This novel takes place in the court of James I of England. Frances Howard, a beauty and daughter of the influential Howard family, was married to the Earl of Essex in an attempt to bury the enmity between the two families. Frances had a waiting lady and dress designer named Anne Turner who was good friends with her. Anne was married to the court physician when the two women became friends.

Frances's marriage to the Earl Of Essex was never a success and she grew to hate him for his cruel treatment of her. Frances fell in love with the king's favorite, Robin Carr, and Anne helped her with a plan to get her marriage annulled so that she could marry Carr instead. Sir Thomas Overby, another influential court advisor, was against the marriage and tried to talk Carr out of it. He ran afoul of the king and was imprisoned in the Tower where he died. While there, accusations were made that his death was caused by poison sent by Frances and Anne.

Several years later, individuals were accused of this death. Richard Weston was a confidant of Anne's and a guard at the Tower. He confessed that he was given poison by Frances and Anne to kill Overby. Weston was executed along with several other small players. After Anne's trial, where she refused to testify against Frances, she was hung. Frances and Robin were found guilty and sentenced to the Tower for life but later pardoned by the king.

This novel is based on this true story. The author, Lucy Jago, is sympathetic to the woman, seeing them as confident and independent women not willing to be subservient to the men in their lives. Frances was used as a pawn by her family and Anne was betrayed by the lover who fathered her three youngest children. Jago also emphasized the friendship between the two women and the comfort that they were to each other. I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect to invoke the English court and it's protocols. This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

This book was incredible! It took me a second to get a firm grasp on all the different stories in the jumping timeline, but once I did it was hard to put down.

Author Lucy Jago reimagines a real-life seventeenth-century scandal set in the kingdom of James I of England. Blending fact and fiction with a keen eye toward the present, Jago highlights the misogyny of the era, as well as the power of female friendship.

A NET FOR SMALL FISHES stars the Countess of Essex, Frances (Frankie) Howard, a beautiful but not-so socially aware young wife, and Mistress Anne Turner, a physician's wife who is also a talented stylist struggling to find a foothold in London society. When the two meet, Frankie finds a sort of mirror to her own inner thoughts and emotions that she has previously had to guard against her hierarchy-obsessed family and the court at large. Anne, on the other hand, finds a leg-up, but also a woman who will not judge her for her debts, her long-held affair, or her edgy fashions. As the two become friends, Frankie's marriage to an older, impotent man becomes violent and Anne seems to be the only person who cares for her.

There is so, so much to unpack in A NET FOR SMALL FISHES: deeply researched historical events, lyrical prose, and, of course, timely themes of feminism, the roles of women in society and a searing commentary on social hierarchy. Jago's control of her characters and their histories is masterly; she makes them come alive and feel relatable while never forgetting the time period they live in or to honor their roles in a very real scandal. This is historical fiction at its best: immersive, emotionally resonant and with deep ties to our own time.

This engaging historical fiction novel follows the friendship and lives of two women in the 17th century court of Jacobean England. Anne Turner is a seamstress who befriends Frances Howard, the Countess of Somerset, who she dresses her for an event at court. Over time, Anne comes to know Frankie and sees the bruises from the abuse Frankie suffers at the hands of her sadistic and impotent husband. Anne and Frankie grow closer as time goes on, including when Anne's husband dies and Frankie embarks on an affair with the King's consort, Sir Robert Carr.

All of the court machinations and the events are told through first-person narration by Anne. Jago spins an intriguing fiction around the true-to-life core of this story: In 1615, Anne was hanged for her role in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury (she provided the poison that was put in tarts supposedly fed to Overbury), the only man seemingly standing in the way of Frankie getting an annulment from her cruel husband and marrying her true love, Sir Robert Carr. When on the scaffold, Anne was forced to wear the extravagant starched cuffs that she was known for introducing into the court fashion scene. Frankie was convicted of being an accessory to the murder (working with Anne to hatch the poison plot), but ended up being pardoned in 1622.

Jago envisions a close friendship between the two women, explores the sexism and abuse they are subjected to as women living in the late 1600s, and questions the legitimacy of the murder conviction (did the poisons they concoct really kill Overbury or was Anne railroaded by a zealous and misogynistic Chief Justice?).

I really enjoyed Jago's spinning of this historical fiction tale. At times it's a bit uneven as the action slows when it's one court backstabbing after another and the lack of page time between Anne and her children prevent the reader from truly connecting with her on a strong emotional level. Yet the treatment the women face, even Frankie, as supposed high-class courtier, is devastating and does reverberate through Jago's gripping tale. If you love historical fiction and narratives that focus on the role of women in historical societies and the abuse/sexism they faced, this is the book for you.

A Net For Small Fishes
Lucy Jago

Jago gifts readers with a dark, beautifully written and impeccably researched novel based on real events that features two courageous avant-garde women who dare to speak their minds. Her recounting is full of humility and humanity and will take readers/listeners back to the Jacobean Court of King James I, a volatile time when loyalties changed often and behind the scenes devious plans were frequently in play to unseat what many in England thought to be an untrue ruler.

In this “me too” era we live in now some, especially young people can’t appreciate just how far women’s rights have come in the last four centuries and most of those advances occurring in the last one alone. They weren’t alive when tennis star Billy Jean King beat Bobbie Riggs in the early 70s, or when the first woman became CEO of a Fortune 500 Company in 1972 and not until 1999 for a woman of color.
But what the main protagonists of Lucy Jago’s masterpiece suffered was much, much worse because in the Jacobean period in England women were the property of their fathers until they married and then were the property of their husbands. Plus the women centerpieced here were Catholic, Frances a member of the once powerful Howard Family and Anne the widow of the King’s physician. Papists in England were a definite minority and often-times villainized after all the religious wars between Protestants and Catholics and these women were mere pawns in a power play between opposite political/religious factions.

The author brings to life the events leading up to the death of Sir Thomas Overbury an English poet and essayist who Franky and Anne were both eventually accused of murdering. And about the lives and incredible friendship between these two disparate women who shouldn’t have been closer than sisters but were. She also gives her audience other characters some good some evil but all unforgettable. And while obviously taking artistic liberties she manages to make the sights, sounds and even smells of that time come alive for her audience.
Narration:
The narration by Sarah Durham is FAB, the perfect voice for both English and Scottish inflections and for both male and female roles.
Mistress Anne Turner was a very fortunate woman, married to Dr. George Turner a prominent London physician much her senior, a very forward-thinking man who allowed her to be true to herself and to have a trade of her own. However, after his death she needed someway to keep food on her table so her recent friendship with Francis (Frankie) the Countess of Essex was very timely. Little did she know just how much that friendship would cost her.
Frankie Howard, now the Countess of Essex is determined to end this loveless and abusive marriage to the Earl of Essex. Arranged by her Catholic family to keep them close to the new Protestant King is not worth it to her to suffer what she has. So she treasures her new friendship to Anne Taylor a woman, like herself, ahead of her time. Little did she know just how advantageous her friendship to Anne would become in the events of her life yet to be.

I would not recommend this title to my students because I think it is beyond them in terms of age-appropriateness. I did very much enjoy it myself, though, and it could be a useful accompaniment to an upper-level course like AP European History or General Humanities. I appreciated the author's note that this novel was written in order to sift through facts and find truth. That made sense of the very ambiguous style Jago used. The only thing that made the book hard to follow were the time jumps. The missing periods of time could have been used to greater effect, but they were just left out altogether, thus it was difficult at times to keep track of where we were in Frankie and Anne's lives. Overall, however, an enjoyable read.

The early 1600’s England included poverty and sickness for most of the population, general worries of staying alive. A few lucky well born citizens had money, food and connections solely based on their names and family. But what if one could be connected to the other, could their situations and outlook on life help each other? This is the friendship that is presented in A Net for Small Fishes by Lacy Jago, two women who were thrown together due to circumstance and stayed together because of mutual need. As wife of a doctor, Anne was asked to help Countess Frances who had a difficult marriage. The two then click to create a series of adventures which brings Anne of lower station to be involved with the court, art and high society personalities while the Countess introduced to the other wife’s sweet home life and children. The story is told in first person, Jago doing an expert job of including us in conversation while giving a detailed sense of what this time period entails. The writing is so smooth, I flew through the intrigue of James I’s closest advisors as well as what was said behind his back. This novel did an excellent job of showing what was required to remain in good standing monetarily, whether at court or the lowest neighborhood in London. Women are shown as being powerful behind the scenes in some cases. However, we read through what it is like in the era to be so dependent on a husband, socially, financially, legally, as a partner in life and as an active participant in creating children. The novel is a stark comparison of the class difference at the time, enjoying the softness of silk at the top or the dirty cold of the Tower. Jago shows this age of England can trip a person from one to the other in a minute. It is the best historical fiction I have read in quite a while and I highly recommend A Net for Small Fishes. Thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this novel for an honest review.

Lucy Jago’s new historical fiction novel A Net for Small Fishes concerns a real life scandal from the Jacobean court and is a lush reimagining of the events surrounding the murder of Thomas Overbury. It revolves around Frances Howard, the unhappy and abused wife of the Earl of Essex, and her friendship with Anne Turner, a physician’s wife and struggling fashion stylist who dresses her.

The rich historical details in this novel make it a very immersive read, and the friendship between the two women is beautifully crafted and compelling to follow. This is a riveting page turner of a story as Frances and Anne attempt to navigate a world that can be and often is a very dangerous place for women.

Stylistically, the prose felt a little heavy-handed at times with overly flowery similes that at times detracted from the narrative by pulling me out of the story. But overall this was a very enjoyable read and a fascinating look into a period of history that I hadn’t read much about in historical fiction before. I look forward to more of Lucy Jago’s future works.

The promo for A Net for Small Fishes opens "Wolf Hall meets The Favourite in this gripping dark novel based on the true scandal of two women determined to create their own fates in the Jacobean court," so I had high hopes for the title. (I haven't read The Favorite, but I've read and reread Wolf Hall and find something new to enjoy in it each time.) But Wolf Hall this title ain't. A Net for Small Fishes is an engaging novel illustrating the challenges for women in upper and middle-class England during the Jacobean period, but it lacked the depth, detail, and complexity of character that Wolf Hall offers. Lots of books do lack all that—but they generally don't try to sell themselves by claiming similarity to Wolf Hall.

If you like period novels, particularly novels set in the Jacobean period, you'll likely enjoy A Net for Small Fishes. The central characters, each a small fish in her own way—though one comes from gentry and the other doesn't—face an endless struggle of net-dodging. Francis is trapped in a dynastic married to a brutal husband determined to make her life a misery. Anne is the wife of a doctor; she can make some "simples"; she also designs clothing for wealthier women. When Francis' mother calls in Anne to bring Francis back from the brink, the two quickly become devoted friends, despite their class differences. Once Anne's husband dies, Anne's descent into poverty is abrupt. The two maintain their friendship, though Frankie (Francis) is much better at seeing her own troubles than Anne's, and together they plot to remove Frankie from her intolerable marriage and to find some sort of financial stability for themselves.

What keeps this book good and not great is the lack of depth to the two women's characters. Are they believable? Yes. Does the reader ever get to know them intimately? No. Just as Frankie and Anne remain strangers to one another despite their bond of loyalty, readers never really draw close to either woman. Their lives make for a good story, but it's not a story readers experience as her own.

If this historical period interests you or if you enjoy novels that feature women struggling against the prejudices of their times, you should enjoy this book. If you're looking for a new Wolf Hall, you'll be disappointed.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

This book is phenomenal. Not only is it my favourite thing I've read this year, but also in my top ten ever. There is so much to love, it's hard to know where to start, I'll just list a few things. First, the role of magic in this book was fascinating, apparently it was totally normal in Jacobean England to visit witchdoctors. It was also illegal, people completely believed in it. The King at the time (James I) even wrote a book about it. My extremely intelligent and talented teacher Mum (retired-HoD English) pointed out that this is why Shakespeare wrote Macbeth. Second, in London during this time people were not acting very puritan, affairs, drugs, curses, poisoning, secret debt, open marriages, and murder pacts are just some of the things that feature. Indeed, A Net for Small Fishes is a beautiful and creative combination of love, loyalty, social history and a juicy issue of Hello! magazine. Third, female friendship is a wonderous thing to behold. This book has been compared to film The Favourite, with good reason, a rich lady of the court befriends a woman of lower station and exploits her while also loving her. However, Frankie and Anne had a hint of Thelma and Louise that didn't really show up in The Favourite. I loved Frankie and Anne's relationship, and as frustrated as I was by Anne's refusal to move away from Frankie and the chaos she created, I understood. Anne is loyal and also needs Frankie to save her from financial ruin. To keep this review somewhat short I'll stop, but I could go on for days about how much I loved this book. I would recommend it without reservation.

This seems to be an impeccably researched fictionalization of a true scandal in the court of King James I of England. The scenarios were vivid, and the sense of how little agency women had over their lives was effectively illustrated. Some of the characters' motivations could have been made clearer, I think, but I appreciated the insight into the less glamorous aspects of proximity to the court and how easy it was for women in particular to slide into poverty. Despite the sometimes grim subject matter, that was an enjoyable, absorbing read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Flatiron Books, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This historical novel tells the story of the marriage of Frances Howard and Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, their annulment, Howard's relationship with Robert Carr, the Earl of Somerset, and Howard's attempts to murder/murder of Thomas Overbury. It's a complicated tale, but told here through the POV of Anne Turner, one of Howard's waiting-women, it becomes detangled and more easily followed. The retelling, though, isn't terribly engrossing: although there is good detail throughout, the large jumps in time often derail the plot, and the lack of follow-ups on significant events and information on important people and their numerous relationships and networks will send readers to Wikipedia for explanations.

I received A Net for Small Fishes as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

Anne Turner, the wife of King James' doctor, becomes acquainted with the young Frankie, Countess of Essex. An unlikely friendship is forced, despite their difference in status, and the two women lean on each other during hard times in their respective relationships: Anne becomes widowed and impoverished as her presumed suitor fails to materialize, while Frankie is trapped in an abusive marriage and in love with another. The latter predicament leads the two women to craft a plot with both dangerous and unexpected results.

I found it slow going to start--the text is very dense, and the word of Stuart England is a bit bizarre in its wild discrepancies, with sex and violence and religious conflict all at extreme odds. Just getting a handle on that universe and the vaunted people within it was a chore. Once it got going, though, I really enjoyed it. It's a sliver of history I wasn't aware of, and really brings to light the misogyny and tumultuous political landscape of the era. A fascinating glimpse into a world that's rarely explored in historical fiction.

A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago is an excellent historical fiction that takes place in England during the pivotal time of the reign of James VI of Scotland/I of England. It is gripping, suspenseful, and thoroughly addictive.

I loved the concept of this novel. The examination of the two main characters: Frances Howard and Anne Turner respectively and together. They are richly drawn, complex, and fit in perfectly with the multi-layered narrative, the court and political intrigues, and are in stark contrast with their gender, station, and societal roles that are pressed upon them during the 17th century.

Both are seemingly different, yet clearly both are more similar in their deep yearnings, hopes, dreams, losses, failures, and fears. So much is risked, so much is at stake, but how does one weight one sacrifice vs another?

The slow-burn of the pacing of the narrative allowed me to savor the intricate and descriptive prose, descriptions, and metaphors. The true historic figures and events were thoroughly researched and helped inspire the story read. The author was able to take that material and it was clearly interwoven masterfully.

I was beyond impressed at this stunning novel. I am glad I took the time to savor this gem.

I highly recommend.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Flatiron Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.