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Andrew Swanston

The Incendium Plot Paperback – March 1, 2018

by A D Swanston (Author)

1,275 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Christopher Radcliff

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'A fantastic tale of spies, deceit and murder in the Elizabethan age' S. D. Sykes

England in 1572 is a powder keg of rumour, fanaticism, treachery and dissent. All it would take is a single spark . . .

In the England of Elizabeth I, the fear of plague and invasion, and the threat of insurrection are constant. As the Earl of Leicester's chief intelligencer, lawyer Dr Christopher Radcliff is tasked with investigating rumours of treachery at home and the papist threat from abroad. And with heresy and religious unrest simmering beneath the surface of a country on the brink, Radcliff is under pressure to get results.

Then two brutal and seemingly motiveless killings point alert Radcliff to the whisper of a new plot against the queen. There are few clues, and all he and his network of agents have to go on is a single word: incendium. But what does it mean - and who lies behind it? Christopher Radcliff must find out before it's too late . . .

(Please note: The Incendium Plot was first published in hardback as Incendium)

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Corgi
Publication date

March 1, 2018
Dimensions

5 x 1.1 x 7.75 inches
ISBN-10

9780552172387
ISBN-13

978-0552172387
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fantastic tale of spies, deceit and murder in the Elizabethan age" - S. D. SYKES -

"Lawyer Christopher Radcliff is an erudite outsider with an unusual past, who turns state spy in this colourful and gripping historical novel." - - i-NEWSPAPER

"Swanston clearly knows the period well and Radcliff is an engaging hero" - Antonia Senior - THE TIMES

"Radcliff is a wonderful character, resourceful and intelligent . . . perfectly combines history and fiction . . . I loved every page" - Kate Atherton - FOR WINTER NIGHTS

"Beautifully done. All the sights, sounds and smells of Elizabethan England are there, along with an intriguing range of characters . . . Radcliff is clearly destined to appear in future books, and I think he's likely to gain some loyal fans" - - HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW

About the Author

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. He is the author of the Thomas Hill novels—The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return—as well as Waterloo: The Bravest Man.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0552172383
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Corgi (March 1, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780552172387
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0552172387
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.1 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #928,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,398 in Historical Thrillers (Books)
- #9,733 in Historical Mystery
- #17,876 in Murder Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
1,275 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

1,275 global ratings

5 star		44%
4 star		35%
3 star		18%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jonas B

Interesting story, but...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 29, 2023

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I liked the plot and mostly the protagonist, though he seemed a bit too naive given his profession. But my intense dislike for his girlfriend, whom I first expected to be revealed as a spy and traitor but just turned out to be obstinate and demanding, lowers my rating quite a bit. As she seems likely to force her way into the following books as well I will probably give them a miss.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 3, 2023

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Too long. Main character is ok but often tedious. So called strong willed girlfriend is a predictable bore. The prostitute is actually a more interesting and well drawn character.

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Sherry Christie

Outstanding Thriller About Elizabethan London

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 17, 2020

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Sir Francis Walsingham must have had hordes of informers or "intelligencers," for there have been a number of novels in the past few years with protagonists who spy for him. THE INCENDIUM PLOT is an exceptionally good one, with a lawyer, Christopher Radcliff, reluctantly pressed into service to find out about a possible conspiracy against the Queen. The novel abounds with period tensions, local color, and offbeat characters. I did find Radcliff's purported love for his sweetheart Katherine rather insipid. His visits to her seem based on an obligation of his gender rather than affection; he takes her availability for granted, and lets her assume risks that might compromise his mission. Other than that, author A.D. Swanston does an excellent job with this historical novel. Recommended for fans of S.J. Parris and C.J. Sansom. (Is this double-initial thing a prerequisite for authors?)

10 people found this helpful

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John C Holbert

A good read that flagged

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2021

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I do enjoy this genre and have read more than a few such mysteries set during Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. I rated this with four stars, perhaps a bit generous since the last 50 pages seriously lost momentum.

5 people found this helpful

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DCinDC

Compelling historical mystery

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Book review comparisons to C. J. Sansom and S. J. Parris are apt, though Swanston is a much better writer than Sansom (and the "as good as C. J. Sansom or your money back" on the cover is a hokey gimmick that isn't going to work with sophisticated readers of historical fiction). The pace is good, the detail is accurate, and the characters are nuanced. I could have done without the murders right at the outset, but overall this was really great addition to my historical fiction collection, and I look forward to reading more of Swanston's work.

11 people found this helpful

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clo316

A good find

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 11, 2020

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I do not know how this book came to my attention, but I am glad it did. It's an interesting mystery set in Elizabethan England. The book is well written and the plot moves along. The author does a good job with pacing and developing the steps the protagonist takes to unravel the mystery. There are also good historical descriptions, and enough suspense without being overwhelming. A good find.

6 people found this helpful

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HelenH

More Troubles for Elizabeth I

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 10, 2020

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Elizabethan thriller centered around supporters of the imprisoned Queen Mary and a plot to kill Elizabeth. This one involves an "intelligencer" for the Earl of Leicester, who's tasked to ferret out such things, and does it in a very credible fashion, after a lot of twists and turns and a trip to Paris, where he witnesses what history has come to call the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

The author's done his research, the action moves along nicely and the characters are finely drawn and individualized. Looking forward to seeing more of Christopher Radcliff and what he gets up to.

4 people found this helpful

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greyowl

A gripping plot, well developed

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 27, 2017

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Gripping from beginning to end, we follow the tense developments of the Papist struggle to overpower the Huguenots in France and reclaim the English crown from Protestant sympathiser Queen Elizabeth.
Lawyer Christopher Radcliff finds his life threatened when he is sent by his patron, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, on a secret mission to Paris at the height of the religious conflict, then makes use of dubious intelligencers to investigate rumours of a massive plot in London, involving murder, torture and executions.
Swanston has developed the historical scene very well, as also the key characters.

5 people found this helpful

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EleanorB

Engaging and believable tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 19, 2018

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The Incendium of the title is fire: in the wake of the bloody Massacre of St Bartholomew's eve in France, plotters are engaged in creating the same fire and mayhem which will literally and metaphorically burn out the Protestant heresy in England, remove Elizabeth the First from her throne and crown Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, in her place. Into these endless religious wars, comes Dr Christopher Radcliffe a former academic who is now working for the Earl of Leicester, whose life is dedicated to protecting the Queen whom he still loves, from horrors on the scale of those happening across the Channel. Radcliffe, whilst relatively new to spying and to London, has nevertheless begun to build a coterie of intelligencers who report to him with all the whispers of plots, rumours galore and most importantly, names, gathered from the streets, brothels and drinking dens which are a light year away from the opulent, but vulnerable royal court.

The writer's pace is pretty good and he has crafted an absorbing tale with a believable cast of characters set against a true historical event. Radcliffe is sent on a mission to Paris to rendezvous with Sir Francis Walsingham who is based there for a time: he sees the Massacre and its aftermath and takes his life in his hands in escaping the beleaguered city to return to England with the news and evidence of a parallel plot which could be released on Elizabeth's England unless traitors are found and stopped.

The author has mined another rich seam from the fascinating Elizabethan age, and his hero is an attractive, imperfect but dedicated man trying to do his best with limited resources, a sharp dagger and his considerable intelligence. Good stuff and we will see more of Dr Radcliffe I have no doubt. Looking forward to that.

37 people found this helpful

johncee

Very good book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

Having read all the Sansom/Parris/Clements books I was looking for something similar and wasn't disappointed with this. I found it easy to read and an interesting story. If you like the same sort of books as me, give this a try.

42 people found this helpful

Mig Bardsley

I quite enjoyed this

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 23, 2019

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Though I found the writing style a little pedestrian. However the main character, an intelligencer employed by the Earl of Leicester in 1572 was interesting. Far from the usual run of crime solvers who have uncanny abilities to pin point the criminal, Dr Christopher Radcliff was just as confused and puzzled as a real person might be and suffered under the convincing inconsistencies of his patron - a believably contrary aristocrat.
It's a shame that Radcliff's lover had to be beautiful with flashing green eyes and flaming red hair, not to mention being 'spirited'.

11 people found this helpful

Kizzia Mildmay

Kept me entertained

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 17, 2020

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This is a perfectly good historical mystery with enough forward movement to keep you turning the pages.

That said there are moments where the plot is clearly moving the characters about because there is no internal logic for some of the rather idiotic choices which were made. There were also moments when exposition was made the expense of character and one point, which remains stuck in my mind despite it happening in the first half of the book, where another character spoke, almost verbatim, a thought a different character has had only a page before.

I still enjoyed the book but it isn’t one I’ll return to.

5 people found this helpful

Terry Kinnard

Elizabethan thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

A very entertaining read. With many interesting and complex characters, which even if not taken directly from history, seem to fit very well with what I remember learning of the time.
Queen Bess is on the throne and there is an international plot to replace her with Mary Queen of Scots. Dr Cristopher is the Earl of Leicesters inteligencer in London and has a network of informers and information gatherers, but even he has great trouble uncovering the nature of the plot.
Truly a good read with a good lead in Dr Christopher. I look forward to reading more in the series and other books by the same author.

One person found this helpful

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