Dr. Mahmoud Ezzedine arrives at Elizabeth I’s court as part
of a Turkish diplomatic retinue in the late 1500s. He springs into action when a baron has an
epileptic seizure in the presence of the queen.
When the Turkish dignitaries return to Constantinople, Dr. Ezzedine is
left behind as a gift to the queen, because one of the high-ranking Turks
covets the good doctor’s wife. Ezzedine
is then regifted to the epileptic baron, converts from a Muslim to a
Protestant, at least in theory, and changes his name to Matthew Thatcher. (Another character changes names as well in
order to keep his identity a secret, causing some minor confusion for this
reader.) Ultimately, though, Thatcher
becomes a spy in a covert plot to determine whether or not King James VI of
Scotland has truly converted from Catholicism. If he is now a Protestant and
not just masquerading as one, he can succeed Elizabeth as King of England. Thatcher arrives in Edinburgh with the
assignment of learning what is in the king’s heart but succeeds only in becoming
the king’s chess opponent—the perfect occupation for Thatcher, since he is a
pawn himself. The plan that he
ultimately has to execute is diabolical with potentially dire consequences, but
the doctor has been promised that if it succeeds, he can return to
Constantinople, where his wife and young son may or may not be still awaiting
his return after a decade. I love how
this novel inserts a bit of intrigue into what is historically a foregone
conclusion with a jaw-dropping twist.
However, the less-than-breakneck pace of the novel draws attention to
Ezzedine/Thatcher’s infinite patience but challenges the patience of the
reader.
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