The Fall of a Sparrow

I loved this book not only for a fascinating story, but for the pure beauty of the language, pacing and phrasing.

Dan Scannell’s novel is a nicely conjured period piece, moving back and forward between the present day and the tumultuous upheaval of 1500s England and France. Michael Devon and his friend Henrietta ‘Hank’ Wells discover a diary supposedly written by the youngest son of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey who was executed under the reign of Henry VIII. The diary recounts events as the child – also called Henry – has escaped England and is living among a group of like-minded intellectuals in Paris.

The book is a nice mix of fictional characters and real-life historical figures, including Nostradamus, King Henry II of France and, of course, Henry Howard himself. The novel’s framing narrative touches on the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, with the figure of Howard being suggested as the real author of the works we now know. There is abundant use of Shakespearean language and plots sprinkled throughout the book, and fans of both literary and historical novels should enjoy the allusions and the story of the awakening of Henry Howard’s poetic awareness. The plot rattles along with all the gusto of a Dumas novel – with love plots, jousts, dastardly knights and sword fights all thrown into the mix.

I enjoyed the book, and though it is quite short the pages vividly bring to life 1550s Paris. The book is well researched and for fans of historical novels, or fans of the Dan Brown school of codes and conspiracies, this should appeal.

I'm interested in the theory that William Shakespeare was a mere actor and not the actual writer of that famous body of work, so I enjoyed Dan Scannell's book about the playwright actually being Henry Howard, second son of the Earl of Surrey and Lady Frances de Vere... but then I got to the Afterward, where the author exposes it all as an exercise in fancy. But in the spirit of his request that "the reader accept this account as an imaginative story set against a real and vibrant literary and historical background," I complied. This story about Henry Howard and his scholarly friends the sporty Gaudin, alchemic Dormoy and religious Testagrossa, was a fun read.

While I get that 16th century English is flowery and fun to play with, I felt the metaphors and similes got a little out of control when applied to modern-day literary sleuths Henrietta "Hank" Wells and Michael Devon, whose relationship is coyly made vague and in my opinion falls short of intriguing. Describing the holding of a book "as if I were holding the hand of her only daughter and leaving for some motel where I intended to take her virginity that very night," for example.

Another problem I found with this e-book was the volume of typos. I appreciate having gotten the opportunity to read this ARC from Black Rose and NetGalley, and have forwarded them a list of glitches I found.

I have to admit I struggled with this novel - the author clearly knows his history and the historical parts are atmospheric and engaging, the characters and settings well described.
The modern-day Paris plot, however, seems completely superfluous. I found both characters, Michael and Hank, shallow and pretentious, their behaviour unrealistic, the dialogue stilted and the flowery metaphors extremely laboured.
The open quotation marks at the start of every paragraph also interrupted the reading flow - the chapter is a journal entry, I get it, I don't need open quotation marks every 5 seconds.
I'm sure some people will love this, but sadly it wasn't for me.

Who was the author of the works of Shakespeare? The main character has an idea, and it wasn't the man we know as Shakespeare. The main body of this book is a rendering of the 16th Century journal of an English student studying in Paris. "That's the smell of old books, the perfume of wisdom, the intoxicating vapours of knowledge, coming down to us from the ages." Henry Howard, the student, writes about his life and the lives of his three close friends. The journal brings the reader vividly into the lives of the students and the places they frequent. Thanks for including the epilogue. It wrapped up the journal nicely.

"This book is very much about language: the beauty of its texture, the force of its eloquence and the music of its cadences."