New Novel by Matt Tipper
This novel has been on kindle for a few weeks and the printed book version is due for publication on 16th September 2026 via Amazon.
A most impressive novel. The author follows the 'official' narrative. There is no attempt at an 'alternative' history: The conspirators make a deliberate attempt to devastate Westminster with actual gunpowder. There are no claims of any 'framing' of innocent Roman Catholics, or planting of another substance instead of gunpowder. Robert Cecil or other figures in power are not portrayed as having devised or manipulated the conspiracy towards their own ends. And there lies the strength of the novel. It recreates the story that so many readers are broadly familiar with, or have even studied, in such a captivating manner. Certainly Guy Fawkes is moved centre stage in this novel.
The religious motivation of the characters comes across well. In a more secular era it is easy to underestimate the impact of not being able to attend Mass ( and being refused holy communion) or being fined over and over again to impoverishment level for not attending an Anglican service. The frustrations, the real fear of persecution, having to be wary of government informers, come over well.
Fawkes's connection with fighting abroad, and the conspirators contact with the Spanish Netherlands and Spain are also fitted in. By contrast, the 'Plotters exist in a marginal, even claustrophobic, underground whilst in London, and a few isolated Catholic safe houses in the countryside. Bickering, distrust, suspicion breakout amongst those involved in the conspiracy.
The author subscribes to the model of the Plotters being not being natural 'terrorists', but genuine outsiders driven by State excess and the failure of King James VI/I to improve their lot, into planning some apocalyptic showdown. The failure of Spain to assist them was a tipping point. Not this reader's particular view, but one a lot of readers can subscribe to.
The depiction of London is vivid. The mud and excrement, the gastric disturbances brought on by poor food and beer, the night watchman, the beggars. general desperation and deprivation of many people's lives. There is little romance to be found. It's great the way the River becomes a significant part of the Plotters' landscape.
The torture and interrogation of Fawkes is graphic and horrifying, even though nearly all readers will know the outcome. How his spunky defiance towards his captors is broken down by unbelievable pain until he becomes a gibbering wreck, is well done. Even though some readers will still think that such draconian methods prevented a greater evil had Fawkes and his cronies succeeded in devastating Westminster and starting a religious war, its hard not to feel some grudging sympathy for his plight.
The only niggle is that one of the Plotters, Ambrose Rookwood, appears to remain in London to ferment rebellion after Fawkes's arrest. There seems little evidence for this notion. Rookwood was already on the way to the West Midlands on the 5th November 1605,joining the abortive rebellion there. Francis Tresham, the last to join the Plot, remained in London and was arrested .
Overall a welcome and thoughtful use of fiction to explore the Gunpowder Plot, the figures, and the locations involved.
Michael Bully
1st September 2026
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Author introduction
Matt Tipper was born in Romford, England. After finishing school, where he first discovered his love for history, he joined the Armed Forces. Completing an operational tour on Operation Newcombe II in 2021, with the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, he went on to serve a total of eight years before a head injury brought an end to his military career.
During his service, he began writing his debut novel: The Black Death. Only then did he truly discover his passion for the written word, for telling a story that had previously only existed within his mind.
Fascinated by the actions of our forebears, it is the Tudor and Stuart eras that he holds dearest, taking inspiration from authors such as S.J. Parris, C.J. Sansom, and S.G. MacLean.
His second novel, The Gunpowder Plot, tells the story of Guy Fawkes from his own perspective. Utilising historical documentation, contemporary accounts, and period maps, he sought to make the novel as historically accurate as plausibly possible, using his imagination only where the historical records had fallen silent. This novel is the first installment of the Shadows of Treason series, with the second, Traitors’ Gate, set to release in the near future.
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