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31st out of 59 books
—
116 voters
The Roots of Betrayal (Clarenceux Trilogy #2)
1564: Catholic herald William Harley, Clarenceaux King of Arms, is the custodian of a highly dangerous document. When it is stolen, Clarenceaux immediately suspects a group of Catholic sympathisers, the self-styled Knights of the Round Table.
Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protégé of the queen's Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the...more
Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protégé of the queen's Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the...more
Hardcover, 404 pages
Published
July 7th 2011
by Headline Review
(first published 2011)
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Originally published at Reading Reality
“The roots of betrayal lie in friendship; those of treason lie in loyalty.”
This quote could easily sum up this second volume of the trials and tribulations of William Harley, the Clarenceaux King of Arms. When you read the line, it seems so obvious, as if it should be a common saying.
Imagine my surprise to discover that the fiction author James Forrester was quoting himself (as historian Ian Mortimer) from his book The Greatest Traitor. It doesn’t make the...more
“The roots of betrayal lie in friendship; those of treason lie in loyalty.”
This quote could easily sum up this second volume of the trials and tribulations of William Harley, the Clarenceaux King of Arms. When you read the line, it seems so obvious, as if it should be a common saying.
Imagine my surprise to discover that the fiction author James Forrester was quoting himself (as historian Ian Mortimer) from his book The Greatest Traitor. It doesn’t make the...more
It wasn't until I started this book did I realise that the characters were vaguely familiar; then it hit me that I had read the prequel. Thank goodness I did for I don't recommend anyone to read this before reading the prequel or the significance of what has gone on before and what will happen after will be lost.
We open to Raw Carew taking over a ship, a charismatic outlaw pirate that will be the runaway hero of this book. We see him in all his ruthless glory in the prologue, meant to lay the f...more
We open to Raw Carew taking over a ship, a charismatic outlaw pirate that will be the runaway hero of this book. We see him in all his ruthless glory in the prologue, meant to lay the f...more
With The Roots of Betrayal, James Forrester has once again delivered a thrilling historical fiction adventure. It’s been a hectic month with the end of the semester, but this book transported me to another world. It was hard to put it down and get some sleep!
The Roots of Betrayal is the second novel in a trilogy about the William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms. Clarenceux is a secret Catholic during a time that it was very dangerous to be a known Catholic. In the first novel, Clarenceux worked...more
The Roots of Betrayal is the second novel in a trilogy about the William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms. Clarenceux is a secret Catholic during a time that it was very dangerous to be a known Catholic. In the first novel, Clarenceux worked...more
c2011: FWFTB: herald, coded, deception, conflict, Catholic. Damn it! This was a book that I was recommended but, unknown to me, a sequel to Sacred Treason which I have not read. I think, because of this, I just could not get into the main character so found his actions and thoughts a little 'odd'. The style of writing is excellent but just not enough to lure me on. I gave it a really good try but have a few more enticing books in my TBR pile. The earlier book got some rave reviews from the UK es...more
1564: Catholic herald William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms, is the custodian of a highly dangerous document. When it is stolen, Clarenceux immediately suspects a group of Catholic sympathisers, the self-styled Knights of the Round Table. Francis Walsingham, the ruthless protégé of the queen's Principal Secretary, Sir William Cecil, intercepts a coded message from the Knights to a Countess known to have Catholic leanings. He is convinced that Clarenceux is trying to use the document to advance...more
The Roots of Betrayal is the second book of a trilogy surrounding a secret document that could bring down Queen Elizabeth I. William Harley, also known as Clarenceux is the current keeper of the document but someone he thought he could trust has stolen it and in this volume he travels long and far to get it back all the while learning about just whom he can count on.
You do not have to have read the first book, Sacred Treason to enjoy this book. Any backstory is explained in the narrative in a sm...more
You do not have to have read the first book, Sacred Treason to enjoy this book. Any backstory is explained in the narrative in a sm...more
This was a bit of a slow starter. This is the second book featuring William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms and a lot of the early part of the book was taken up with background from the previous novel. This could have been dealt with much more subtly. It also felt like there was too much detailed deception early on – pirates with ‘smiling blue eyes’ or ‘dreamy eyed, pale skinned’ and I wondered what I was letting myself in for. But I was rewarded for my perseverance.
Once the story got underway...more
Once the story got underway...more
I have never ready anything by this particular author. I am an avid fan and reader of Historical Fiction, the time of the Tudors and Elizabeth 1 in particular. Keeping this in mind I went into this book with a very open mind.
The book started off a lot quicker than I expected it to. I know that sometimes an author needs to set things up for readers and build the story from the ground up and I believe the author did that here. It did not take nearly as long as it usually does and I was very please...more
The book started off a lot quicker than I expected it to. I know that sometimes an author needs to set things up for readers and build the story from the ground up and I believe the author did that here. It did not take nearly as long as it usually does and I was very please...more
The Roots Of Betrayal follows on from Ian 'James Forrester' Mortimer's highly praised “Sacred Treason”, you do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this, his latest novel, as I haven't and I found this engrossing.
Set in is a still unstable Elizabethan reign, William Harley (Clarenceux King Of Arms) is charged with the protection of a sacred document which, if in the hands of the wrong person, could turn England upside-down and tear it apart. So when the document goes missing, it is Wil...more
Set in is a still unstable Elizabethan reign, William Harley (Clarenceux King Of Arms) is charged with the protection of a sacred document which, if in the hands of the wrong person, could turn England upside-down and tear it apart. So when the document goes missing, it is Wil...more
The Roots of Betrayal carries on where Forrester's first novel, Sacred Treason, left off. Really you need to have read the first book before this as it will make much more sense.
It is a real page turner, but on reflection, the plot itself is almost a sideline to the characters and scenes of fighting, torture, etc going on around them! Plenty of blood is spilled during the novel, so not one for the faint hearted!
Forrester homself, alias historian Ian Mortimer, may rail against the description of...more
It is a real page turner, but on reflection, the plot itself is almost a sideline to the characters and scenes of fighting, torture, etc going on around them! Plenty of blood is spilled during the novel, so not one for the faint hearted!
Forrester homself, alias historian Ian Mortimer, may rail against the description of...more
This book is a smooth continuation from Sacred Treason and it gives more in depth information on the marriage crisis. But it also involves more complicated themes like betrayal, rather than just death and torture and fear and love. It puts a false storyline in a real situation; protecting a marriage certificate in order to save the monarchy. However, I don't think this book is as good as the previous one. I think that too much almost was given away in the first one, so there was a lot less myste...more
I am a huge fan of Tudor England. This book was more fast paced than the first. The yarn that James Forrester spins is one that leaves you scratching your head.
With Roots of Betrayal, unlike Sacred Treason, the hidden document becomes alive and puts William Harley's life in danger. I felt like I was running the streets of England with William. He has to find out where this document is, who stole it and why.
If you are a fan of Tudor England I highly recommend this book. I do recommend that you...more
With Roots of Betrayal, unlike Sacred Treason, the hidden document becomes alive and puts William Harley's life in danger. I felt like I was running the streets of England with William. He has to find out where this document is, who stole it and why.
If you are a fan of Tudor England I highly recommend this book. I do recommend that you...more
Set in 1564, William Harley is in possession of a dangerous document. When it is stolen, he lives in fear, secrecy and deception, teaming up with a notorious pirate, Raw Carew. Obviously well researched, this is a fast-paced and gripping read with lots of double-crossing characters and some well-known Historical figures (characterisation not to be taken too seriously!) The character of Raw Carew is an intriguing one and there are some very thrilling set pieces. Although be warned - the graphic v...more
The book was very action packed, but also weirdly religious. The protagonist is Catholic in Elizabethan England which adds an interesting dimension to the plot. The characters are well thought out and interesting. The author gives great humanity to a pirate which at firsts acts as total foil to the main character. However, the plot is not as well developed as the characters. The main character always has o run, hide, escape, fight and all sorts of crazy action....with the reader never really und...more
It started slowly, and really wasn't worth the bother of finishing. I believe the author is an historian; this comes across all to clearly. I wonder if all the 'padding' is at the request of the publisher or is merely Forrester showing off. I didn't read the first in the trilogy, and will avoid reading the third.
I've really enjoyed reading both of James Forrester's Clarenceux books. They are well-crafted yarns, which rattled along at a good old pace. The added bonus is the historical accuracy, with so much of the plot coming back to following wherever the power and the money are. If you like historical fiction and are interested in the Tudors, then this is for you.
you would of to have read the previous book first sacred treason as the book went over some of the first book before the current plot started to take shape, ended up being fast paced and alot of blood afterwards with the main characters
A truly excellent novel by Mr. Forrester. I loved every minute.
Piffle. Drivel. Possibly tosh. Like a really naff swashbuckling Errol Flynn movie. Couldn't wait to finish it but for all the wrong reasons.
3.5 stars
Loved this one! Review to come soon!
Good book. Don't read it before you did Sacred Treason. Both books are just one interesting story set in 16th century England, written by historian with very engaging adventurous style.
May 23, 2013
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James Forrester is a historian by profession. He has published a few medieval and early modern non-fiction titles under the name Ian Mortimer Ian Mortimer (his full name being Ian James Forrester Mortimer). He lives in Devon with his wife and three children, on the northeast edge of Dartmoor.
The Clarenceux Trilogy was inspired by contemporary documents in the National Archives and the British Libr...more
More about James Forrester...
The Clarenceux Trilogy was inspired by contemporary documents in the National Archives and the British Libr...more
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