Radical Love

Product Information

In a city that is tired and exhausted by many hard years of war and beset by soaring prices which are giving no indication of coming down any time soon, and tension between political parties, minister John Church preaches on the radical possibilities of love to a congregation growing in number who want to believe that perhaps the true salvation of love could be what is needed in this broken world. promised untold riches if he allied with him (a much older, well-established politician and philosopher) and became the king's catamite

This book! I found in “The Dangerous Kingdom of love” all I love about reading historical fiction. The author managed to transport me to a different time and place, introduced me to fascinating characters and their predicaments. Reading good historical fiction always makes me realise that times might change, but not human nature. It's not really overflowing with historical accuracy however; for those who need that, you've been warned. I only know the basics about King James I's court, and I don't imagine I learned a lot more actual facts here haha. Much more than I thought I would, actually. I was expecting serious, frowny, look-at-me litfic. This is not that. This is bursting with scheming, exuberant, ridiculous life. Self-consciously clever, but surprisingly moving. Immensely readable, sarcastic, salacious, riveting. Super queer. Super smart. And so sympathetic and engaging. By day, Church preaches the transformative effect of radical love to all those who attend his service, but at night he crosses over the river to attend mollie houses on Vere street where drag queens sit alongside serving boys and aristocracy in a unique club where everyone is equalled. It is here that Church begins performing 'marriages' between men. First as a bit of a frivolous attraction requested by Mrs Cook who runs the mollie house and then for a more serious reason... for why shouldn't men be allowed to marry other men. Is this not the perfect example of the radical love he preaches in his sermons?A complex, thought-provoking tale, and a must-read for anyone seeking to explore the intersection of love, resistance, and the triumph

So the book that I THOUGHT I was reading for 90% of the book turns out to be totally different from the book at the end. I thought I was reading a slightly toungue in cheek schemy historical rompy kind of book told by a self effacing man who had had a bit of a tough go of it, and really should get more recognition and love. Basically, I put on my "historical drama ethics" goggles and just took him at his word. And then, and THEN we hit the last chapter, and we hear most of the book replayed through another characters perspective and it just flips the entire narrative! As for those who are familiar with this piece of history, and as it is with any kind of story that was told before you need to bring some originality and edge to make something known being interesting again. And the author certainly achieves that. It is very original and sharp. The only problem I have is the vulgarity, which I personally do not like and because of that I couldn’t bring myself to rate it as 5 stars. John Church preaches the importance of love above all things in his “radical” church, yet when a relative stranger tells him that “Love must be radical”, he questions his beliefs. As a novel, it has so much to say about the nature of love, and posterity, and power, and also saffron coloured ruffs, and although I'm still hoping that a more sympathetic novel about King James and Villiers might be written one day, I'm inordinately glad that this wasn't it. Ok so I was going to try for a coherent review, but honestly.... I'm neither erudite nor eloquent, so what you get are raw emotions....Set in the early 1800s, our morally grey, unreliable narrator is John Church, a sort of Reverend for a church that doesn't believe in sin or casting judgement, only love and acceptance which is a lovely thing really but the more we get to know about John, the more the reader wonders what kind of man he truly is as he omits truth, and warps things to make them go his own way - not to mention his obsessive need for love but also to control and keep the love of those who try to be close to him in a way that eventually drives everyone else away from him. The kingdom of love is a frightening place. A dangerous place. What kind of fool wants to live there?

character study...(Church's) psychic damage and emotional blinkers render him terribly, compellingly real." Daily Mail Based on the incredible true story of one of the most important events in queer history, Radical Love is a sensuous and prescient story about gender and sexuality, and how the most vulnerable survive in dangerous times.At night, John is drawn north of the Thames by the siren call that is the more secretive, alluring, yet dangerous world of a molly house atop the White Swan on Vere Street, where those seemingly ordinary men can reinvent themselves, beguiling those around them as they step into the shoes of the most outrageous queens, and lads on the flirt with labourers and princes alike. Despite being left wishing there was a bit more (it kind of felt like the book ended rather abruptly), I am left feeling rather sad for most of the people in this book, as well as glad that I read it. I'm now mildly curious and might seek out other books about this time period.

The Dangerous Kingdom of Love concerns one such conspiracy: specifically it’s about the ousting of Robert Carr, James I’s, established favourite, and his replacement George Villiers, a plot the book proposes was orchestrated by Francis Bacon, with the support of the Queen. Entirely plausible, given the way Bacon supported Villiers’ rise to power, and it is in this realm of historical plausibilities that book deliberately dwells. persecutions, Radical Love is a powerful story of desire flourishing amid danger" The Sunday Times, Best Historical Fiction of 2023 (June)I am bad at identifying unreliable narrators and everytime I got into a book I think "yup, I'm being extra vigilant this time" and then this book comes along and just SLAPS me in the face at like 90%. Welcome to England, 1809. London is a violent, intolerant city, exhausted by years of war, beset by soaring prices and political This is one of the most effervescent, beautiful, well-written, heartbreaking works of historical fiction I have ever read.