Author of the New York Times bestseller Alexandria and internationally acclaimed Falco novels, Lindsey Davis brings us a new work of historical fiction, Rebels and Traitors (St. Martin’s Press; February 2010). Set against the backdrop of the terrifying English Civil War, Rebels and Traitors shows the internal struggles of English citizens of all classes during this historic era of change.
Gideon Jukes and Juliana Lovell, on opposite sides of the struggle, meet during one of the era’s most crucial events. After adversity and loss, their mutual attraction may one day bring the comfort and companionship for which they both have yearned. But the flowering of radical thought collapses; its failure leads to endless plots and strange alliances. And shadows from the past threaten them individually and together in their hard-won peace.
Like Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind and John Jakes’ North and South, Lindsey Davis brings to life a turbulent time through the stories of those who struggled, fought, lived and loved on all sides of a defining and devastating struggle.
And here is Lindsey herself to tell us all about . Welcome, Lindsey! I have to say I adored the Falco novels, btw 🙂
My interest in the English Civil War began in my teens, and around that time I decided I wanted to write a novel about that period in my home city of Birmingham (then a small but aspiring country town). When I eventually tackled this as an established novelist, my editor was sure he could not sell a historical novel set in Birmingham, even with pillage and rape and a firestorm. It was just as well I had not yet looked into Sir Samuel Luke, Parliament’s Scoutmaster-General, who sited his headquarters at Newport Pagnell – now best known as a motorway service station!
I was writing Rebels and Traitors for three years, pausing in between to complete Saturnalia and Alexandria. I had told everyone except my agent and editor that I was slowing down and taking a break. In fact it was the busiest period of my professional writing career.
I loved it. It was truly refreshing, after 20 years of the Romans. I especially loved the research. With the ancient world, you have to stretch the material. With modern history, there is masses of literature, often accessible online. The range of original material is fabulous. This was the dawn of modern newsprint journalism and there are personal memoirs aplenty. Unlike Latin texts, which are invariably by men and aimed at the aristocracy, some of the most vivid and poignant Seventeenth Century writings come from people lower down the social scale. And I did read English at university, so this was my world. Important sections of the story take place at Oxford, which is where I studied. London, where I have lived since the 1970s, has its own special role too.
When I went to the British Library I enjoyed that too, feeling like a student again – though this time a student who really did some work. I think I understood what I doing much better than I did at university.
I also went back home and re-read the material that first inspired me. It was interesting to see the shift in how local events were regarded: once, what happened to Birmingham was ignored by mainstream historians; they only discussed sieges of grand houses or famous battles. Now, the events in Birmingham are included in textbooks and TV documentaries because they show so very clearly the horrible effects of the Civil War on ‘ordinary’ people.
As a novelist I wanted to tackle both set pieces and local episodes. My characters have individual stories – a printer who fights for Parliament and becomes intrigued by new radical ideas; a girl who marries a Royalist and struggles to survive as an abandoned wife and mother; a scavenger who endures appalling hardships, knowing that the war is certainly not being fought for her. Slowly their stories come together – but it turned out to be much slowly than I had anticipated – and by gum there was a lot of it! I had to devise a computer spreadsheet to keep control of the wordcount.
This is a very long book. Well, people do keep begging me to write more… Assuming they can be persuaded to like a novel without Falco, this should keep them happy.
Technically, although we see events from various viewpoints – something I particularly wanted to try after the first-person Falco books – there is one overall narrative that moves towards a particular point; then when my heroine and hero meet, everything travels forward together from there. What happens at the very end – I won’t give it away – is tragic, though I hope it is also compassionate and holds some promise for my characters. Sadness is inevitable in a serious book about the Civil War, because there was so much destruction and bloodshed to achieve so little gain. The revolution that nobody really intended eventually failed; the innovative Commonwealth was too beset with plots against it to survive. Everyone is desperately tired of strife. We have followed idealistic characters as they tried to bring about change; we know they are bound to be disappointed. The monarchy was restored under Charles II in 1660, and I can’t change that.
You will find this a very different book from the Falco series. I take courage from the success of The Course of Honour, which was also so different. I very much hope that people will like Rebels and Traitors on its own terms
London, 2010
I adore long books and in fact, am well into this one, but haven’t quite finished it yet. Hopefully soon 🙂 From having read her Falco novels, I know that Lindsey does her research very well. Moreover, through her characters and their experiences she gives readers a first hand glimpse into history that makes it come to vivid life! So be prepared to be sucked into a good book.
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