Why a Booktrail?
1680s: A painter’s apprentice working in Merryfields asylum in 17th century London gets involved in an even more dangerous world
The Painter’s Apprentice
What you need to know before your trail
1688
Beth Ambrose lives within the high walls of Merryfields, an ‘asylum’ as well as her family home on the outskirts of London. She lives a sheltered life but really comes alive when she is painting. She shares a close bond with Johannes the painter and troubled resident at Merryfields, who nurtures her talents and takes her on as his apprentice. But as political tensions begin to rise in the capital, someone arrives at their door in the middle of the night with a proposition that turns Beth’s world upside down…
Travel Guide
The backdrop of this novel is as sumptuous and colourful as its cover. For not only is the world of painting and artists beautiful painted with lush brush strokes, so is the historical tapestry that is the reign of King James.
Great Fire of London
Following on from the time of the Great Fire of London explored in The Apothecary’s daughter, we are thrust from that into the Glorious revolution of 1868 when King James was on the throne – a catholic ruler who was suspiciously viewed at the time. His wife was expected to deliver an heir but many feared this and the waiting and consequences of whether this would happen were the cause of a great deal of tension.
London is vividly portrayed with its smelly streets and alleyways, dank atmosphere and the solemn surroundings of a place known as Merryfields, the place troubled souls come to in order to find respite from life, and to avoid Bedlam – the worst of the asylums of the day.
“Fleet Street, as always, was as busy as an anthill. The morning’s snow was already dusted with soot from the noxious cloud blown in from the kilns at Limehouse and the frost made icebergs of the surging effluent in the central drain.”
Painting
The world of the painting contrasts well against the religious wars and an unsettling time for the royals as well as the population at large and both worlds are as fascinating as each other. What insights we get from the detailed research the author has done and brought to life in a way we can sense the world as well as live in it –
“A painted stained work table was cluttered with earthenware pots of brushes, a half-stretched canvas….”
As we step inside the world of Fulham palace and meet Henry Marshal who worked as a painter and horticulturalist for Bishop Compton. His paintings of flowers can be viewed at the royal library. The bishop is one of the instigators of the Glorious Revolution and a visit to Fulham Palace will reveal even more of what the book does.
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