Book Review – The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn
First published, 2020
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The story follows Nat Davy, a little person from humble circumstances during the reign of Charles I. Separated from the family home, and the perennially disappointed eye of his discontented father, ten-year-old Nat finds himself in London awaiting presentation to new, teenage Queen of England, Henrietta Maria of France, as her court dwarf. As a gift from the Duke of Buckingham, Nat is believed to be someone the Queen can dress up, and who will doubtless entertain her, which will surely bring some comfort given that her new husband barely speaks a word to her.
As the years pass and his friendship with the Queen grows, Nat does not merely have a front seat as history unfolds, he is part of it. As Charles I loses any influence he might have had over parliament, Nat fights for the Royalists in the Civil War and, though he is obliged to flee to France with the Queen, the fight is hardly over.
I absolutely loved the way King Charles was described: as a supremely confident man who thinks himself more intelligent than anyone with whom he comes into contact while, in truth, being quite alarmingly lacking in intellect and common sense. I think it was that which struck me the hardest in this work; human frailties are thoroughly explored with such tenderness that even the stupid king who considers himself a political giant is not a figure of fun, but neither is he to be pitied. Like everybody else, he’s human and therefore, flawed.
I’m not going to go throwing spoilers about. Oh, you might think to yourself, surely everyone knows what happened to Charles I, and don’t I remember the new King saying for years that, upon ascending the throne, it was his intention to call himself George─until, of course, he didn’t─and wasn’t the reason something to do with the history of the first Charles? Perhaps your memory is as floral and kaleidoscopic as mine. In any case, whether you know what happened to Charles I or no, the immersive nature of this novel is such that, even if you know what’s coming, it’ll still give you a good shake.
The writing is intricate but clear, the narrative voice is powerful, and the story is utterly compelling. I really loved Nat and have little doubt, now that I’ve finished the book, I’m really going to miss him.
A must read.
Petrina Binney - Author 