A departure for Karen Maitland to Jacobean period, and like her previous novels this is meticulously researched. This doesn't bog the story down, as in many historical fiction books which seem like the author is trying to shoe-horn in as many details as possibly - Maitlands skill is in bringing the period to life vividly and viscerally so as a reader you are plunged into a world and your senses tingle with the feel and scent of the world she has created. This is a great start to a new series and I look forward to reading more about Pursglove.

The Drowned City is the first in a new series, and under a new name, by historical mystery writer Karen Maitland. 

A year to the day after the Gunpowder Plot, a towering wave in the Bristol Channel wreaked havoc across Bristol, Somerset and Devon, destroying homes and taking lives. The aftermath of the tragedy, however, presents an opportunity for some.

Daniel Pursglove, conjurer, itinerant, suspected Catholic, is suddenly freed from prison by one of King James I’s agents. Bristol is believed to be a hotbed of Catholics and his background and skills make him ideally placed to go undercover among them.

Pursglove’s task is to seek out the conspirator who is still at large, known by the pseudonym of Spero Pettingar. He travels to Bristol, where he encounters accusations of witchcraft, mob violence, the reappearance of figures from his past, and murder.

The Drowned City an atmospheric book, steeped in the period and the strange, otherworldly landscape of Bristol after the flood. Bodies are still being washed up, people are unable to know whether to grieve, unsure if their loved ones are drowned or have somehow escaped. Then there is the religious tension leading to conflict and cruelty between people who were once neighbours, and an over-reliance on the interpretation of symbols and omens.

Pursglove is a pleasingly enigmatic character, with his unusual background (which unfolds as the story develops), his ability to use his conjuring skills to further his investigation and an outsider status which allows him to look at all with a dispassionate but knowledgeable eye.

Pursglove’s point of view is alternated with scenes at court and with spymaster Cecil (now Salisbury) and his agents. This gives the wider context to the investigation on the ground: the tension between James I’s Scottish courtiers and the English nobles, the king’s own fascination with the supernatural, and the religious divisions which counterpoint the political and social divisions in the country.

There were a few elements that gave me pause. Pursglove’s investigation unfolds very slowly, so much so that I had to return to the blurb to remind me why he was in Bristol. This is in part because Maitland has a very wordy style, with substantial paragraphs of description. Although it’s well done, personally I prefer a few telling images to a near-photographic rendering of every scene, and I did skim a bit.

I also wondered why, after Pursglove’s backstory was slowly revealed by hints and inferences, there was suddenly a big chunk of exposition a quarter of the way into the book. It would have made more sense to either do that early on or trust the reader to piece it together.

These are quibbles, though. The Drowned City is a very rich and engaging read, and the strange landscape and atmosphere of Bristol in the wake of disaster is vividly evoked. The parallels with the pandemic are obvious, and Maitland has perfectly created that sense of a world that is both completely upended and yet oddly the same.

While the murder plot is resolved, Pursglove’s larger quest continues, and the political forces that will control his destiny continue to conspire and change. The Drowned City is an intriguing start to a promising new series.
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I received a copy of The Drowned City from the publisher via Netgalley.

Loved loved loved this amazing, fantastic and thrilling book. Atmospheric rich in historical detail and also thrilling in its mystery. I loved all the characters and could visualise each house, street and warfs. I loved the pace of the story and also loved the twists and turns the author provides to throw you off the scent. I want more in this series.

This is a really good historical novel rich in beautiful language and descriptions of the time period and place. I really enjoyed the combination of history entwined with an action adventure element. It was really good to read about a different time period, the start of the Stuart period, and also a different setting. A lot of historical novels often follow the ruler at that time and are based in London but this one comes out of London and focuses on a major event in Bristol and the West Country. At times I felt that the book got a bit repetitive and perhaps could have been a bit shorter but now realising it is the start of a new series I think it was probably trying to set the scene for future books too, Overall though it is a good read.

I have enjoyed Karen Maitland in the past and I love historical fiction but this didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I think it was a bit too convoluted, not enough clarity on character and plot.. I found myself drifting off at times, not sure where it was all leading. I think there is great potential here but yet to be realised.

I really enjoyed the concept of The Drowned City; the historical setting mixed in with the mystery element and the idea of witches are all things that I was very interested in. I thought the world building was very strong, and the author doesn't shy away from the often harsh realities of the era. The scene of the Catholic family dragged from their home was particularly visceral, and frightening.

I struggled, however, with the style of writing. The rich detail was strong, as I said, but at times it became overwhelming, as though the balance was slightly off. Towards the middle of the story I found my eyes skipping over pages. There were also a great many characters to remember, which is usually not a problem except many of those in The Drowned City didn't have much to distinguish their personalities and they were hard to keep track of - especially in the scenes back in London. There was also the fact that so many chapters ended with Daniel in the middle of some scene, and the next chapter opened with him back in bed at the Salt Cat. It happened just enough times to be very jarring.

Overall, I liked the idea of The Drowned City, but I did not enjoy the execution.

It's nice to read a book that is not set in London. The streets of Bristol are the stage for this dramatic book by K.J. Maitland, "The Drowned City". It was also the first time I had heard of the tsunami that hit Bristol and the South West in 1606/7.

Maitland paints some wonderful pictures of inns and the dark streets of Bristol. It has obviously been very well researched and many historical words are dropped into the text that I had to keep looking up.

This is the first in the series of the Daniel Pursglove books, and as a result, you don't get to know his character fully. This isn't a criticism as it will make fans of this book want to read the rest.

Jacobean england is a brutal place.
Where you can be murdered for whatever your faith may be.
So you hide it,and then your left not knowing who you can trust.
First in a series,where Daniel Pursglove is freed from prison and sent on a job for the king to Bristol. So recently flooded,not just with water but with rumours of witchcraft.
Excellent leading characters that I'm looking forward to meeting again,and a plot that felt like it didnt even pause for breath.
Very very enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this book by an author I had not read before. The descriptions are well written and atmospheric and set in a time period I would not normally read. I am looking forward to the next in this series,and while I wait I will look at other books by this author.

The Drowned City takes us to Bristol 1606. Daniel Pursglove, a man of many mysterious and dubious talents has been plucked from the black hole of Newgate prison by an influential Scottish courtier and sent on a seek and destroy mission to hunt down a notorious Jesuit who may or may not be there. If he doesn’t succeed he’ll be straight back to Newgate so off he goes to Bristol a city that’s just been nearly destroyed by a freak tidal wave of epic proportions.
I like the Drowned City a lot. It’s always nice to get out of London, other places existed in history too and it’s nice to visit them even if it is Bristol littered with dead bodies. This is the first in a series and it lays out a lot of threads for the future. Daniel is a bit murky, details of his past and just exactly how he ended up in Newgate are vague but we get enough to be interesting. Daniel is also not a natural gumshoe, it’s clear he’s never read a detective novel in his life. His investigation starts with him turning up in Bristol asking around a bit while trying not to get attacked by the hostile natives. This is exactly how I would conduct a manhunt in 1606. It’s a good job there’s a handy young woman with her head screwed on to keep in line. Or is it?
Yes this was good. I liked it. More please. Thank you.

It's 1606, a year after the Gunpowder Plot is discovered and England is a powder keg of intrigue and suspicion, ruled by a paranoid king who feels out of place in his new kingdom. After a huge wave, Bristol is almost wiped out and rumours of a Catholic plot run rife. Daniel Pursglove is plucked from a notorious London jail and sent to find out just what is going on- and nothing is quite what it seems at all.


I see a lot of books mentioned on Twitter, but none ever get me quite as excited as Karen Maitland's do (still thrilled that I was quoted in an ARC from a few years ago. DREAM COME TRUE). Her blend of early historical setting with exciting plot and brilliant characters have been a go-to over the last decade for me- I remember first reading The Owl Killers on a very snowy visit to Ireland, which added to the atmosphere of the novel as a whole and I have fond memories of both the trip and the novel. The Drowned City is a departure from earlier novels in that it's set in a later period and is set to become a series, which is very welcomed. The sense of unease and distrust after a natural disaster lends itself to some of those feelings we are currently feeling in the middle of a global event, as we're unsure how it will all end. Those of us who read historical novels to escape have surely come to realise that we are currently living through tumultuous times and one day people will write books about now in the same way. It's a very interesting thought- I love history, but I'm not mad keen on living through it.


The novel takes place primarily through Daniel's point of view as he works to uncover the whereabouts of a missing Jesuit priest, thought to have been instrumental in the Gunpowder Plot, but then lands himself in the middle of a spate of murders that are potentially connected to the turbulent priest. He also has to deal with the devastation of Bristol itself, suffering after a massive wave roared inland and destroyed businesses, homes and lives- all adding to the air of menace in the city. (This was a true event, in which a tsunami- similar to the one that hit Natori in Japan in 2011 and caused adeath toll in the city not seen again until World War II.) When Daniel comes across a familiar face, everything he thinks he knows is put into question.


We also see events in James I's circle, including the king himself, grappling with a court bitterly divided along English/Scottish lines and a country divided along religious lines. James was a famously paranoid monarch with a good line in conspiracy theories about witches. Maitland has created a perfect portrait of a lonely, odd man with immense power (he sort of reminded me of how George III is presented in Hamilton, in that we only see flashes, but we know exactly who he is based on those brief cameos.)


As well as a great historical novel, it's also a rip-roaring whodunnit with all the excitement that comes from this- peril, chases, mystery. I loved every minute of it and I look forward to seeing what adventures Master Pursglove ends up on next.

I've got mixed feeling about this book. I love 16th/17th century historical mysteries, so this one looked right up my street. Loved the cover, so knew i had to give it a go.

Firstly, the positives. I've never read anything by Maitland before, but was impressed throughout with the quality of the writing. The story moves on at a constantly quick pace, and her descriptions of 17thC Bristol are vivid and captivating.

My main issue with this book was that i really didnt care about the "mystery" side of the book. Throughout the story i found myself thinking how little i cared for what was going on. And when we finally reached the reveal towards the end, i was extremely underwhelmed.

However i enjoyed Daniel Pursglove as a character, and will happily give the future Book 2 ago. The series has promise, lets hope it starts delivering.

I selected this book because I have an interest in this period, and especially the obsession of the King with witches and sorcery. I just couldn't get invested into the story and found myself often putting the book down to read something else before coming back for another go. There was never any race to the finish which was disappointing, I'd like a mystery to be more of a page turner but I suspect I just didn't connect with any of the characters.

Where do I start?! This book is absolutely spellbindingly amazing and I was glued to it for two solid days. My bath water went cold because I kept reading ‘just one more chapter’! The storytelling, narrative, characters and setting are all first class and the only thing that made me feel better about this book having to end was knowing that this is the first in a series! I have read almost a hundred books this year and this is my joint second favourite. Thank you so much for the opportunity.