Book Review: The Reversible Mask

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

An entertaining exploration of religious allegiance in Elizabethan Europe  

Loretta Goldberg’s debut, The Reversible Mask, follows Sir Edward Latham, a Catholic aristocrat in restless Protestant England, and his search for religious balance.

At the novel’s start, Latham hopes for a better balance between his faith and allegiance to the State, but he is disappointed by political hedging, sliding toward heresy. He acts with admirable decisiveness and sacrifice for a young courtier and sets off on a grand adventure as a spy that has him knighted by two queens. 

Latham’s circumstance drew me into this story. I adored those parts of his struggle still relatable today in their righteous passion. The point can be readily demonstrated with this short quotation from the text, where Frances de Alava, the Spanish Ambassador, is questioning the protagonist:

“What moves you?” [Alava’s] black eyes bored into Latham. 

Latham tried to explain his philosophy. “Your Excellency, Your Grace, I look first to my soul.”

With a captivating mixture of espionage and intrigue, the novel explores different perspectives on religion, individual motivation, ruling classes, sex, favors, and the era’s complex political and social landscape. The story stakes are apparent in lines like this: 

“He felt a thrill of secrets shared, the conviction that, at this moment, no man in the world mattered more to Mary, Queen of Scots, than Edward Latham, newly made ‘Sir.’”

At one taut moment, when Latham is questioned and the guards find his false identification, he earns the temporary nickname: “Mr. No One or Lord Too Many.” I loved the comedic relief to this fast-paced action sequence, capturing the atmosphere and political intrigue of the time.

During that fantastic dramatic moment, Goldberg gives us this line, “He marvelled that the men who would soon kill him were the ones he was trying to save.” Such mortal peril is the world of a spy like Latham, who is determined to serve God. As he makes peace with what is to happen, I find myself hooked.

As the story evolves, Latham’s experience as a spy and the circumstances he finds himself in become increasingly precarious. Goldberg’s execution unfolds into consequences with new enemies arising from Latham’s choices. I love that as he learns to be a spy, the situations he faces grow increasingly complex. Later in the book, Goldberg uses ironic moments to show how Latham’s position can change in the period’s fluid political climate, echoing back to earlier parts of the book with meaningful contrast.

Loretta Goldberg knows this history and has built an intriguing character and plot around complex political and religious situations. There were a few times where I lost track of who was who and why it mattered to Lathan, but I gladly read forward to figure out where it would all take us. The Reversible Mask: An Elizabethan Spy Novel is an admirable undertaking and one many could enjoy.

---

Thank you for reading Toni Woodruff’s book review of The Reversible Mask by Loretta Goldberg! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.