The Plague Road by LC Tyler

 The Plague Road by LC Tyler

 

published 2016

 

Len Tyler and I have something in common: Gladys Mitchell. Two years ago we did a presentation together on the Great Gladys at the Bodies from the Library conference. It was in the middle of lockdown, and the event was on Zoom, and was attended by a huge number of people. We had a splendid time, there was a lively discussion, the chatbox was humming. It was a beacon of joy during what we all know was a hard time, & Len and I bonded over the experience. (Though keep reading to find out how times could have been worse with a raging plague - irony). So it was great to see him in real life recently at the 2023 Bodies, in the British Library.

Len writes excellent crime books in two different series: Ethelred and Elsie (see an enthusiastic blogpost here) and books about John Grey, a 17^th century lawyer. The first series also featured in a bloglist of older lady detectives here, and is mentioned in a post about books set in the world of publishing. But the second strand is a relatively new discovery for me, and when I mentioned to him how much I had enjoyed A Cruel Necessity, the series opener, he very generously offered to send me another.

This is the third in the series – and I had to check several times on the date it was published. It is set during the 1665 Plague year, and honestly reads like a response to the recent covid crisis, but obviously way pre-dates it. It is quite disconcerting to read some of the details and to think about recent events in the modern world. The realities of the plague are horrific, and as a rather squeamish person I had to skim over some bits – but still the author manages to keep his light touch and make it an exciting adventure with some very witty moments.

John Grey is a successful lawyer, and very well-connected in the London of the Restoration of Charles II – but this sometimes means he is given awkward jobs to do, in this case involving a lost letter that might be very compromising for someone. He is assisted in his efforts by his childhood friend Aminta, the now-widowed Lady Pole. (Unresolved Sexual Tension wasn’t invented then, but you can add it in from the 21^st century). Some real figures from history drop in and out, and the protagonists end up on a long and incident-filled journey from London to Salisbury, accompanied by a random child, and someone who might be a murderer, a fugitive, a spy – or simply know too much.

The story rattles along with spying, adventures and crime-solving all rolled up in it. The author has a very entertaining way of telling the story, and his characters also do good narration. John is most endearing: a smart but self-deprecating narrator, with an occasional very clever touch of unreliability.

There is a lot of convincing authentic detail – in an author’s afterword, Len explains why he is not claiming ‘research’, but one way or another he obviously has considerable expertise. I studied this period for my O Level in history (what would now be a GCSE) so, y’know, I am almost in a position to judge 😉😉😉.

I also should mention the remarkable range of references the book brought to me – I had barely finished making mental comparisons with Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic works, when something else in the book (in fact two separate items) reminded me of Enid Blyton’s Five Find-outers. I take my hat off to an author who can combine these two nuances with some very funny jokes and even some good clothes references. I will most certainly continue with the series.

Lady Castlemaine, who was one of Charles II’s mistresses, appears in the book – that’s her at the top, painted by Peter Lely.

Picture of Charles II by John Michael Wright.

Godfrey Kneller was another well-known painter of the era, and the third picture is an Unknown Woman by him, so I feel able to say she has a look of Aminta to me.