Rating: 
Summary: A lifetime best book.
Review: Antonia Fraser's book, Faith and treason, is one of the best written and most compassionate books I've ever read. Her detail seems always a deeper part of the ongoing narrative. And also (methinks) there seems never an unnecessary word, and the tale is exciting, but never melodramatic! Where else in English history do you get those secret passageways with their desperate hideaways holed up within? Her vivid, but always concise telling has rarely been equalled in other comparable history books, excellent in their various ways. And I've been reading several current books on Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, etc. I think Lady Fraser should have won a prize for this book!
Rating:
Summary: History Comes Alive
Review: Antonia Fraser's Faith and Treason is a wonderfully entertaining read that truly brings the Gunpowder Plot alive for the reader in a manner that is both exciting and readily understandable (an important factor in the sometimes confusing world of British history). This piece of history, in Ms. Fraser's capable hands, becomes a story and moves alond at the brisk pace of an adventure novel. This is not to say that the historical and scholarly research is not present only to say that the narrative never feels bogged down with it. This book will definately lead me to read both more of this period of British history and, especially, more of Antonia Fraser.
Rating: 
Summary: Truth is indeed stranger than fiction
Review: Few tales better illustrate the old saw, "truth is stranger than fiction," than the story of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605, Catholic militants disappointed by James I's failure to move towards toleration (allegedly) tried to blow up Parliament by piling gunpowder in a basement. The (purported) plot was discovered in the nick of time. England still celebrates Guy Fawkes' Day to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot and, among other things, Beefeaters still search the basements of Westminster (in full regalia, no less).The Gunpowder Plot has long been highly controversial. Catholic apologists have claimed that the whole thing was invented by Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, King James' chief minister, and master of a vast intelligence network, with the assistance of Sir Edward Coke as Crown Prosecutor. Protestant apologists claim the Plot was real, the danger was real, and only narrowly averted (by God's special favor). Antonia Fraser is a leading popular historian of the Tudor and Stuart periods of English history, as well as an accomplished novelist. She writes well, tells stories lucidly, and has a demonstrated command of the period. In "Faith and Treason," she strikes a balanced note. Yes, there was a plot. But the danger was not very real--Salisbury discovered the plot early, the gunpowder was defective, and Salisbury left it in the basement to be dramatically discovered so that the discovery would have maximum political effect. She makes a compelling case. Fraser is sympathetic to the Catholic plotters, recognizing that they had been pushed too far, but she also doesn't hesitate to call them traitors and terrorists. Contrary to what some reviewers have said, she is not an apologist for either side. Instead, this is a fair and balanced account, written with the verve and style of a novel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Masterfully written, accurate and compassionate
Review: Few tales better illustrate the old saw, "truth is stranger than fiction," than the story of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605, Catholic militants disappointed by James I's failure to move towards toleration (allegedly) tried to blow up Parliament by piling gunpowder in a basement. The (purported) plot was discovered in the nick of time. England still celebrates Guy Fawkes' Day to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot and, among other things, Beefeaters still search the basements of Westminster (in full regalia, no less). The Gunpowder Plot has long been highly controversial. Catholic apologists have claimed that the whole thing was invented by Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, King James' chief minister, and master of a vast intelligence network, with the assistance of Sir Edward Coke as Crown Prosecutor. Protestant apologists claim the Plot was real, the danger was real, and only narrowly averted (by God's special favor). Antonia Fraser is a leading popular historian of the Tudor and Stuart periods of English history, as well as an accomplished novelist. She writes well, tells stories lucidly, and has a demonstrated command of the period. In "Faith and Treason," she strikes a balanced note. Yes, there was a plot. But the danger was not very real--Salisbury discovered the plot early, the gunpowder was defective, and Salisbury left it in the basement to be dramatically discovered so that the discovery would have maximum political effect. She makes a compelling case. Fraser is sympathetic to the Catholic plotters, recognizing that they had been pushed too far, but she also doesn't hesitate to call them traitors and terrorists. Contrary to what some reviewers have said, she is not an apologist for either side. Instead, this is a fair and balanced account, written with the verve and style of a novel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Seperation of Church and State?
Review: I read this interesting history of the Guy Fawkes affair and came away with a deeper appreciation of our own First Ammendment to the US Constitution. I'm not sure that this was the intent of the author. However, her depiction of a state-run Christion denomination finally clarified my puzzlement of what I felt to be a misinterpretation of the First Ammendment. The problem we have in this country is that we've never had a state-run church that was common-place in Europe at the time of our birth as a nation. We never experienced (with the possible exception of the Mormons) the sort of religious persecution that followers of out-of-favor sects experienced in Europe. Ms. Fraser has given an excellent portrayal of what such a persecution was like in the England of King James I. Consider a persecution so wide spread that a unique form of architecture developed with the sole purpose of designing hidden prayer rooms for Catholics to worship in. The penalties for worshipping at other than the state-sponsored Anglican Church were severe and widely meted out. As a member of the world-wide (but not world-sponsored) Anglican Church of today, I took no satisfaction in being Number One. It was certainly this world view that led our Founding Fathers to placing the first clause in the Bill of Rights which read, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Unfortunately, time seemed to wash away the purpose of those words to where we now have to hold our breath to see if "under God" stays in our Pledge of Allegiance. Arguing the point with those unaware of the way things once were almost seems a waste of time. However, the more people read "Faith and Treason" the more people will know the true meaning of Freedom of (not from) Religion.
Rating:
Summary: Seperation of Church and State?
Review: I read this interesting history of the Guy Fawkes affair and came away with a deeper appreciation of our own First Ammendment to the US Constitution. I'm not sure that this was the intent of the author. However, her depiction of a state-run Christion denomination finally clarified my puzzlement of what I felt to be a misinterpretation of the First Ammendment. The problem we have in this country is that we've never had a state-run church that was common-place in Europe at the time of our birth as a nation. We never experienced (with the possible exception of the Mormons) the sort of religious persecution that followers of out-of-favor sects experienced in Europe. Ms. Fraser has given an excellent portrayal of what such a persecution was like in the England of King James I. Consider a persecution so wide spread that a unique form of architecture developed with the sole purpose of designing hidden prayer rooms for Catholics to worship in. The penalties for worshipping at other than the state-sponsored Anglican Church were severe and widely meted out. As a member of the world-wide (but not world-sponsored) Anglican Church of today, I took no satisfaction in being Number One. It was certainly this world view that led our Founding Fathers to placing the first clause in the Bill of Rights which read, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Unfortunately, time seemed to wash away the purpose of those words to where we now have to hold our breath to see if "under God" stays in our Pledge of Allegiance. Arguing the point with those unaware of the way things once were almost seems a waste of time. However, the more people read "Faith and Treason" the more people will know the true meaning of Freedom of (not from) Religion.
Rating: 
Summary: Bias blown up out all proportion
Review: If you didn't know that the author was female before reading this - you certainly know it before too many pages have been turned. Similarly, I would venture to say that Ms. Fraser is an ardent Roman Catholic. Unfortunately (and disappointingly for a supposedly reputable historian), both of these factors influence the writing so much that an objective viewpoint is completely lost and we are left with a repetitive, and not very convincing, attempt to excuse the Gunpowder Plotters and their attempt to murder a large number of innocent men and women (catholic as well as protestant), including King James. All the women in the book (with the exception of Queen Elizabeth who, thankfully for Ms. Fraser, dies off pretty early in the story) are catholic and, as such, are described as faithful, heroic, strong, courageous, etc. to such an extent that one wonders why they needed men to try and blow up the King and Parliament at all. Similarly, catholic men are nearly all dashing, handsome, virtuous and strong-willed. Conversely, most protestant men are devious, cruel and intolerant. At no time, does the writer attempt to explain the non-catholic mentality and the reasoning behind the government's actions other than to portray them as vengeful and spiteful. Overall, this blights the narrative to the extent that one doubts many of the 'facts' and slants put on numerous aspects of the whole episode and left this reader extremely annoyed about such a subjective view of one of the key points in this country's history. The book goes to great lengths to introduce as many persons as possible on 'the Plotters' side and explain their relationships. Unfortunately, this overwhelms the story - especially when the characters themselves are not fleshed out beyond two-dimensional, stereotyped images. Overall, the book is a great disappointment and leaves the reader still wanting regarding a proper description/explanation of the whoole episode and the people involved.
Rating:
Summary: History at its best!!
Review: In addition to being a great account of an historical incident from the early C17, this book lays a foundation for understanding English history into the 20th Century.
The first chapters deal with the succession of James IV of Scotland to the English crown (the start of union between England and Scotland), and how this was engineered to avoid a catholic monarch. The book clearly articulates how the rights of the Roman Catholic minority were suppressed (Fraser's other books, recounting the lives of Mary and Elizabeth put this in context. Catholic suppression of Protestants under Mary was far more brutal and resulted in more executions).
The policy of religious intolerance resulted in the emergence of a complex terrorist plot. The book leaves a fascinating question unresolved - was the plot portrayed from within?
The end of the plotters is recounted in gruesome detail, from their initial interrogation (the impact of torture on Guy Fawkes is clearly evidenced by the degeneration of his flowing signature to a mere scrawl) to ritual execution.
This text also provides an excellent backdrop to understanding some of the events that lead to the English Civil war. Further suppression of religion (this time the Puritans, who resented any hint of a return to catholic practices (the pilgrim farthers immigrated to America), and ongoing resentment of the Catholic faith in England.
The actions of the plotters had a lasting impact on Catholics in the UK. Catholic men could not hold office (even an army commission) and were not given the vote until the 19th Century. Edward VIII had to abdicate (in part) for marrying a catholic in the 20th century!
This book covers a key period of English history (transition from Tudor to Stuart) in an exciting way and provides a foundation for a better understanding of the next several hundred years.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing less than wonderful
Review: This book is nothing less than what we have come to expect from Lady Antonia Fraser. It is historically accurate down to the last detail, it is awfully interesting, it is learned and readable, it is food for thought - serious thought. At the end of the book, I wept - the story is so terrible and so moving. Living, as we are, in a time where racial and religious intolerance still thrive, these men's plight, their desperate (if morally questionable) course of action, and the utter misery in which their fellow Catholics were living, should make us all think. In superbly depicting for us this terrible and fascinating episode, Antonia Fraser leads us to further depths of understanding.
Rating: 
Summary: (Almost) can't see the forest for the trees ...
Review: This is a fascinating book. Antonia Fraser has examined most of the old evidence afresh, has weighed up the arguments of the "pro-plotters" (historians who believe there actually was a plot by Catholic terrorists) and "no-plotters" (historians who believe that - like the Babington Plot before it - the Plot was a government conspiracy) and has produced a sort of compromise between these opposing views: a reasonably plausible pro-plot version with Catholic sympathies. It's a well written account, and has marvellous character studies, but unfortunately Fraser's version does stretch the reader's credulity somewhat. She doesn't adequately explain why the English government, in the person of chief minister Robert Cecil, sits on the information and does absolutely nothing when he learns of the plot. Surely if there were 30 barrels of live gunpowder hidden under the House of Lords, Cecil might want it removed? But he doesn't even arrange a search for ten days or so. Fraser hints that one of the plotters, Francis Tresham, may have been a government spy, and therefore that Cecil knew of the plot from its inception, but she doesn't carry this idea through to its conclusions. Furthermore, she hasn't explored the possibility that plot leader Robin Catesby was an agent provacateur who deliberately set up the Jesuit priests by telling them about the planned explosion under the seal of the confessional. Nor does she question why the powder delivered to the Tower was all decayed and wouldn't have exploded anyway. Nor does she explain why 36 desperate armed men fail to harm a single member of the government's forces sent after them. As a result Fraser's book seems somewhat naive to me. Her young Catholic terrorists are handsome swashbuckling cavaliers who die heroically clutching pictures of the Virgin Mary. She seems to have little sense of the level of espionage and double-dealing that flourished in England at the time. (See Charles Nicholl's 'The Reckoning - the Murder of Christopher Marlowe' for a vivid account of this shadowy underworld). What Antonia Fraser does achieve though, is a vivid picture of English (aristocratic) Catholic recusant life at the end of the sixteenth century, with its stately homes riddled with priest-holes, and the brave women who sheltered the hunted priests. She also draws a very sympathetic portrait of Fr Henry Garnet, the head of the Jesuits' mission to England. Henry was an honest man in a world of double dealers, who naively and bravely defends his Faith to the last. I was very surprised to find out afterwards that Garnet hasn't yet been canonised.
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