A Net for Small Fishes: ‘The Thelma and Louise of the seventeenth century’ Lawrence Norfolk

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Lucy Jago is an award-winning biographer whose richly imagined adult fiction debut is based around a scandal that rocked the Jacobean court. Frances is only a teenager when the two women meet, unhappily wedded to the teenage Earl of Essex, who whips her when he cannot consummate the marriage. it’s only in recent months that I’ve started to lean into my unanticipated love for historical fiction.

It didn‘t captivate me, it kept me just interested enough to finish it, although I have to admit I almost considered putting it down. This is only Jago's second work of fiction and even though the plot is based on a true story she has written something very accomplished, in fact I think its been about twenty years since I have had to put down a book while reading and pick up the dictionary to check the meaning of a word, very impressive not many authors do that these days!The portrait of two women from two different classes, whose friendship seemed impossible, is beautifully depicted in this fine historical fiction. She also brings to life the wealth and pageantry of the court - all the stuff that makes historical fiction feel so rich, but doesn't let it overwhelm what's most important in the story.

The Countess of Essex, Frances 'Frankie' Howard, might seem to be in an enviable position, but she dreams of a marital upgrade. But for all the imaginative license Lucy Jago takes in the book, she hasn't aimed to ignore history, just enhance it. Anne is widowed and finds in her solitary status new freedoms but also increasing obligations, stripped of the physical and financial protection of a man.She was awarded a Double First Class Honours Degree from King's College, University of Cambridge, and a master's degree from the Courtauld Institute, London. Howard is in an abusive marriage and wishes to get an annulment and marry her lover Robert Carr, a favourite of the King.