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1541 The Cataclysm
1541 the Cataclysm is the first of three books in the Micklegate series telling the tale of ordinary and well known characters negotiating a disaster in Tudor York…
Five years since the northern rebellion against the Reformation, a rebel monk trying to survive Henry VIII’s purge of their ringleaders learns about a conspiracy that could rip apart the fabric of faith in England.
Alerted by the monk, an undercover team assemble in York to gather clues before dispersing throughout England to stop the conspiracy whilst Henry, his wife of less than a year, Catherine Howard, make their way to York.
The offbeat team fighting against the impending Cataclysm includes Edward Fawkes, two sisters posing as washerwomen, a delusional and accident-prone adventurer, a mysterious hero and, curiously, a mouse that talks.
If you enjoy quirky historical fiction combining humour, mystery, engaging and unpredictable characters as well as historical figures you know well and love (or hate!) then this is for you
Rob’s writing has been compared to Tom Sharpe, Philip Pullman, Denis Potter, Ben Elton and C J Sansom.
And, has been described as ‘Blackadder meets Doctor Who’
by one reviewer and
‘Horrible Histories meets assassins creed!’ by another.
These phrases have been used to describe the series:
Transported back in time
Superbly researched
Light and easy to read
Touched my heart
Opened a window to the past
Imaginative
Slow burner
Literary
Excellent
People like you and me
Full of love
You will resonate with their spirits
Good old English tale (or tail?)
Lots of humour
Laugh out loud
Inclusive
Quirky
Who says history is dull?
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 10, 2019
48 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Robert William Jones
8 books3 followersRob has enjoyed a long career in both the education and entertainment sector and continues to study and remain enthused by ethics and theology.
He has taught History and Art &Design to students ranging from early teens to undergraduates and has held positions of head of department, head of faculty, head of year and manager within alternative education.
For 15 years he created and managed successful local authority projects supporting and educating those that were sometimes the hardest to reach in society including those who had been bullied and abused, many with special needs including Asperger’s syndrome and autism, some disabled, those who displayed behaviour management issues, others with sexual identity problems and also young mums. However, perhaps his most profound experiences were with those young people with serious health issues and those who were terminally ill.
Rob has also been a lifelong musician and was playing professionally as a young teen, now having performed at hundreds of venues including some tv. In the late 90s he set up Jester Productions Limited when he wrote plays and musicals for theatre companies in addition to the best-known tour operators: Tui, Airtours, Cosmos, Bourne Leisure, First Choice etc and he even completed some writing for the BBC. At Jester, he designed all the costumes and stage sets and in his role as an artist has fulfilled many commissions ranging from magazine work to church interiors.
His love of humour has its roots in performance and so it is no surprise that he incorporated it into ‘The Micklegate Series’ and ‘Be a Teacher’!’ Neither is it hard to spot the parallels between his profound experiences working with needy young people and some characters who you come to love in the sixteenth century.
He lives with his wife, Jo, in Lancashire.
A member of the Society of Authors, he is also a lay member of Edge Hill University’s Research Ethics Committee and joint President of ASPA, The Association of Self-Published Authors.
He has taught History and Art &Design to students ranging from early teens to undergraduates and has held positions of head of department, head of faculty, head of year and manager within alternative education.
For 15 years he created and managed successful local authority projects supporting and educating those that were sometimes the hardest to reach in society including those who had been bullied and abused, many with special needs including Asperger’s syndrome and autism, some disabled, those who displayed behaviour management issues, others with sexual identity problems and also young mums. However, perhaps his most profound experiences were with those young people with serious health issues and those who were terminally ill.
Rob has also been a lifelong musician and was playing professionally as a young teen, now having performed at hundreds of venues including some tv. In the late 90s he set up Jester Productions Limited when he wrote plays and musicals for theatre companies in addition to the best-known tour operators: Tui, Airtours, Cosmos, Bourne Leisure, First Choice etc and he even completed some writing for the BBC. At Jester, he designed all the costumes and stage sets and in his role as an artist has fulfilled many commissions ranging from magazine work to church interiors.
His love of humour has its roots in performance and so it is no surprise that he incorporated it into ‘The Micklegate Series’ and ‘Be a Teacher’!’ Neither is it hard to spot the parallels between his profound experiences working with needy young people and some characters who you come to love in the sixteenth century.
He lives with his wife, Jo, in Lancashire.
A member of the Society of Authors, he is also a lay member of Edge Hill University’s Research Ethics Committee and joint President of ASPA, The Association of Self-Published Authors.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 9, 2021
Don't waste your time by reading this book. I am a history buff and don't take kindly to modern phrases and adages in historic, I mean the word bacteria! Come on! Then the revelation that a story is from a mouse's view. I lasted 4 chapters the the delete button
May 6, 2020
York with it's narrow snickleways, overseen by it's monumental Minster, infuses its history into the mind, body and soul of many who care to visit. Having been there on three separate occasions in my life, it leaves me with many questions in my mind, of what life was like during medieval times, a significant era for this great city, particularly around the time of the Reformation.
Robert William Jones, a historian, has opened a window into this period of time, in a fun and imaginative fashion, with a tale that takes us through Stratford-upon-Avon, York, Lindisfarne in Northumberland, London, Lincoln, to name but a few, bringing the ordinary and not so ordinary people of that time to life, exemplifying their aspirations, their humour, attitudes and fears, and during these dark times when there was so much more to fear.
I particularly enjoyed the chapters that took a close and personal look at the formidable King Henry VIII.
Who says history is dull. I need to go back to York and take yet another look.
Robert William Jones, a historian, has opened a window into this period of time, in a fun and imaginative fashion, with a tale that takes us through Stratford-upon-Avon, York, Lindisfarne in Northumberland, London, Lincoln, to name but a few, bringing the ordinary and not so ordinary people of that time to life, exemplifying their aspirations, their humour, attitudes and fears, and during these dark times when there was so much more to fear.
I particularly enjoyed the chapters that took a close and personal look at the formidable King Henry VIII.
Who says history is dull. I need to go back to York and take yet another look.
June 26, 2024
This book is the first in the Micklegate series. It is an entertainingly irreverent romp blend of at least three genres: historical, thriller and fantasy. The tone is set right from the start with an execution described by a narrator with a very dark sense of humour.
'Lord' Silas, a village idiot, Robert, Lord Mayor of York, two monks chucked out of the monasteries following the Dissolution, washerwomen ex-nun Elspeth and her crippled friend Wynnfrith, farmer Richard Shakespeare (grandfather of the playwright), Edward Fawkes (father of Guy) and assorted others form an impromptu group (the Agents of the Word) led by a talking mouse with a secret (not just that he talks) and an attitude problem. Their purpose is to save Tudor England from a Cataclysm.
There were moments when the pacing was spot on (the group coheres at exactly the 33% mark, there is a revelation worthy of W S Gilbert as the 50% mark) but there were other moments when the plot seemed to suddenly speed up. Some elements of the quest such as the discovery of the books and the recovery of Abigail seemed rather too easy. I wasn't sure how the Lizzie sub-plot fitted in but I appreciated that not everyone lived happily ever after. Nor am I sure that I fully understood all the clues in the convoluted plot but it was certainly an ingenious climax. There was even a twist in the mouse's tale.
'Lord' Silas, a village idiot, Robert, Lord Mayor of York, two monks chucked out of the monasteries following the Dissolution, washerwomen ex-nun Elspeth and her crippled friend Wynnfrith, farmer Richard Shakespeare (grandfather of the playwright), Edward Fawkes (father of Guy) and assorted others form an impromptu group (the Agents of the Word) led by a talking mouse with a secret (not just that he talks) and an attitude problem. Their purpose is to save Tudor England from a Cataclysm.
There were moments when the pacing was spot on (the group coheres at exactly the 33% mark, there is a revelation worthy of W S Gilbert as the 50% mark) but there were other moments when the plot seemed to suddenly speed up. Some elements of the quest such as the discovery of the books and the recovery of Abigail seemed rather too easy. I wasn't sure how the Lizzie sub-plot fitted in but I appreciated that not everyone lived happily ever after. Nor am I sure that I fully understood all the clues in the convoluted plot but it was certainly an ingenious climax. There was even a twist in the mouse's tale.
October 12, 2019
A good old English tale(or should that be tail?)
An excellent literary experience with places and names you'd probably recognize from history but with a heady mix of fictional characters to transport you to Tudor England all brought together by the 'Micklegate mouse' or the Little King Harry as he is also known...
An excellent literary experience with places and names you'd probably recognize from history but with a heady mix of fictional characters to transport you to Tudor England all brought together by the 'Micklegate mouse' or the Little King Harry as he is also known...
July 31, 2019
Very Entertaining!
Great use of language and lots of humour! I did find the plot a bit slow in clarifying what the deuce is going on! But if you stick with it you'll figure it out, and laugh while doing it!
Great use of language and lots of humour! I did find the plot a bit slow in clarifying what the deuce is going on! But if you stick with it you'll figure it out, and laugh while doing it!
October 24, 2019
Wow!! York, Holy Island and Stratford Upon Avon. I was transported back in time in this literary experience. Laugh out loud moments and clever use of characters. I had to go back to York to see the places again. Interesting and informative map. Hope there's a sequel.
March 2, 2021
Very confusing to begin with and needs a lot of imagination but I went with it and once it became clearer I finished the book. Having accepted the central theme I am now reading the next book with enjoyment.
August 1, 2019
I wasn't too sure at first but I persevered and was pleased I did in the end. Quite quirky in the use of 'characters'. An interesting storyline incorporating history.
August 5, 2019
too much things going on but Silas and the mouse were my favorites/
November 20, 2019
If you have ever been to York you will love this tale of ordinary and well known Characters negotiating a disaster in the City. Excellent read!
November 20, 2019
Lot's of intrigue but if you stay with it you'll love this book. Highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2019
very good.
November 21, 2019
Loved all of this and laughed so much.
October 11, 2020
Sorry, I really did want to like it and although I enjoyed parts, it just wasn't my sort of historical fiction.
November 7, 2020
Not a bad book just not my style, but it did have a good ending.
Read
February 15, 2021DNF. Nothing wrong with the book, just struggling to get into it and not in the right frame of mind right now.
February 6, 2023
Not for me this. A talking mouse? That could have been fun. If I was seven years old. But, I’m not.
October 19, 2023
Unusual but excellent. Need to stick with it and the series is a delight.
August 17, 2020
This is a quirky book - horrible histories (Tudors) meets assassin's creed (as in conceit for person to go back in time) meets Ratatouille (albeit a mouse not a rat!). However it thankfully doesn't take itself seriously and some of the writing is very funny - I especially liked '50 Shades of Village Idiot'.
The going back in time element to this is not very deeply explored - it could almost not be there - and like assassin's creed no-one really cares and just wants to play in the historical setting(s).
The locations and characters are well drawn, this could have been a car crash but the writing holds it all together.
For such a strange concept you'd have expected a more divisive set of reviews, the fact that they are mainly positive tells you something.
The going back in time element to this is not very deeply explored - it could almost not be there - and like assassin's creed no-one really cares and just wants to play in the historical setting(s).
The locations and characters are well drawn, this could have been a car crash but the writing holds it all together.
For such a strange concept you'd have expected a more divisive set of reviews, the fact that they are mainly positive tells you something.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews