I first heard about this book completely by accident. While at a writing festival, Capital Crime, I bumped into the author, Alec Marsh, who so happens to have been my boss in a previous life. Years ago, we both worked for YouGov (now purely a pollster, but at the time with a small news operation). I was one of the journalists, while Alec was the editor. Speaking with him after all this time, I discovered he had published his first novel and as a writer and book reviewer myself, I was keen to read it.
Earnest Drabble is a Cambridge historian and mountaineer, while his childhood friend, Percival Harris, is a fleet street journalist. It’s 1936 and Britain is being wracked by the abdication crisis of Kind Edward VIII. The King has fallen in love with an American socialite and divorcée, Wallis Simpson, and wishes to marry. This is anathema to many, not least the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, and rumours are in the air that the King is going to stand down.
Seemingly unconnected to all this drama, Drabble has learnt of a provincial doctor who has in his possession the long lost head of Oliver Cromwell. After the restoration of the British monarchy, Cromwell’s body was dug up from its resting place by supporters of the new king (Charles II) and beheaded. The head was then placed on a spike. Years later, the head blew off in a storm and was stolen as a keepsake by a guard. It then passed into private hands where it was eventually lost. Now it has reappeared, and Drabble, an authority on the period, is keen to see it. He tells only Harris of this, but the journalist is a bit of a blabbermouth and soon they are both in a heap of trouble. Why anyone wants the head of Oliver Cromwell so badly, neither Drabble or Harris know, but they are pursued by fascists and a cast of deeply unsavoury characters, all of whom are intent on getting the head.
Historical fiction is not my preferred genre. My preference is for the darkest of treacly noir. James Elroy and Don Winslow are my writing heroes. Rule Britannia is none of those but has been accurately described by other reviewers as a charming and entertaining romp. So, I admit to being a little hesitant when embarking on the novel. That said, I was soon thoroughly enjoying it. Drabble and Harris are well drawn and delightful characters, and the supporting cast are also strong, not least the villains.
Rule Britannia is a well plotted story and moves along at a good pace. It is also very well researched and the events of the book, while fictionalised, are grounded in reality. Cromwell really was dug up, decapitated, his head stuck on a spike only to disappear into private hands; while the fascists in the book might be made up, but Oswald Moseley’s British Union of Fascists really were almost as powerful. While the novel is lighter in tone than my usual preferred reads, and I generally prefer contemporary tales, I did really enjoy the basis for this story. I have a great interest in the far right (no sympathy for them I should quickly point out, just an interest) and the power they wielded at one point, which this story uses as a plot device, is frightening to contemplate.
Rule Brittania is a fun and irreverent tale. Apparently, it’s the start of a series and Alec has laid the foundations well here. It’s billed as a “Drabble and Harris thriller” but Drabble has the lion’s share of the narrative and Harris is very much in his shadow. I wonder if in future outings we’ll see more of the later. There’s certainly scope in both characters. If you’re after a light-hearted historical read, then this could well be the book for you.
5 out of 5 stars
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