A Net for Small Fishes: ‘The Thelma and Louise of the seventeenth century’ Lawrence Norfolk

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As these two forward thinking women navigate their position in this unashamedly man’s world, they commit wrongdoings with far reaching consequences.

It seems that the poet and courtier Thomas Overbury was poisoned while a prisoner in the Tower of London. From another source, I learn that the title is inspired by the quote in a document “make a net to catch little birds and let the great ones go”. Anne is widowed and finds in her solitary status new freedoms but also increasing obligations, stripped of the physical and financial protection of a man. The Countess of Essex, Frances 'Frankie' Howard, might seem to be in an enviable position, but she dreams of a marital upgrade. Despite her flaws, Anne is a strong character—too good to be the companion of the impetuous Frances.

Anne has gained a notoriety for her fashionable yellow starch lace and has a fine eye for dressing women for court. When Frances Howard, unhappy wife of the Earl of Essex, meets the talented Anne Turner, the two strike up an unlikely, yet powerful, friendship. It centres around two women, Lady Frances Howard and Mistress Anne Turner, and also involves the King’s favourite, Robert Carr, and the suspicious death of Sir Thomas Overbury. There are a number of obstacles to the annulment, one of them being Carr’s mentor Sir Thomas Overbury, whose untimely demise is also central to the book.

The court of King James 1st is a seething mass of political intrigue as some of the greatest families in the land jostle for influence with their new Scottish king. An important part of the action concerns a gay male romantic triangle, so the female narrator character is doubly distanced.Lucy Jago’s A Net For Small Fishes is a flawless slow-burning historical fiction novel with breathtaking characterisation and complex female relationships, featuring a writing style that really feels of the time and is ripe with metaphor and rich imagery.