I am excited to introduce you to historical fiction author,
John Pilkington
Robert Belstrang, ex-magistrate bored with country life, comes to London to investigate the strange disappearance of Thomas Jessop, son of a poor Catholic neighbour. He locates the youth in Bedlam asylum, silent and starving himself. When he tries to free Jessop, he is warned off the case by a politic lawyer, Anstis. Soon after, Belstrang finds himself drugged, robbed and falsely imprisoned.
Once released Belstrang persists in his investigation, but he is thwarted at every turn: unseen forces are at work who seemingly want Thomas Jessop to die. When Belstrang confronts Anstis, even he turns up dead.
The trail grows murkier by the hour, drawing Belstrang into the fear-ridden Catholic underworld - until he uncovers a plan with its roots in the Gunpowder Plot of more than a decade ago. Young Thomas, an embittered papist, was being used in a desperate scheme to mark the anniversary of the Plot. The scheme failed – and now the conspirators seem eager to cover up the whole business.
But Belstrang’s a stubborn man. With the help of ex-soldier Daniel Oldrigg, he sticks doggedly to his purpose - and stumbles on the real causes of the Anniversary Plot, which stem from the very heart of a corrupt government.
Belstrang must uncover the truth, or die trying.
What inspired you to start writing?
I think I was a writer from childhood, I just didn’t know it. Like a lot of writers, I was good at essays and bad at maths. I made a few attempts in my teens, including song lyrics when I was a (bad) guitar-player. I somehow got the idea to start writing plays when I lived in London, and my first works were on BBC Radio. I later wrote a few stage plays and did some episodes of a TV soap. But when I tried my hand at historical fiction, around 20 years ago, I found it the most satisfying and knew I would stay with it.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
It was a long time in the making: a lot of research, false starts and so on. I’m obsessed with the Gunpowder Plot, and had an idea: what if someone had wanted to carry out another attempt on King James’s life, ten years after the original plot failed? An ‘Anniversary Plot’, in fact. Once I found the format and my main protagonist, it went well. So I suppose the hardest part was finding the right way to tell this story, and make it believable.
Does one of the characters hold a special place in your heart?
Not exactly, although I’m fond of my new protagonist, Justice Belstrang, a crotchety ex-magistrate who can’t help getting involved in new mysteries. He keeps trying to lead a quiet life on his country estate near Worcester, but retirement doesn’t suit him. I was also a troubled teenager, and I’ve a lot of sympathy for the young victim of this conspiracy, Thomas Jessop.
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
What a lovely thought! I would like a distinguished older actor to play Belstrang – he’s over 60, but still vigorous. A younger Sean Connery, or maybe Donald Sutherland? And I’d need an older but alluring female actor to play Belstrang’s partner Hester… Helen Mirren? Or maybe Meryl Streep? I can dream.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I hope it sparks interest in the period – James the First’s reign rarely features in fiction but it was full of incident (not just the Gunpowder Plot). It also shows how corrupt and fickle the governments of those days were (draw whatever parallels you like!). But I also hope it makes people want to read the next Justice Belstrang Mystery. LEGACY is the first of a trilogy, published by Sharpe Books. Book 2, THE WITCHING POOL, will be out soon and Book 3 will follow next year. I can’t wait to see the three completed books out in a box set.
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John Pilkington has been a writer for over thirty years. He has written plays for radio and the theatre, as well as television scripts for the BBC. He is also the author of more than twenty books including the popular Thomas the Falconer and Betsy Brand historical mysteries for adults, and the Elizabethan Mysteries for children, the last one of which was shortlisted for the 2010 Young Quills Award. His last series, set in the early 17th century, features government spy or 'intelligencer' Martin Marbeck, described by Booklist as 'a seventeenth century James Bond'.
The Thomas the Falconer series is being reissued as e-books by Sharpe Books. As always, he is at work on a new historical novel.
To find out more, see his website at www.johnpilkington.co.uk
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