Book Recommendation
Included in my love of mysteries are historical mysteries. But no matter how well written they may be and how clever the plots, my enjoyment is lessened if the historical background is not realistic.
Not So in this series by Newman. This is the first, where we are introduced to young novice Catherine LeVendeur. Catherine has been sent to the convent to learn piety, but she doesn't mind as much as she might; here she can satisfy much of her scholarly inclination. Being a rare woman of medieval times in that she can read, even more amazing still is her thirst for knowledge, combined with her lively spirit and cleverness.
Catherine is fortunate indeed in that the convent where she resides is presided over by Abbess Heloise, a very devout but also wise and compassionate lady.
It is Heloise who sends Catherine on a desperate mission to save her reputation and the convent, when a clever forgery and alternation of copied text make it appear there is heresy afoot. The mid-twelfth century is a very dangerous time to be labeled a heretic.
So our young heroine is sent home in apparent disgrace, but in reality to do what she can to expose a web of deceit and lies put forth with the intent to destroy some at the personal gain of others.
In her search for the truth Catherine meets another young scholar, and comes to realize she may not be suited to the cloistered life after all.
But it is the clever and intricate unfolding of the plot itself that is the primary hold on the reader throughout the story.
rThis is a more intense read, full of the realities of the times, but I did not find it overly
gritty or profane. The story made me hungry to read more, and Catherine's story will go on for several more books and for several years of her life, with plenty of material for mystery and intrigue in the murky times she lived in.
I always enjoy your recommendations, even if I do not share your fondness for historical mysteries. You'd think I would. I love old mysteries. I love history. I guess I find that very few writers are capable of maintaining an authentic voice when they write about past eras, and I find the unauthentic voices too distracting. This is true of all historical novels. Some few are very good, and I am always impressed by the effort that succeeds.
ReplyDeleteAnother author that is pretty good at it is Candace Robb. Although I did enjoy
Deletethe Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters at one time, your criticism is what
I found true in those; you don't really get the flavor of just how harsh the times were.
I think I have one of Candace Robbs, though I haven't read it yet. My mother loved the Brother Cadfael series, but she's a fanatic about the Middle Ages and I am most definitely not. And, yes, it was a very harsh era. But, I loved Peters's Inspector Felse series, and I have all of those. Not historicals. I love, absolutely love, Diane Moody's Confessions of a Prayer Slacker (non-fiction, about prayer), and so I was eager to read her WWII mystery . . . but I couldn't finish it. The dialogue just doesn't belong to the '40s.
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