The Smallest Man

An interesting piece of historical fiction in that it sympathetically captures a very tumultuous period of English history in the lead up to the civil war from an unusual perspective. The ‘Smallest Man' in the title refers to the Queen's dwarf, Nat, basically a courtier within her circle at court. This character is based on the real life figure of Sir Jeffrey Hudson, who featured in a famous Van Dyke painting. As such it gives an interesting insight into the government. The historical aspects of the book are very well researched and interestingly presented, providing a fascinating look at the relationships between the King and Queen and various powerbrokers within the court. It is this politicking which provides the high point of the book.

The idea of acceptance and how to rise above peoples taunts provides a central theme to this story. This was dealt with in a very sympathetic manner and was ultimately quite heartwarming in its application.

Where this story doesn't work so well for me is the relationship between Nat and his love interest. Romance in a novel is a subjective thing, and I find more and more books with infuriatingly idiotic people not being able to read someones interest in them. I get that in real life that does happen, but the extent that this happens here is very much head against wall stuff. I am not a big fan of romance in general, and especially romance done with this much mule headed idiocy on one characters part, and this did drag the book down for me.