Review

Minette Walters is a best-selling author of crime novels, however in recent years she has turned her hand to writing historical fiction. The Swift and the Harrier begins in 1642 when England was being torn apart by civil war between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians which ended with the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649. The civil war was actually a series of conflicts which began when the king refused to yield any power to his government as he believed a sovereign had a divine right to rule with absolute power. The Parliamentarians wanted a balance of power between the government and a constitutional monarchy, but the king refused to make any concessions. As the conflict raged on, men like Oliver Cromwell sought to abolish the monarchy completely in favour of a commonwealth and it ultimately lead to the execution of the king.

Many families were torn apart as loyalties were divided between the Royalists and Parliamentarians, however there were a few who chose not to take sides and just wanted the war to end. One such person was our main protagonist, Jayne Swift, who dedicates her life to healing the sick even though her gender prohibits her from calling herself a doctor. When Jayne is caught up in a crowd gathering to watch some priests being hanged, she is rescued by Lady Alice Stickland and her footman, William Harrier, who is not all he appears to be. Jayne can’t help being intrigued by the man and their paths cross frequently with William taking on different guises. She is astounded when he is referred to as Sir William on more than one occasion and she is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

In the meantime, Jayne is preoccupied with practising medicine and the war gives her every opportunity when she is caught up in a siege in the town of Lyme as the Royalist army attempts to take it back from the Parliamentarians. Realising the number of casualties is likely to be high, Jayne commandeers a building to act as a hospital and trains local women to help her nurse the wounded. Although the town does have two male physicians, their methods are regarded as primitive by Jayne and she is instrumental in getting them to adopt her ways instead. While she has been trained by a male physician, Jayne seems to be accepted far too readily as a doctor for the times and meets hardly any resistance which is quite hard to believe.

Apart from the siege at Lyme, Jayne spends most of her time with her family at their home in Dorset as everyone waits for the war to conclude. While Jayne’s father is a staunch Royalist and two of her brothers are fighting in the king’s army, the eldest son Andrew eventually reveals himself to be a Parliamentarian. Any conflict within the family never really materialises as Jayne’s father is having doubts about his choice of side. The political dissension is rather lacklustre and it is a theme that runs throughout the story and everything fizzles away into mediocrity after the siege at Lyme. The novel barely scratches the surface of the rise of Cromwell and his New Model Army.

While Jayne is a likeable character, it feels like everyone is relying on her to save the day and she just feels a little too modern and outspoken for the era. The romance with William is secondary to the main plot which is not a problem since he flits in and out of the story so often but I bet his adventures were far more exciting. When William and Jayne finally admit their feelings for each other, their marriage is dealt with off-page and everything feels a bit too flat after that as the final days of the conflict take William away once more.