Book Review: A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein

My Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Based on true events, A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein revolves around forty-three-year-old Bethan Carlisle Glentaggart, Countess of Clarencefield and her efforts to save her husband Gavin from execution.

“It wasn’t just Catholics against Protestants. There were Dissenters like the Covenanters who hated the Church of Englanders almost as much as they hated the Catholics.”

The story is set in 1700s Scotland and England. After the death of Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, laws disallowing Catholics to ascend the throne resulted in bypassing several claimants and establishing the closest Protestant heir George of Hanover as successor. However, those loyal to the Stuart line of heirs support King James II’s son, James Francis Edward, the Chevalier’s claim to the throne. He had been living in exile but was expected to be returning to England shortly to take up arms and lead the rebellion. When Bethan’s husband Gavin joins the Jacobite rebellion she is fearful for him but supports his stance, both her family and his being loyal to the Stuarts. Unfortunately, the Jacobites are defeated and forced to surrender. Gavin is one of many who are imprisoned and awaiting trial. Bethan, leaving her children with relatives, travels to London amid inclement weather with her friend and confidante Lucy Dunstable to meet Gavin, who is imprisoned in the Tower of London. Bethan is no stranger to the perils of her journey and is aware of her precarious standing as a Catholic in anti-Catholic England. As a child of parents who served in the court of James II, she had been forced to flee to France with her family when he was overthrown by William of Orange. As a married woman settled in the Scottish Lowlands with her husband and children, she faced the Covenanters when they raided her home some years ago in search of a Catholic priest who Bethan was rumored to have (and actually had) harbored in her home. Unable to find the priest, her home was ransacked during the search and Bethan was physically assaulted by one of the Ministers.

"For so many of my years, I and those I love have been victims of the times, blown from pillar to post without any volition of our own. We have been able to find some happiness for a while, only to see it taken from us, simply because we are loyal to a disfavored faith, and because we subscribe to the belief that the English should be ruled by an Englishman.”

Gavin, along with others who fought with him , is pronounced guilty and sentenced to death. When Bethan's petition for Gavin’s pardon is ignored, she enlists the help of Lucy, her new friend Amelia Thrupp and her estranged sister Aelwen in devising and executing a plan to save her husband.

Based on the true story of Winifred Herbert Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale, a noblewoman who plotted to free her husband William Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale from the Tower of London with help of her friends, A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein is an informative and fascinating read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story is shared from the perspective of the protagonist in the first-person narrative format. The narrative is fluid and well-structured. Meticulously researched, the novel sheds a light on the anti-Catholic sentiment and persecution of those of the Catholic faith and the changes in the political and religious landscape of that era, while also giving us a window into the societal practices prevalent in those times. Bethan is an admirable character as is her friend Lucy. The second half of the novel is particularly engaging as we follow these resourceful women as they go about working out the details of their plan. Please do read the Author’s Note where she discusses the historical context of this novel in further detail. This was a departure from my usual choice of books but I was glad for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel and share my thoughts.

Many thanks to author Patricia Bernstein, History Through Fiction, and Stephanie Barko for the digital review copy of this fascinating novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.