Act of Oblivion: A Good Book for Dreich Days.

I recently finished Robert Harris, Act of Oblivion, and thoroughly enjoyed it - read it in three days. (well two of them were dreich and wet). In Scotland 'dreich' is the word we reserve for days that are dull, damp, cold and relentlessly demotivating!

 

Robert Harris excels in the historical novel, this one based in the English Civil War period and its immediate aftermath. Following the execution of Charles I, and 12 years later the Restoration under Charles II, it's the story of the manhunt for those who signed the death warrant of the King.

 

Harris tells a great story of embellished fact and convincing fiction. You can smell 17th C London, and its reek of political corruption and public suspicion in a divided country. The period includes the Plague Year and the Great Fire of London, and without overplaying the details, it's obvious Harris has done his research and imagined well some of these great historic events. The precarious life of the colonies, the minimum three months for first class mail across the Atlantic, the secret networks of Puritans, spies, the Court and Europe, these are each woven into a narrative which never loses momentum.

 

The story includes Thomas Goodwin the puritan, the early days of Harvard, Cotton Mather, and a helpful list of the main dramatis personae in the various locations of London, New Haven, Massachusetts, London and Europe. Puritanism is a tricky movement to define, and was much more diverse and fluid than the caricatures of bad history writing. That said, Harris steers a middle course in his imaginative reconstruction of Puritan political, theological and social motivation, and is particularly subtle when he explores the moral and spiritual inner life of Puritan piety. The Puritans are both villains and saints, their motivations complex, and their individual convictions and ambitions as varied as any other radical religious and political community.

 

On a League table of Robert Harris novels Act of Oblivion is in the top five for me. The Cicero Trilogy (Imperium, Lustrum, Dictator) is as good as any historical fiction I know on the transformation of Rome from Republic to Empire. Conclave is a remarkable account of another religiously intense community, this time the Vatican and the 72 hours of a papal election - not usually the stuff of thrillers, but this is just that. Munich I think is one of the most perceptive attempts to understand Neville Chamberlain, and the fear and dread in Europe as Nazi ambitions and war aims became increasingly clear. Act of Oblivion easily resides on the top shelf of Harris's books. Aye. A good read for dreich days.