Review: The Women Who Saved Catholic England by Martyn Beardsley

Synopsis: Much has been written about the historical persecution of Catholics. Priests in particular became prime targets during the heightened tensions of the Armada and the Gunpowder Plot. But those whom they relied on for shelter have received little attention – until now. The underground network of lay supporters, the Catholic Resistance, mostly comprised courageous women of the great (and sometimes not so great) families of England, and their houses riddled with priest holes.

These women fought a cat-and-mouse game with spymasters like Walsingham and Cecil and their spider’s web of clandestine informants, knowing that one slip might lead to arrest, torture and execution.

The indomitable Anne Vaux and her sister Eleanor provide the focus of this story but there were others, including their niece Frances, who as an 11-year-old boldly confronted armed raiders in search of priests; and Margaret Clitherow of York, arrested during a similar search and ultimately pressed to death.

To escape the clutches of Elizabeth’s brutal torturer Richard Topcliffe and others like him, men like Father John Gerard, whose ‘zipwire’ escape from the Tower of London is the stuff of Tom Cruise films, and genius priest-hole creator ‘Little John’, turned to these sisters of mercy.

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This tome details the religious persecutions under Elizabeth I with an overview of Catholicism during the reigns of James I, Charles I & II, and James II. It features biographical detail on the most recognised of the renegade priests and their associates, as well as locations, ways and means of providing refuge and support, during these times of suspicion, spies, persecution and betrayal. The subject at hand was not unknown to me as I had read about this period across a number of other tomes.

For me, however, this book created mixed feelings: at times the narrative was choppy; the author presumes the reader has some previous background knowledge whilst at the same time coming across as an introductory text; the biographical detail is often interspersed with others when I personally felt that these maybe should have been more stand-alone for easier reading for those with limited or no background knowledge. I also agree with one reviewed that the "summary" at the end should have actually been more of an introduction - giving context from the beginning.