As a serious fan of English fiction i found this book fascinating, full of facts and hard to put down I can't wait to read more

Although the facts are true, this is written in the form of a novel - one which could easily be read by children. The oppression of Catholics by King James II is made clear and the characters and settings are well-drawn but there is a lot of dialogue. There is no analysis of the plot and its implications but this is an excellent book to read before looking into the Gunpowder Plot in more detail. I enjoyed it.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was a really engaging and interesting novel. It was easy to forget that this was a novel based on historical accounts and get pulled into the story. I knew quite a bit of the history of the event, but this made it more real and less detached. The author warns in advance that most of the dialogue is likely in the vein of what was said, but cannot be verified, so anyone who reads this should do so for the pleasure of learning about the details rather than expecting it to help with a paper for coursework. The way the plot was laid out, how the players all came together and related to each other made this make so much more sense and feel more organic than a mere accounting of the plot to blow up Parliament, and the Catholic movement of the time.

This is the kind of book that makes history interesting. I knew little of Guy Fawkes before this, but now I find myself googling for more information. This book is beautifully written, yet simplistic enough that it can engage young adults. I absolutely love historical fiction, and this book did not disappoint.

4 stars.

I received a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

When I first heard of the Gunpowder Plot, I was fascinated by it; it was probably a subject that made me interested in history, however, I never got to study the subject in depth which is odd as I have studied the reign of James I during my A-levels and found it interesting.
I enjoyed reading this book; the author did an amazing job with it. I thought the writing was really accessible and I understood what was going on, despite not having studied the period in almost ten years. I'm surprised that is my book by Lettice Cooper but it certainly won't be my last.

A good historical fiction based on historical facts. I knew very little about Guy Fawkes and the historical periodo so this was an entertaining and informative read.
I loved the style of writing and the author is a great storyteller.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC

I thought at first that this was a regular history book about the gunpowder plot, but quickly realized that it was a storytelling version of it...which I think was actually better. I've never read anything about Guy Fawkes and this was a really good introduction to what was probably a very complicated and confusing time in British history. Good for book historians, younger people, out as an intro

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair review from net gallery. All opinions are my own.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. Although I've heard "Remember, remember, the fifth of November" more times than I can count, and have heard the 2 minute summary of Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up Parliament several times in university history lectures, I didn't actually know many of the details of it. It was interesting to read about how they actually attempted to do it (transporting things, making the plan, surviving as Catholics)!

Stylistically, this isn't the most interesting read. It very much reads like a book written in the first half of the twentieth century, with fairly bland prose. Also, she specifically made a note in the beginning where she stated she only made up dialogue if it was absolutely needed- there was a quite a deal of dialogue. I might give it to a younger reader, the excitement of it all might go a long way!

The author did a great job of writing about a period in our history that many do not know too much about. I found myself wanting to learn more after reading this book and spent time researching online. Definitely recommend this one!