were part of the history of the court of James I. Here Jago has created a fictionalised account but much of the history is accurate and well-researched. The character of Anne is quite cleverly drawn, she is neither the innocent or the witch but she is also portrayed as a woman who has selfish motives for many of her actions. What I also liked was the juxtaposition between the show of court life and the banality of 'normal' life and the way that for many middle-class women the reliance on a male breadwinner was a precarious way to survive.