Hi everyone. Today I am featuring a guest post by: Justin Newland. We are featuring "The Mark of the Salamander" the first book in "The Island of Angels Series". You can find a sneak peek from the audiobook and a giveaway at the end of the post.
My latest historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, is the first title in a two-book series, The Island of Angels, it tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era. The second, The Midnight of Eights, is published in October 2024.
History is fascinating because it often repeats itself, in the way of eternal recurrence, like an echo endlessly repeating itself. While researching my novel, The Mark of the Salamander, I came across some chilling examples. It featured uncanny similarities between the first two European voyages around the world, that of Ferdinand Magellan. the Portuguese explorer, between 1519 and 1522 and the one that featured in my novel, Sir Francis Drake’s between 1577 and 1580.
The first similarity is that both of these exceptional mariners sailed around the world in the same ship! Well, not quite, because consider this…. The command ship in Magellan’s fleet was the Nao Victoria or the Victory in English. When Drake was planning his circumnavigation, he searched around for designs for his command ship. So, where did he turn to for a template? That’s right. He based his design on one that had already succeeded - namely, that of the Nao Victoria. This is the first echo.
As well as the command vessel, both captains had small fleets with other ships and supply vessels.
Next, both Magellan and Drake sailed in the same direction, that is, they sailed westwards down the Atlantic to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, then across the Pacific, round the Cape of Good Hope at the base of Africa, and then home. See the map. This is the second echo.
Before attempting to sail through the treacherous seas of Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean, both Magellan and Drake over-wintered in an Isle off the coast by Port St Julian on the Patagonian coast of what is now southern Argentina.
Ferdinand Magellan arrived there on March 1520.
Voyaging into the unknown tests a man’s tolerance to the limit. Few can handle it, some even thrive on it, and others wither in the face of it. That is what happened to Captain Juan de Cartagena. Because he lost his nerve and sparked a mutiny which Magellan quashed with ruthless vigor. He clamped de Cartagena in irons, then had him beheaded, drawn and quartered, and then hung his bloody body parts on a gibbet, right in the middle of the isle.
In 1577, Drake set out from Plymouth in his main vessel, the Pelican, later renamed the Golden Hind. Drake knew they were to sail around the world, but his crew did not. He told them they were on a trading mission to the Mediterranean. But by the time they’d crossed the Equator, or the Line as it was known, all the hands knew they sailed into unchartered waters and dissenting voices arose amongst them. One was that of Thomas Doughty, a gentlemen adventurer. This is another chilling echo of Magellan’s voyage.
Drake arrived in Port St Julian in June 1578 – in the midst of Southern hemisphere winter squalls. Seeking water and fresh supplies, the men went ashore, where they found the remains of Magellan’s gallows.
Undeterred by the potential repeat of history, Thomas Doughty fanned the flames of rebellion amongst the men. When rumours of Doughty’s witchcraft reached Drake’s ears, he had him arrested and charged with mutiny. Submitted to a trial, Doughty was found guilty and beheaded on Port St Julian. The crew re-named it the Isle of Blood, because blood had been spilled there twice in almost identical circumstances.
This is the third and greatest echo.
Echoes upon echoes in the eternal dance of repetition.
THE MARK OF THE SALAMANDER is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.
The Mark of the Salamander
The Island of Angels Book One
by: Justin Newland
Genre: Historical Fiction
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1575: Nelan Michaels is a young Flemish man fleeing religious persecution in the Spanish Netherlands. Settling in Mortlake outside London, he studies under Queen Elizabeth’s court astrologer, conjuring a bright future – until he’s wrongly accused of murder. Forced into the life of a fugitive, Nelan is dramatically pressed into the crew of the Golden Hind.
Thrust into a strange new world on board Francis Drake’s vessel, Nelan sails the seas on a voyage to discover discovery itself. Encountering mutiny, ancient tribes and hordes of treasure, Nelan must explore and master his own mystical powers – including the Mark of the Salamander, the mysterious spirit of fire.
The Mark of the Salamander is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.
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Justin Newland
JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.
Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (ISBN 9781789014860, Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.
His second book is a historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (ISBN 9781789015829, Matador, 2018), and is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.
The Coronation (ISBN 9781838591885, Matador, 2019) is an historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.
The Abdication (ISBN 9781800463950, Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.
His latest is The Mark of the Salamander (ISBN 9781915853271, Book Guild, 2023) and is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age.
The second in the series, The Midnight of Eights (ISBN 9781835740 330, Book Guild, 2024), charts of the uncanny coincidences that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada and is due for publication in October.
Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin gives talks to historical associations and libraries, appears on LitFest panels, and enjoys giving radio interviews.
He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
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Sounds like a good story.
Hey Katie J.
Thanks for the post today.
Good to have you on board the blor tour.