Review of Jemahl Evans 'Of Blood Exhausted'

                  Keep Your Friends Close and Enemies Closer 


It was a treat to begin 2019 with a new Blandford Candy tale by Jemahl Evans . 'Of Blood Exhausted' is the third picaresque novel, following the adventures of Sir Blandford Candy during the English Civil War, who joined the parliamentary side almost by default.

The novel opens in 1720,  with Candy as an elderly curmudgeon, being invited to meet Sarah Churchill, though most of the novel is set in London in 1644-1645, along with a trip to Amsterdam . The picture of Parliamentarian London is evoked by pox doctors, assassins,spies swordmasters, and menacing characters such as the Black Bear and the Burned Man. Certainly not the New Jerusalem preachers were hoping for.

It is soon apparent that Blandford Candy is a Parliamentarian by instinct and feeling, not prone to sanctimonious or puritanical whimsy.  A description of parliament is hardly idealistic, rows of honourable and dishonourable MPs are depicted as  crows sitting in a choir-formation,  surrounding a bear pit. The Parliamentarian cause is nevertheless surviving, though the king has not been defeated, and Montrose's campaign is ensuring some Royalist success north of the border. And legal moves are afoot to stop  MPs and Lords also holding commands in the Army or Navy, known as the Self Denying Ordinance.

 D'Artagnan appears as an agent for Cardinal Mazarin, the virtual ruler of France during the minority of Louis XIV. The endnotes explain that French sources maintains that he was active in fact active in England as from 1643.  Interesting to have Prince Rupert's brother's Royal Highness Charles Louis, Prince Elector of the Palatine- who lived in Whitehall from 1644- 1649, featured in the novel. One often overlooked fact about the English Civil War is that there was a possibility that Parliament might have deposed Charles I and replaced him with Charles Louis.  And to complete the European aspect of the novel, Princess Sophia ( future mother to George 1) , also plays a role in the tale.

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, Oliver Cromwell, and John Bunyan ( serving as a soldier) play lesser roles.

The language is a delight to read. Vitriol is described as 'bear-garden jaw' , a manservant is a 'fart- catcher' , an incompetent individual is a 'jackanapes', a prostitute's clients are ' cully-humpers' . Each chapter opens with a quote from a play or poem of this era, with an occasional Bible verse from the King James' Bible.

Blandford Candy has a black manservant John Coxen, who fits into the novel quite organically, There is  also a great range of women characters. The author also has the ability to  be  'inclusive' without awkward virtue signalling.

Yet amongst all the drinking, brawling , encounters with strumpets, STDs, and scatology,  the novel portrays warfare as ghastly and heartbreaking, with civil war being the worst calamity that can befall a nation. Blandford and John Coxen and their rogue companions never indulge in wanton cruelty. Their type of soldier were not the ones who killed or maimed the enemy  female camp followers.


Further links

I had the pleasure of conducting an on-line interview with the author last year.

Jemahl Evans interview part one

Jemahl Evans interview part two

Author blog

Companion blog to this one

World War 2 Poetry