The Fall of a Sparrow

I loved this book not only for a fascinating story, but for the pure beauty of the language, pacing and phrasing.

Dan Scannell’s novel is a nicely conjured period piece, moving back and forward between the present day and the tumultuous upheaval of 1500s England and France. Michael Devon and his friend Henrietta ‘Hank’ Wells discover a diary supposedly written by the youngest son of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey who was executed under the reign of Henry VIII. The diary recounts events as the child – also called Henry – has escaped England and is living among a group of like-minded intellectuals in Paris.

The book is a nice mix of fictional characters and real-life historical figures, including Nostradamus, King Henry II of France and, of course, Henry Howard himself. The novel’s framing narrative touches on the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, with the figure of Howard being suggested as the real author of the works we now know. There is abundant use of Shakespearean language and plots sprinkled throughout the book, and fans of both literary and historical novels should enjoy the allusions and the story of the awakening of Henry Howard’s poetic awareness. The plot rattles along with all the gusto of a Dumas novel – with love plots, jousts, dastardly knights and sword fights all thrown into the mix.

I enjoyed the book, and though it is quite short the pages vividly bring to life 1550s Paris. The book is well researched and for fans of historical novels, or fans of the Dan Brown school of codes and conspiracies, this should appeal.

For me, the most enjoyable section of this book was the prologue. With spadefuls of atmosphere, jeopardy and intrigue, Scannell describes the removal of Henry Howard Senior from the bosom of his family in Reigate Castle by the King's men. Relayed from his young son's perspective, events unfold as advanced warning from a messenger cannot save his father and so together, the family wait with a sickening sense of impending doom;
"Darkness descended rapidly over England as the decaying year plodded inexorably towards its end."

The synopsis of The Fall of a Sparrow gave me the impression that an adolescent had found the boy's diary and through its reading enjoyed an affinity that eased his passage into adulthood. In actuality, the book is discovered by a couple of pompous historians for whom I cared very little.

What unfolds in the remainder of the book, read to me like a jumbled combination of history lesson, Parisian A-Z and diluted plot. Unsure what I was waiting for, the charm of the early observations quickly wore off. In self-conscious, unlikely conversations Michael Devon and his beau , Hank (Henrietta-don't ask!) relay their knowledge of the history so far, to ensure, I suppose, that the reader is informed;
"You mean Thomas Howard who became Duke of Norfolk when his grandfather died, only to get himself beheaded by Elizabeth in 1572?.

Furthermore, the author's repeated use of "playful", "teasing" and "mischievious" shared glances between the couple to offer a flavour of their developing relationship is irksome at the very least.

I'm interested in the theory that William Shakespeare was a mere actor and not the actual writer of that famous body of work, so I enjoyed Dan Scannell's book about the playwright actually being Henry Howard, second son of the Earl of Surrey and Lady Frances de Vere... but then I got to the Afterward, where the author exposes it all as an exercise in fancy. But in the spirit of his request that "the reader accept this account as an imaginative story set against a real and vibrant literary and historical background," I complied. This story about Henry Howard and his scholarly friends the sporty Gaudin, alchemic Dormoy and religious Testagrossa, was a fun read.

While I get that 16th century English is flowery and fun to play with, I felt the metaphors and similes got a little out of control when applied to modern-day literary sleuths Henrietta "Hank" Wells and Michael Devon, whose relationship is coyly made vague and in my opinion falls short of intriguing. Describing the holding of a book "as if I were holding the hand of her only daughter and leaving for some motel where I intended to take her virginity that very night," for example.

Another problem I found with this e-book was the volume of typos. I appreciate having gotten the opportunity to read this ARC from Black Rose and NetGalley, and have forwarded them a list of glitches I found.

"The words that I could still make out were in Latin, announcing “Incipit Historia Vitae Meae in Lutetia” (“The Beginning of the Story of My Life in Paris”), by a certain Henry Howard, of Reigate Manor, Surrey."

Dan Scannell's debut novel, The Fall of a Sparrow, concerns itself with a debate that has cropped up time and time again in academic circles– was William Shakespeare's work written by someone else? In this case, Henry Howard is theorized to be Shakespeare, as seen through the linguistic similarities between Howard and Shakespeare's writing. Howard's writing is explored through a look through his journal that recorded his time in Paris as a young man, as discovered five hundred years later by a historian named Michael. Through Michael's research, Howard's friendships, infatuations, and conflicts are unfolded, with various allusions to Shakespeare's syntax throughout.

Anyone familiar with English history of this time period (and even if you're not, Scannell provides a helpful afterword) will recognize that a number of the characters present in this novel are fictionalized versions of real people. The novel works around true events, but dramatizes and adds in various subplots to give the story a more adventurous feel. As the novel is based on true history, the author does not have full artistic freedom and must remain within credible confines of true history. Because of this, it feels like we never get to see a thorough and full development of any of the characters from the journal entries. There are times that it is difficult to understand certain characters' sudden changes in personality, as there are quick changes between boisterous attitudes to sullenness and melancholy. It was difficult to understand their sudden passions for certain subjects, and romances that were presented as brief flirtations ended up being intense relationships were the two people involved would do anything for one another.

These jarring changes made it difficult to follow the characters' motivations, and as a result, it was a struggle to become invested in many of the events in the novel. It was understandable why the author was apprehensive towards delving too deeply into developing these characters, as many of them were real people, but I found ymself wishing he had taken liberties and fleshed them out more. Certainly, there could have been the concern of historical inaccuracy, but I think that would have been a small price to pay for a novel with a much better pay-off, where it would have been easier to get invested in the characters' struggles. 

Speaking of characters, two of the wholly fictionalized people in this novel, Michael and Henrietta, also known as Hank, felt completely irrelevant to the story, and even let it down a little. Michael often came off as irritating, and it was difficult to see why he was so passionate about proving that Howard produced Shakespeare's work. I thought that there would be some fascinating parallels between Howard's story of the 1500's, and Michael's story of the present day, but there was nothing. The story of the present day only appears at the start of the novel, very briefly in the middle, and in the final chapter. Nothing of interest happens in these present day chapters, and I could not care for Michael and Hank's story at all, which has allowed me to believe that this would have been a stronger novel if it was presented solely as historical fiction, with the present day story cut out completely. I was also immensely disappointed with Hank's characterization, as she simply served as an audience for Michael, and their brief romantic subplot was dull and utterly unnecessary.

For a novel that emphasized, in the plot description and the present day parts, the importance of linguistics and Howard's connection to Shakespeare, I felt that these themes got lost underneath the muddle of subplots present in the novel. Scannell subtly introduces echoes of Shakespeare's writings, particularly through sonnets, and when he makes use of these subtleties, the novel is at its strongest. However, these samples of Shakespeare's writing appeared too fleetingly, and were drowned out by the mediocre stories of his friends. If there had been a stronger and more frequent implement of these echoes of Shakespeare's writing, it would have elevated the novel immensely.

This novel's strongest suit, undoubtedly, is the quality of Scannell's descriptions. He uses vivid and beautiful language to describe certain elements, such as the rediscovery of Howard's old journal, and the setting descriptions. In these moments, the author brings the reader back five hundred years, and immerses the reader in the setting. It was easy to imagine, and Scannell breathes life into a setting five hundred years ago through his beautiful descriptions. Whether he was describing a often-frequented pub, or a trip along the river, the reader is completely drawn in through Scannell's vivid imaginings.

In all, I felt that this was a beautifully written debut novel that was let down by its plot. There were certain aspects of the novel that could have been improved upon (or cut out altogether) to elevate the novel. However, as this is the final product, the novel is unfortunately left with its unignorable flaws. The Fall of a Sparrow verges on being a good novel, but unfortunately does not quite reach that status.

Final Rating: 2/5

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Black Rose Writing.

I have to admit I struggled with this novel - the author clearly knows his history and the historical parts are atmospheric and engaging, the characters and settings well described.
The modern-day Paris plot, however, seems completely superfluous. I found both characters, Michael and Hank, shallow and pretentious, their behaviour unrealistic, the dialogue stilted and the flowery metaphors extremely laboured.
The open quotation marks at the start of every paragraph also interrupted the reading flow - the chapter is a journal entry, I get it, I don't need open quotation marks every 5 seconds.
I'm sure some people will love this, but sadly it wasn't for me.

Who was the author of the works of Shakespeare? The main character has an idea, and it wasn't the man we know as Shakespeare. The main body of this book is a rendering of the 16th Century journal of an English student studying in Paris. "That's the smell of old books, the perfume of wisdom, the intoxicating vapours of knowledge, coming down to us from the ages." Henry Howard, the student, writes about his life and the lives of his three close friends. The journal brings the reader vividly into the lives of the students and the places they frequent. Thanks for including the epilogue. It wrapped up the journal nicely.

"This book is very much about language: the beauty of its texture, the force of its eloquence and the music of its cadences."