The Real Guy Fawkes

Product Information

Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who were part of the planned and failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Another gothic element, a cave that was connected to pagan worship, is a setting early on in the book and represents a connection between historical events. The book takes a fresh look at Guy’s early life in York and beyond, and examines how that led to him becoming a Catholic mercenary and a key member of the 1605 Gunpowder treason. The names of Edmund Campion and Robert Southwell still resonate today, both sensitive, kind, intelligent men who were barbarously executed in their homeland. I know that some other historians dislike this kind of narrative writing, as we can’t know exactly this sort of thing. Guy Fawkes, along with The Tower of London, began Ainsworth's 40-year career in historical romances.The Gunpowder Plot, an attempt in 1605 to kill King James and blow up the Houses of Parliament, is one of the most infamous events in British history. Holland went on to state that “weddings between Catholics were often conducted in secret”, and that Fawkes may have once married, and that while the secretive nature of such marriages make it “impossible to prove that it did take place, the absence of an official record is certainly no indication that it didn’t. Unfortunately, I waded through several of those cheap and inaccurate (and, therefore, largely ultimately worthless) Kindle biographies of Guy Fawkes, and was left rather annoyed. His great service to the cause was to construct the most cunning hiding-places in the houses of the Catholic gentry around the country. Any UK readers are likely to know all of the above but for those who would like to know a little more about this fascinating time in history, there are a ton of books on the subject.

A passionate man of faith who keeps his words by actions, the image of Guy Fawkes overlaps with that of Father Mendoza in the film “The Mission”, who tried to revolt against the tyrannical oppression of despotism suppressing a freedom of wills and faith incompatible with its claim of totalitarian supremacy over individualism. He was arrested and tortured — naming other conspirators in the process — and was executed on January 31, 1606 (some of the other conspirators were executed the day before, January 30th).The repeals and the Emancipation Act (1829) allowed for Irish Catholics to have more rights, which preceded a large Irish immigration into English cities. Fawkes knowledge of Spain leads to him being sent on a mission by a group of English Catholics to see if Spain would attempt another invasion. They held the secretive Catholic community together, and their large ambition was to recover England for Rome.

By the time young Guy, now using the affected Italian name Guido, was back in England, his Catholicism had so deepened.

Holland’s role of compassionate and open-minded narrator helps the reader to understand what motivated Guy Fawkes to involve in such an epochal plot and who the person of Guy Fawkes was. The use of prophecy in the work is related to the act of necromancy, which distinguishes Ainsworth from earlier authors, who incorporated Catholic superstitions in their use of the gothic. Removing the benefit of hindsight and the partisan views of Catholics and Protestants, Travers allows 17th-century voices to speak out. The first, produced by Richard Bentley, the owner of Bentley's Miscellany, appeared in July 1841, as a 3-volume set illustrated by George Cruikshank. Fawkes's vision of St Winifred on his trip to her well, a Catholic shrine, also tells him that the plot will fail, because Heaven does not approve of it.

Adding to the heightened interest in this year's anniversary is a new book by Clive Ponting on the raw material of the plot, gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The event known as the Protestant Reformation broke Roman Catholicism's monopoly on Christian orthodoxy. He was right and in many ways Beyond Enkription is conceptually about just that which is why an American critic rated it as a five star read “being up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”.David Cressy would not agree, for his account presents the annual revelry as an endlessly adaptable occasion that responds to current concerns, but is no longer threatening in any way. Today protesters wear his mask, families burn his effigy, and he is an instantly recognisable name and face. One of the conspirators sent a letter to Lord Monteagle warning him not to attend the State Opening. If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society. I doubt it would become dry either as Nick Holland has a wonderful writing style – easy to read and personable.