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Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot Paperback – October 13, 1997
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In a narrative that reads like a gripping detective story, Antonia Fraser has untangled the web of religion, politics, and personalities that surrounded that fateful night of November 5. And, in examining the lengths to which individuals will go for their faith, she finds in this long-ago event a reflection of the religion-inspired terrorism that has produced gunpowder plots of our own time.
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAnchor
- Publication dateOctober 13, 1997
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.91 x 8.1 inches
- ISBN-100385471904
- ISBN-13978-0385471909
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In a narrative that reads like a gripping detective story, Antonia Fraser has untangled the web of religion, politics, and personalities that surrounded that fateful night of November 5. And, in examining the lengths to which individuals will go for their faith, she finds in this long-ago event a reflection of the religion-inspired terrorism that has produced gunpowder plots of our own time.
From the Inside Flap
In a narrative that reads like a gripping detective story, Antonia Fraser has untangled the web of religion, politics, and personalities that surrounded that fateful night of November 5. And, in examining the lengths to which individuals will go for their faith, she finds in this long-ago event a reflection of the religion-inspired terrorism that has produced gunpowder plots of our own time.
From the Back Cover
In a narrative that reads like a gripping detective story, Antonia Fraser has untangled the web of religion, politics, and personalities that surrounded that fateful night of November 5. And, in examining the lengths to which individuals will go for their faith, she finds in this long-ago event a reflection of the religion-inspired terrorism that has produced gunpowder plots of our own time.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Anchor; Uncorrected Proof edition (October 13, 1997)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0385471904
- ISBN-13 : 978-0385471909
- Item Weight : 12 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.91 x 8.1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #370,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #347 in Church & State Religious Studies
- #380 in Historical British Biographies
- #430 in England History
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Antonia Fraser is the author of numerous novels and historical works including Marie Antoinette, The Wives of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, and Faith and Treason. She is also famous for her Jemima Shore series of mysteries. She and her husband, Harold Pinter, live in London.
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Her chapter on the unfolding and confounding of the plot is very good reading. A mysterious note tips off a minor nobleman who in turn tips off those at the highest levels of government. They capture suspicious Guy Fawkes and discover a plot to blow up the Parliament in Westminster Palace and the Royal Family of James I with 36 barrels of gunpowder placed in the cellar.
Fraser also relates how those innocent persons who lived in this social network were also swept up in the reactions to the failed plot. She ends the story with exploration of the role of the Protestant government in using the failed plot to bring about even greater repression and oversight of the Roman Catholic community in England as well as growing intolerance from the common people toward Roman Catholics.
The character of Guy Fawkes looms large in the minds of those who know about the Gunpowder Plot, however Fraser certainly puts Fawkes and his role in perspective since he plays a significant but not a central role in the planning and execution of the failed plot. She also connects Gay Fawkes Day on November 5th to Celtic bonfire celebrations.
Robert Catesby, a devoted Catholic and charismatic leader of the plot, is actually a fare more central figure to the action than was Guy Fawkes. Fawkes was captured first and under torture reveals much about the plot and the other conspirators. Fraser spends much time telling of how torture was conducted but also the common law around the use of torture. This makes for fascinating reading in light of recent debate within the United States about whether or not water boarding is considered a torture and who may and may not authorize its use for which specific pieces of information.
Fraser is at her best when she offers alternative interpretations of the entire action and indicates how the government of James I could use the gunpowder plot to enforce even greater restrictions and punishments against the Roman Catholic community in England. The focus of this counter interpretation is Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, King James' chief minister. The trials are overseen by the Crown Prosecutor, Sir Edward Coke, conducted his interrogations and trials with a fervor since he suspected the Catholics of supporting the Pope over their King and as supporting an invasion of England by a Catholic monarch.
Antonia Fraser is very judicious and fair as she explores multiple interpretations of the actions that took place in this plot and the advantage to the government in discovering the plot and then enforcing even more restrictions upon the Catholic citizens. Fraser is sympathetic to the Catholics for she documents that the net may have been cast too wide and the grievances of the Catholics were all too real. The struggle to worship in freedom is a major theme that she explores.
Fraser does paint a picture of English Catholic recusant life at the end of the sixteenth century. Their homes have hidden passages for hiding priests and the braver of the Catholic women is highly admirable. In the final chapters she fully develops governmental over-reach in the trial and execution of the Jesuit Secretary for England, Father Garnet, a personality of high intelligence and moral character.
The book is highly readable and is highly recommended.
This book tells an interesting story, and it also helped clarify my thinking about that era.
First, the story and the history is much more interesting than I had anticipated. I've been sort of "grazing" British history and got this book because it certainly qualified. As Fraser notes, Bonfire night isn't much in the U.S. having been usurped by Halloween and Thanksgiving, and I'd only vaguely heard of Guy Fawkes. The "true" story isn't as simple and uninteresting as "Disgruntled Guy Fawkes tries to blow up Parliament and gets caught," as per some popular stories. I've read a lot about Henry VIII and this story very much complements his story- Henry separates the English church from the one in Rome, setting off a chain of events that lasted for years (even to this day)- This book is about one of those events. If you are at all interested in following the consequences of actions through history, you'll like this.
Which leads to my second point- Fraser does a wonderful job of putting the story in perspective. Not only does she inform you as to the history, culture, sociology (role of women in particular) and the religious environment that led to the plot to blow up James I, his heirs, and Parliament (and likely some innocent pigeons), but she also indicates how the plot still affects current thinking and events (citing such examples as Nelson Mandela).
Finally, she does a great job with the story itself. Given the large cast of characters, the fact that I said "Wait, who is that again?" only a few times is very much to her credit. The story is very thorough with numerous citations and explanations of her interpretations of historical actions.
This book is about the gunpowder plot and not generally about James I- it is more about the effect that his broken promises had on the plot's development.
As a side note- if Mel Gibson ever read this book, he'd make a movie out of it- I just can't figure out who he'd play... Not Guy Fawkes. Maybe Garnet? Maybe Cecil (but only if Gibson made him a complete good guy). Maybe Catesby (but have to make him a good guy, and change the story a bit...)
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llego un poco golpeado de las esquinas pero cumple su proposito






