Doom Painting

“There are few writers who can be truly likened to Hilary Mantel, but Blakemore is one.” —The Observer (London) In the long shadow of the Black Death, a revolution is blooming hour by hour. From the author of The Manningtree Witches and The Glutton comes a work of sumptuous, exhilarating historical fiction about the miracle of purpose—and one of history’s most significant rebellions against the English crown. It is 1381. England, reeling from plague and years of conflict abroad, is a tinderbox waiting to spark. Two childhood friends ride into the town of Brentwood, Essex, where they come upon an altercation with a local Justice bent on squeezing more coin from the masses. So begins a rebellion of the common folk against the wealthy landowners who curtail their freedoms. Set over sixteen days, Doom Painting roves across England as the revolt swells and rebels march to London to make their demands of the child-king, Richard II. Out of the rebellion emerges its enigmatic and charismatic leader Wat Tyler, an opportunistic and mercurial rogue whose morality is birthed by the cause. A. K. Blakemore’s thrilling retelling of the Peasants’ Revolt renders a definitive moment when—for one bloody summer—the people seized control.