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Reviewed by Lisa M. Schlegel for Readers' Favorite
The Portuguese Affair by Ann Swinfen is the third installment of The Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez series. The story picks up after Queen Elizabeth's dispatch of the English fleet to Iberia in 1589. England and Spain are at war. Christoval Alvarez, the protagonist, was Jewish by birth but had been forced by the Spanish, along with her family, to convert to Christianity. In this installment, Christoval continues posing as a man, working as a physician, and accepting secret missions given by Sir Francis Walsingham. Christoval's life is complicated, to say the least. Historically, the decisions of the non-fictional players, Admiral of the English fleet, Sir Francis Drake, and General Sir John Norreys, eventually lead to the defeat of the English fleet. Christoval witnesses the mistakes of Drake and Norreys as she hides her gender, attends to the suffering of the wounded, pursues her secret mission, and seeks out her family who had remained in Portugal.
There's quite a lot going on in The Portuguese Affair, but Ann Swinfen writes clearly so the reader never feels the events are rushed. An interesting twist is found in the danger and strategy employed by Christoval to maintain a secret gender, mission, and identity. Feminine qualities such as compassion and aversion to fighting are intriguing when surrounded by males and war. For full appreciation, however, I recommend starting from the first of The Chronicles, unless the reader is already familiar with its history.
