Simon Fairfax’s 1413 – Sir James Betrayed?

Book number 36 of 2024

In 1413, the fourth in Simon Fairfax’s A Knight and a Spy series, Sir Jamie de Grispere is thrust into some of the most dangerous situations yet. King Henry IV has died, and as his son, Henry V, assumes the throne, there are all kinds of threats to the stability of England.

In Part I, Jamie travels undercover to Scotland to see if a man claiming to be Richard II is truly that monarch. If he is, then Henry V’s claim to the throne is in jeopardy, and Isabella – wife of France’s King Charles – would be a bigamist, making her child illegitimate. Jamie has to get close enough to this supposed Richard II to see who he really is. He and Mark of Cornwall pose as cloth merchants to infiltrate the Scottish court and discover the truth.

Meanwhile, Cristo and his beloved wife, Alessandria, decide that their true home is in England, where they have friends and family. They embark on the dangerous journey from Florence to London. In London itself, Bishop Beaufort, Henry V’s uncle, schemes to oust Henry.

In Part II, Jamie and Cristo travel to Paris at the behest of Sir Richard Whittington. They must warn the Armagnacs and the royal family of the Duke of Burgundy’s plans to start a riot using the working classes of Paris – the Cabochiens. They get there in time, but neither the Armagnacs nor Charles’ family believe the uprising will actually occur. What follows are hellish scenes of violence and depravity as the mob attacks and kills anyone thought to be connected to the Armagnacs. Jamie and Cristo are effectively prisoners in the Armagnac compound, until they manage a daring escape down the Seine.

Part III is the darkest chapter yet in Jamie’s saga. He has married Lady Alice, but their honeymoon is short-lived, as Sir Richard and Henry V decide to sacrifice him and his good name to see how widespread the Lollardy heresy has spread in England. As soon as he and Cristo arrive in London from Paris, Jamie is arrested for treason and taken to the Tower of London. Cristo breaks into Sir Richard’s home and learns that Jamie is to be a pawn in a power struggle. If Jamie can infiltrate Sir John Oldcastle’s forces and provide information on the planned revolt, Henry can crush the Lollardy uprising.

Through Sir Richard’s behind the scenes maneuvering, Jamie is transferred out of the Tower to a low-security castle in the country. From there, he escapes and joins Oldcastle’s crew. They are planning a violent revolution similar to the one that happened in Paris, using guild members and other adherents to the Lollard heresy.

Simon Fairfax has hewed closely to the actual historical events of 1413 in this novel, proving that real life is plenty exciting enough! Even though Jamie, Cristo, and Mark are fictional, they participate in well-documented battles and intrigues. The political maneuvering in the British and French courts is incredibly complicated, but it boils down to two things: Henry’s two uncles are continually fomenting unrest to undermine Henry’s authority, and England wants France divided – and thus weakened – between the Armagnacs and Burgundians. The pursuit of these ends leads to high stakes intrigue, where innocent and loyal subjects like Jamie de Grispere can be sacrificed like pawns in a chess game.

1413 is the fourth of six novels in the series, and I am definitely hooked. Look for a post reviewing 1414 soon!

Simon Fairfax’s 1412 – James Bond for the 15th Century

Book #32 of 2024

A Knight and a Spy: 1412 is Simon Fairfax’s third novel chronicling the adventures of Jamie de Grispere, knight of the household of Prince Henry of England, and spy for the spymaster Richard Whittington. As with the first two books, this one is divided into 4 sections, one for each season of the year.

Part I – Winter: The Courts of England and France sees Jamie off to Paris. Prince Henry’s relationship with his father, King Henry IV, continues to deteriorate. Henry IV is leaning towards allying England with the Armagnac faction of France, while the Prince favors the Burgundians. Whittington persuades Prince Henry to send an embassy to King Charles in Paris, which will be escorted by Jamie. This will allow Jamie to glean useful information about the state of things in the French court. The danger is that he is walking into the lions’ den – the Duke of Burgundy is his sworn enemy, and he will be extremely vulnerable to any assassination attempts. The goal of the embassy is to negotiate an offer from the Burgundians that will entice Henry IV to drop the Armagnac’s offer. Jamie barely gets out of Paris with his life, and he is much wiser when it comes to understanding courtly intrigue.

In Part II – Spring: The Journey South, Jamie enlists his comrades-in-arms Christo and Mark to safely transport a payment of gold coin from England to Pope Urban in Italy. Christo’s fiancée, the Countess Alessandria, and Jamie’s sister, Jeanette, will accompany them. Alessandria wants to get her father’s blessing for her marriage to Christo, and Jeanette is posing as her maid-in-waiting. Alessandria’s family, the Albertis, are successful bankers who are allied with the Medicis, who support Pope Urban. However, a rival family, the Albizzis have poisoned Florentine society to the point that all Albertis have either been killed or banished. If they can prevent the gold from making it to Urban, they will consolidate their power and influence over the Pope.

Jamie, Christo, Mark, Alessandria, and Jeannette make the perilous journey through Fleming, Luxembourg, and France, fighting off an ambush of bandits to finally arrive in northern Italy. There, agents of the Albizzis capture them, but after a thrilling escape and fight, our heroes successfully make it to Bologna and Alessandria’s father.

Part III – Summer: Florence and the Way Home finds our intrepid band navigating the courtly intrigue of Florentine politics. An assassin attacks Jamie as he is about to finally pay the levy to the Pope. Christo and Alessandria present their petition to the Parte Guelfa so they can get married. We meet Christo’s family and Jamie is called away to assist the Armagnacs in France as Burgundy lays siege to them.

There is a lot of good battle action Jamie participates in as Prince Thomas leads his forces across the Channel and engages with Burgundy’s Scottish and Genoese mercenaries. However, behind the scenes, there is always political jockeying going on. Prince Henry is reconciled to his father, but Henry IV promotes Prince Thomas over Hal. Sir Thomas Beaufort is with Prince Thomas as he invades France, but he is subtly working to sabotage him. The Burgundian spy, Jean de Kernezen, is helping Burgundy set a trap for Prince Thomas.

In Part IV – Autumn: France and the Winds of War, Jamie poses as a Scottish knight to gain access to Burgundy’s forces preparing defend the castle at Meung-sur-Loire. There’s a tremendous battle, and the English successfully take the castle, thanks to Jamie’s behind the scenes work.

Meanwhile, in Bologna, Christo and Alessandria are outmaneuvered by the Albrizzi family – all Albertis are effectively banished from Italy. Part IV ends with Jamie safely home, Christo and Alessandria embarking on a voyage to return to London, and the English victorious over the Armagnacs.

In this third installment of Sir James de Grispere’s exploits, he continues to mature. He is no longer the naïve young man who trusts everyone he meets. He is still a most deadly fighter, but he is also a wily undercover agent for England. In other words, he is a lot like James Bond would be, if he lived in the early 1400s. However, the unfortunate resuIt of his successes is that he has made a lot of enemies – in England, France, and now Italy.

1412 is the halfway point in Simon Fairfax’s A Knight and a Spy series, and it just gets better with every book. Looking ahead, King Henry IV doesn’t have much longer to live, and Jamie will find himself in the middle of a vicious power struggle. I’m looking forward to seeing how he navigates the perilous political waters in 1413!