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The Middle Ages
This is an animal story set against the
background of the Crusades. It is about a remarkable horse which,
as is often the case with dogs and horses, touches and transforms
the lives of all who come in contact with it.
Will is the younger son of Sir Thomas de Granville of Hartslove
in the north of England. He wants a Great Horse or war horse like
his elder brother Gavin and eventually his father agrees and Will
goes to the stud where his father's horses are kept and managed
by Keeper John. Once there Will's eye is taken by an elegant chestnut
which is really too small to be a destrier. Nevertheless Will
tries him and finds that he has found his horse and he rides Hosanna
-- for that is its name -- back to Hartslove. The next day Hosanna
is given a trial and it is found that he excels at the tournament
manoevres. He can go from a walk to a gallop in almost an instant
and, being smaller than the other destriers, can turn quickly
and neatly. Will begins to train him and in the months that follow
it is found that the horse is much stronger than he looks.
Then Will's elder brother, Gavin, takes him hunting and rides
him until he is exhausted. Will and his groom nurse Hosanna but
it is obvious that he will never make a full recovery and he is
sent to the monks in a local monastery. But Hosanna does recover
and is reunited with Will.
Then Will, Gavin and their father go on Crusade -- leaving behind
Eleanor their childhood companion. Sir Thomas does not reach the
Holy Land as he is drowned on the voyage. But his sons reach their
destination to fight with King Richard.
At this point the story alternates between the Crusaders and the
Sultan Saladin and his young protege Kamil. Kamil is filled with
great bitterness because he has seen his whole family murdered
by a Crusader. This affects his judgement and he questions the
decisions of Saladin whom he thinks is too merciful to the Crusaders.
Eventually Kamil even lets himself be persuaded into helping in
a plot to assassinate the Sultan.
Then Gavin and Will are sent on a food finding mission. They are
attacked by a band of Saracens and Hosanna is captured by Kamil.
Riding Hosanna and working with him has a gradual effect on Kamil
and he becomes much calmer. He realises that Saladin's desire
for a truce is the wisest policy after all. Above all he eventually
loses his longing for vengeance for the death of his family.
Meanwhile back in the Crusaders' camp, King Richard realises the
futility of trying to capture and hold Jerusalem. But he has a
hard struggle to convince his knights of this -- although they
agree at last.
Then the Saracens take Jaffa. This means that the Crusaders no
longer hold the whole coast but Richard and a few ships sail to
the rescue of the few Crusaders trapped in the citadel and there
is a battle outside Jaffa. After the battle Will is reunited with
Hosanna who is badly wounded.
Then there is an amazing scene on the battlefield. Will, Gavin,
Kamil and Hal the groom all kneel and pray that the horse should
live. Then Hal is sent to Saladin to ask for medicines for Hosanna.
In this way Hosanna helps to bring about some sort of reconciliation
between the former enemies.
The Crusade is now drawing to its close and an agreement is signed
with Saladin. The Christians are allowed to visit Jerusalem and
then they make their preparations for the journey home. And it
is at this point that the true cost of the Crusade is brought
home to the reader. When they land in England there are only fifteen
men from Hartslove. Fifteen men out of the four hundred who had
set out. And only two out of the original eleven hundred horses.
And this slaughter is not all. Hal and Gavin find that while they
have been away Eleanor has been tricked and discredited by the
scoundrel who wants to marry her for her lands.
But all is satisfactorily resolved. And Will learns that King
Richard was so impressed by the gallantry of Hosanna that he has
decided to make his master an earl.
This book shows the misery and carnage of the Crusades, and also
the effects of the resulting neglect of farm lands -- on both
sides. The question is tacitly asked. Was it really worth it?
Will is quite sure of the answer. He says to himself, as he enters
Jerusalem. It could not all have been for nothing. But
some readers may come to a different conclusion.
This book gives a vivid picture of Medieval England and the suffering
and massive loss of life caused by the Crusades. But despite this
it is above all an animal story. Some may be sceptical of the
effect Hosanna has on the people around him but all true animal
lovers will have no such doubts.
This is hardly surprising. The author lectures in Medieval History
at Glasgow University. But she also grew up with horses and has
raced them.
Very highly recommended
12+
This is a sequel to Blood Red Horse about the remarkable horse Hosanna who changed the lives of all who came in contact with him.
The book starts with a prologue. Saladin is dying. He tells his adopted son Kamil that he must flee from Palestine as many of the emirs are jealous of him and his life will not be safe once Saladin is dead. He also gives Kamil a message for King Richard. Kamil obeys reluctantly. He finds Richard in prison. Richard gives him another message to deliver. Richard knows he still has some true friends whom he can trust. He gives Kamil a sealed letter to take to the two knights Gavin de Granville and his brother Will Ravensgarth at Hartslove.
Then the story shifts to England. Gavin is about to be married to Ellie but their wedding is interrupted by the Constable de Scabious. He tells them all that Richard is now dead and that his brother John is the rightful king. Worse John has given his permission that de Scabious can marry Ellie. Then he forcefully carries Ellie away while his men set fire to Gavin’s hall. Ellie is taken to the tower of de Scabious and kept a prisoner there. And she cannot try to escape because de Scabious has also taken her old nurse –– whom he will harm if she thwarts him in any way.
Meanwhile back at Hartslove William sets out on a rescue mission with some of his men. This ends up with both William and Hosanna also prisoners.
But Kamil is riding to Hartslove with the news that Richard is still alive. And a small boy shows William a tunnel from the cellar where he is imprisoned. And when he hears Kamil’s news Gavin raises a force and rises to de Scabious' tower. Throughout all the action Hosanna, the red horse, plays his own part.
A fast moving and very readable story which highlights the fact that in the Middle Ages women were just pawns to be given away in marriage to whoever would benefit their guardians most.
A worthy successor to Blood Red Horse.
12+
This is the last book in the trilogy about the Crusades which started with Blood Red Horse. It is written around the twin themes of friendship across a barrier and betrayal.
The evil Old Man of the Mountains has planned a dreadful revenge on Kamil because he remained faithful to Saladin. He knows that Kamil is still at Hartslove. He sends one of his spies, Amal to Hartslove with a present of a gray mare. Amal stays at Hartslove and gradually begins to work on Kamil. Will, or Sir William de Graville, Earl of Ravensgarth, has been given the task of collecting part of the ransom money for King Richard and taking it to the German Emperor. Now Amal keeps telling Kamil that the ransom money will be used to finance another crusade. Eventually Kamil comes to believe that it is his duty as a good Muslim to see that the ransom money is never paid even if this means betraying his friend. So he goes along with Amal’s plotting. The Hartslove contingent are attacked by Saracens disguised as Germans and Will and Ellie are taken prisoner. Kamil has betrayed them and, as the Old Man planned, Will knows that Kamil was partly responsible for his betrayal.
But Kamil’s is not the only betrayal. When Will eventually manages to reach the Emperor’s court to warn Richard of an imminent attack by a Saracen assassin, he finds himself hauled before a court accused of treason to both King Richard and the German Emperor as he had conspired with Kamil to steal the ransom money. The Emperor is prepared to let Richard go free if he agrees to the death of Will. Richard is prepared to sacrifice Will for his own freedom.
But someone has the proof which can clear Will and save him. This is Marissa the girl who loves him with all her heart even although she knows that her love can never be returned. But can she reach the emperor’s court in time and, if she does, can she make them listen to her?
Kamil is eventually forgiven and reconciled with Will. But what of the question which the whole book poses? Can friendship across a barrier ever be possible? Despite the reconcilation in the book the question is still left open.
This book could be read o its own but it would be better if the other two books were read first.
An exciting story which brings the trilogy to a satisfactory conclusion.
Teenage.
This is a book about a teenage boy trying to find his own particular niche in the world at the end of the 11th century.
Martin is an orphan. His parents were killed by bandits when he was a toddler. He thinks he has two brothers but he does not know where they are. He was brought up in a small English village (the priest paid a woman to look after him) but he never really fitted in. Then he meets an old pilgrim who has been to Jerusalem. But it was not Jerusalem which really impressed him. It was Constantinople. He holds Martin entranced as he tells of the caravans of camels, the shops and markets, the buildings of white marble and the Varangians ––the Emperor’s personal guard –– with their scarlet cloaks.
Martin decides to go to Constantinople and join the Varangians. A priest pays for him to join the Armed Pilgrimage and Martin sets out on the First Crusade. But it is not as he expected. The so called pilgrims are a drunken rabble. Martin is horrified at the massacre of the Jews in Mainz. He saves one of them, Efraim, and they travel south together. On their journey Martin tells how he has always longed for a family. He also tells Efraim that he was born a Jew but baptised and brought up a Christian although he also worshipped Thor. Efraim then informs him that he could become part of a family, the Jewish family. Martin is doubtful but they travel on together and finally reach Jerusalem where the Jewish community Council assign them to the care of an old man. Martin agrees to try to learn to be a Jew and stay until the spring. Finally he quarrels with the old man, leaves and goes into the centre of Constantinople. He is lucky. He gets his hearts’s desire when he is adopted by one of the Varangians who makes him his luck-piece. He stays with the Varangians and hopes to join them when he is eighteen but then something happens. The Varangian who had befriended him is killed and shortly afterwards another steals all Martin’s money. Martin realises that the Varangian Guard is not the place for him and he goes back to the old man to try again to become a Jew. Has he found his place in the world at last?
This book is well written and moves at a good pace. It has been thoroughly researched resulting in a full and authentic background. There is a map of Europe in 1096 and also a close up map of Constantinople. But it would have been better if there had been another map showing Constantinople in its place in the Bosphorus.
This book should really have a glossary for words like sheep-bield and fridstool to give only two examples. And even more for the words dealing with the Jewish religion. In fact more than a glossary is necessary. A comprehensive note on the Jewish religion would be advantageous. To take just one example. We live in a secular society. How many people realise that the Feast of the Passover is remembering when Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt? And in the book Passover is referred to by the Jewish word Pesach.
Of course the above gives rise to one particular question. Is this a book for the Jewish community or for the general reader? Certainly if for the Jewish community then such a note would not be necessary –– but it would be for general readers. Also the last section with its detailed references to various aspects of the Jewish religion would be almost unintelligible to many young people today. There is also the point that Martin (as well as the former novice monk) actively reject Christianity. Many people would have a problem with that).
For this reason, although the book gives a good picture of the Europe of the time and the section about Constantinople and the Varangian Guard is fascinating, I personally would say that this book is for thoughtful Jewish teenagers and adults.
12-adult
Historical fantasy written around Gutenberg and the printing press.
Although fantasy there is some historical basis for this book. There is a theory that a Dutch wood block cutter, Laurens Janszoon Koster, carved out a series of letters from the bark of a tree for his granddaughter and came up with the idea of movable type. One of his assistants then stole his equipment and took it to Gutenberg in Mainz. This assistant was Johann Fust who later backed Gurenberg financially. Later a legend grew that Johann Fust was actually Doctor Faust and that the printing press was an invention of the Devil.
In Matthew Skelton's story Koster's daughter said she saw a dragon in a tree. Koster thought she was far too imaginative and cut down the tree. When Koster returned to the forest he found the dragon dying and under its skin a mound of perfect paper. That paper had the power to turn itself into a special book -- a book which contained all the knowledge in the world and which could confer great power and riches. It was that special parchment which Koster stole and took to Mainz. There Gutenberg's apprentice, Endymion Spring, secretly forced his way into the chest where it lay. Some of the special paper formed itself into a small book in Endymion Spring's hand. But the book was now in two parts and it would not function properly -- and Fust knew why. So Endymion had to flee from Mainz. He stole the main part of the book and made his way to Oxford where the monks looked after him. He hid the main part of the book and then remembered the smaller part so he hid that too. But the book was still in two parts and so would not function properly. Until nearly six hundred years later.
Interspersed with this story is the story of Blake Winters a twelve-year-old boy. Blake is from America but he is in Oxford with his mother and young sister as his mother is doing research in Oxford. Blake and his sister are forced to tag along with their mother and are often in the Oxford libraries where children are not found very often. One afternoon, while in the Bodelian Library, a book jumps out at him from one of the shelves. To Blake's surprise it has blank pages. It is Endymion's book and it has chosen Blake.
Thereafter Blake and his sister find themselves in the middle of a strange adventure. There is the mystery of the book. Sometimes cryptic riddles appear on the pages. But only Blake can read them -- not his sister. And then there is danger because many people desire the book for the wrong reasons. In particular they are warned of the Person of the Shadows and the climax has Blake struggling for his life on the roof of the Bodelian Library with this mysterious individual.
This book has been well researched and the parts dealing with Gutenberg and medieval Mainz are fascinating. Modern Oxford with its colleges and libraries is also carefully described and the reader is also taken to the stacks below the Bodelian. Unfortunately the modern part becomes rather involved and confusing.
I think this book would have worked better as a straight historical novel -- or if the fantasy had been modified somewhat.
12+
There is a theory that Madoc, a Welshman, sailed to America in 1170 - three hundred years before Columbus. It is believed that he established a look-out in a cave behind the waterfall at the meeting of the Alabama and Coosa Rivers. Rotting leather armour and the remains of coracles have been found here. Also the Mandan Indians used boats very like the Welsh coracles. Further evidence of a twelfth century Welsh colony is found in the existence of the Old Stone Fort on the Duck River Tennessee. This is almost identical to similar ruins in Wales. Further indications are found in the evidence of early settlers who spoke of a tribe of "white Indians" whose language contained many words similar to words in the Welsh language.
Jenny Sullivan has taken this theory and written a time-slip novel around it. Seventeen year old Angharad has just left school and is hoping to go Aberystwyth University at the end of the summer. But it appears that her summer holidays are going to be spoiled. Her mother is going back-packing in India for three months and Angharad is packed off to stay with her father and his new wife in an arts and crafts centre in North Wales. Reluctantly she goes. While exploring the garden of the large house she finds the remains of a wall. She makes friends with a young student and they do some amateur archaeology. Angharad finds a disc with a dragon on it chasing its tail. She finds that if she stands on the wall (it is actually an old jetty) and holds the disc she will be transported back to the time of Madoc. Angharad makes several journeys into the past. Some of them are dangerous as when the disc is taken from her and she fears she may be trapped in the twelfth century. Another time she is abducted and nearly forced into marriage. When she returns to her own time Angharad goes to the local library and looks up books about Madoc. What she learns makes her make one final journey back because she has a dreadful warning for Madoc.
The story of Madoc is interspersed with Angharad's present day problems. Her stepmother is expecting a baby and Angharad has to come to terms with the idea of a new half brother or sister. Also some of the arts and crafts people are a strange lot and cause problems.
Told in the first person by Angharad in the language of a very modern tenager.
I always enjoy books dealing with the lesser known facts of history and I was fascinated by the story of Madoc. Also, by the end of the book I had taken a very real liking to Angharad.
All other considerations apart, Following Blue Water is good fun. It is a book to be enjoyed.
Comes with a very useful bibliography.
Teenage. Young adult.
A novel about Joan of Arc. Told in the first person by Jehane’s imaginary cousin Mariane.
After her mother is killed Mariane is sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Domremy where she helps in the farmhouse and also with the farm work. Her cousin Jehane works alongside her in the fields –– where she sometimes leaves Mariane to go and listen to her messengers.
Mariane accompanies Jehane when she goes to seek the help of the Sire de Baudicourt. She then goes with her when she goes to Chinon and gains the support of the Dauphin and she is beside Jehane as they fight to relieve Orleans. This is described in great detail.
Then the story takes a turn. Mariane has heard that she might be the rightful owner of a country estate but one of her uncles is trying to cheat her of her rightful inheritance. After the relief of Orleans Mariane leaves Jehane and goes to stay with an aunt on the country estate to try to prove that it is hers.
This has the effect of distancing the reader from the rest of Jehane’s campaign and the complicated politics of the period. Mariane and Jehane correspond and the letters give the reader the main facts. Mariane’s quest for her inheritance also strengthens the story line.
But Mariane goes to Rouen to comfort Jehane in her prison cell and is present at her execution. And years later she goes to Paris to hear her aunt begin the rehabilitation of Jehane –– the process which would finally prove her trial flawed and her innocent of witchcraft.
The main points of the life of Joan of Arc contained in story form.
12+
There is a theory that in the 12th century a Welsh sailor, Magod, reached America. This book deals with the early life of Magod.
Magod is the illegimate son of a Welsh prince. While still a boy he finds out who his father is. He looks up to his father and respects him. When a teenager he is sent to his father to deliver a message from his grandfather. He is devastated when his father does not recognise him. He joins the crew of a ship -- part trader, part pirate -- and eventually becomes the owner and captain. Then he leaves the ship in the charge of his trusted second-in-command and goes to help his mother. he finds her and sees for himself the struggle between his father and grandfather. Sickened by the in-fighting of the Welsh and all the slaughter and carnage Madog goes in search of his ship again. He finds it and sets sail westward across the Atlantic. His departure has an almost supernatural quality.
Interspersed with this story from the 12th century is a modern one. Gwyn Griffiths (he is usually called by his middle name, Maddocks, which he hates) lives with his mother and stepfather and stepbrother. Maddocks has an idealised picture of his own father and refuses to recognise him for the worthless character he really is. Because of this Maddocks resents his stepfather and stepbrother. Eventually he runs away. He gets on the ferry to Ireland and then makes a journey to the west, eventually reaching the very cove from which Saint Brendan had set sail. His stepbrother, David, has found some clues and is hot on his trail. The family is eventually reunited and at last Maddocks comes to terms with David and his stepfather.
The characters in the part dealing with the 12th century are, for the most part, based on real historical people but the characters in the modern section are all fictitous. In both sections the majority of the places mentioned are real. Maddocks' journey across Ireland can be followed on any map.
Teenage. Young adult.
Available over the internet at the British price of £3.25 from www.amazon.co.uk
Sixteen year old Martin Crawford saves the life of Robert the Bruce when he is being hunted down by the English among the hills of Carrick. From then on Martin's life is linked with that of Bruce. He serves Bruce faithfully throughout his campaigns and then, at last, as Abbot of Melrose Abbey Martin finally buries the heart of Bruce.
The morning after Martin has saved him Bruce stumbles upon Martin's house. His widowed mother offers her sons to Bruce. Sean is eager to be a soldier but Martin wants to be a scholar. He has been taught to read and write by one of the monks in a nearby monastery. Martin says he will not fight and Bruce says he can be his page.
But Martin soon finds that Bruce has something more planned for him. He sends him on a mission with Brother Anselm. Martin learns that Brother Anselm is gathering information which will be useful to Bruce. Brother Anselm teaches Martin how to be a spy - how to mingle with the crowds in the market and listen to their gossip. In the evening he continues Martin's schooling and book learning. Later they both travel into England and Martin is present, in the guise of an altar boy, at the death of Edward I of England in the tent on the shores of the Solway Firth.
Later Martin becomes Bruce's courier. Martin does not know what that means. It is a French word. Bruce explains that it is a swift rider - one who carries messages. Martin has to take messages to Bruce's various commanders. Brother Anselm is now old and sick and Martin combines being a swift rider with being a spy. Eventually Bruce asks him to train other spies.
For seven years Martin serves Bruce well. We are shown the campaign to free Scotland through Martin's eyes. Martin is at Bruce's side when he is ill. Later Martin himself plays an important part. It is Martin who tricks the guards into opening the huge doors of Dunstaffnage Castle thereby allowing Bruce's forces to gain entrance. It is Martin who goes to Durham and learns of the weakness of the defences. Martin is with Bruce when he wades through the moat of Perth Castle, testing its depths. Finally it is Martin who, at the Battle of Bannockburn, is the leader of the "small folk" who trick the English into thinking they are a whole new army of reinforcements.
Then, the Battle won, Martin goes to Bruce and asks him to release him to start his quiet life of study.
But this war was far from being one dimensional. It was not just the English Bruce had to fight. It was also their Scottish allies. And this is something which Mollie Hunter makes quite clear.
The cruelty of the times is shown in the form of compelling and significant examples. Bruce's little daughter is a prisoner and she is being kept like an animal in a cage in the Tower of London. Then we share the horror of Martin and Sean when they go home and find the murdered bodies of their mother and elder sister. Martin now knows exactly what "raising the dragon" means - total war with no prisoners and no mercy shown to any creature, man or beast.
Bruce is shown as an inspiring leader who commands great loyalty from his followers, a humane man who can, nevertheless be quite ruthless when the occasion demands it, and a deeply religious man.
The Swift Rider is told in the first person by Martin who comes across as brave and resourceful. He will not fight or kill, but he still plays his part - which is always kept secret. At times this is quite difficult for him, especially when his brother taunts him for being "some sort of clerk."
The Swift Rider describes events of a harsh, cruel age but by having a basically gentle and scholarly leading character like Martin the general effect is somewhat softened.
A well researched reconstruction of the life of Robert the Bruce.
Compelling and forceful.
This book should be on the library shelves of every school in Scotland.
Teenage. Young adult.
Set in 1381 this is the story of how a peasant family inadvertently comes to be involved in the Peasants' Revolt.
Rufus and Comfort live in a village and work for the Great House as well as on their own land. When a strange preacher comes to the village they listen to him. The preacher questions firmly held beliefs.
'Do you believe that God made the poor to be the servants of the rich?'
Later travellers come seeking shelter and speaking words of wisdom. Rufus and Comfort let them into their cottage.
They want just laws, fair wages and an end to serfdom but this is regarded as treason and rebellion. Someone betrays Rufus and Comfort. It is claimed that they took messages and passed them on. They were in league with the rebels. The priest and soldiers come and seize Rufus and Comfort and take them away. They are kept prisoners at the Great House and then they are taken to the King's court. On the way they are rescued and spend some time in hiding until they hear that there has been a Royal Pardon. They return to their village. But later, despite the Royal Pardon, the soldiers come again. Rufus is hanged but Comfort is set free so that she can look after her children.
This is the story of Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt told as it affected one family and the background to the Revolt is made crystal clear. The stranglehold of the landowners is clearly brought out. As well as working on the lord's land the villagers have to make various payments. Comfort has to pay a third of everything she has when Rufus died. And then another payment when she takes on someone else's strips of land. The last straw is when she is caught and fined for trying to make some small savings by baking her own bread instead of using the Great House bakery.
As well as being the story of Rufus and Comfort this is also the story of Rufus' hunting bitch. When Rufus and Comfort are taken away she lives wild in the forest for a time but she cannot be completely wild as she has known 'fire, bed and bone,' and she comes back to Comfort in the end. It is this old dog which tells the story.
Fire, Bed and Bone was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize.
12+
This book was first published in 1883.
The Black Arrow is a combined adventure story/romance set against the violence and cruelty of the Wars of the Roses.
Seventeen-year-old Master Richard Shelton is the ward of Sir Daniel Brackley. Sir Daniel is a most disreputable character. He is a turncoat and he has changed sides many times. He also a money-getter who squeezes his tenants. Richard feels that he owes Sir Daniel his allegiance and obedience and so he turns a blind eye to Sir Daniel's wrongdoings. But things happen which change that.
Sir Daniel sends word for every man who can draw a bow to join him but before they do one old soldier is shot dead - by a black arrow. Later a note is found pinned to the local church. It is from Jon Amend-All, an outlaw who hides out in a nearby forest. Jon had four black arrows. He has used one but he now tells - in the form of a poem - who the other three are for. One is for Sir Daniel himself. Another is for the local parson. Jon claims that the parson killed Richard's father. This statement comes to haunt Richard later.
The scene changes to an inn where Sir Daniel is with some of his retainers. Sir Daniel gives Richard a message to deliver. After Richard has left Sir Daniel discovers that a young boy in his charge has slipped out. Furious Sir Daniel sends some of his men after him.
Meanwhile Richard is riding through the fens. He comes across the boy who is making for Holywood Abbey. The boy, who says his name is John Matcham, does not have any of the manly skills of fighting which Richard so admires, but Richard still helps him. They hide from the forest outlaws but eventually Sir Daniel himself catches up with them and takes them back to his fortified house, the Moat House. There Richard finds out the truth about John Matcham. He is really a girl, Joanna Sedley.
Joanna is an orphan. She is the ward of Lord Foxham and when she marries she will have a rich dowery. When the fortunes of war were going his way Sir Daniel bought, from the king, the right to say who Joanna should marry. And then things changed and Lord Foxham bought back the right to say who Joanna should marry. And so it goes on with Sir Daniel and Lord Foxham fighting over Joanna like two dogs over a bone. In the latest round Sir Daniel has just abducted Joanna.
This is the first revelation for Richard. But there are others. He starts to wonder about the death of his father and who was really responsible. And then he finds out that Sir Daniel is trying to kill him. He manages to escape from the Moat House. But now he has to find a way of rescuing Joanna - whom he now realises he loves. There follows a thrilling story of how he eventually saves her from Sir Daniel. But many men have to die before Richard and Joanna can be married.
Life was cheap in those days and Richard is very much a man of his time. It is left to the girls in the story to put across a more humanitarian argument. Richard gives his support to the future King Richard III. He commands his troops in a battle. Later Alicia Risingham, whose father was probably killed in the battle, asks Richard why he fought for Richard of York and Richard is forced to admit that he does not know why. Just that in England at this time a man has to be on either one side or another.
But, at the end of the book, there is hope for young Richard Shelton. He has looked into the face of Richard of York and seen the cruelty there and wonders what he has done in helping such a man. What will happen to England if he ever becomes King?
And then Richard is overcome with remorse when he sees what he has done to the old ship's captain. In an attempt to rescue Joanna Richard had stolen, and later wrecked, a ship. It is only later that Richard sees thathe has made the captain lose all he had.
The Black Arrow is an exciting story which moves at a furious pace. But it also brings home to the reader the cruelty and futility of the Wars of the Roses. This is what made the most impression on me. Personally I found all the killing a bit much, even if it was realistic. But then that is just me.
Teenage
This book shows how hard even basic survival was for those on the fringes of society in Medieval England. Brat, a homeless waif, spends the night in the warmest place she can find. A dungheap. Yes a dungheap. She is found by a midwife who puts her to work. Brat gradually wins the acceptance of the village and becomes Beetle and finally Alyce. Then, believing herself a failure, she runs away and finds work in an inn. But after a time she realises that her true place in society is that of midwife's apprentice. She has learnt the important lesson to try again and again and not give up.
Sensitive and thought provoking. An illuminating insight into a subject often avoided. The dangers and pains of child-bearing before the advent of modern medicine.
Teenage. But it said a lot to me too.
Winner of the 1996 Newbery Medal.
This is a story about a young girl who
is abruptly taken from the environment in which she has grown
up and placed in an alien one where she has to learn to come to
terms with a completely different way of life and a set of values
which are completely contrary to those which she has been taught.
Matilda was the daughter of Lord Randall's clerk and, when her
father died, Lord Randall let her stay on at the manor. Her education
was entrusted to the priest. He taught her to pray, and obedience
and submission. He also taught her all about the saints, about
Heaven and Hell and to beware of the pleasures of the world as
they could separate her from God. But he did not teach her about
love and affection or how to survive in the earthly world. She
did not learn, for example, how to cook or make a fire. Such matters
were left to the manor servants.
Then when she is fourteen the priest takes her to Blood and Bone
Alley and leaves her with Peg the Bonesetter. This is her new
home and she is to assist Peg. This is where the story begins.
Matilda was used to the comforts of the manor where, for example,
she would sleep in a proper bed instead of a pallet on the floor.
She had been accustomed to rich food instead of the plain fare
which was all that Peg could afford. And then, since her days
had been spent in study, she was not used to the work of servants.
When she wakes up the first morning she is cold and Peg tells
her that it is her job to light the fire. She is hungry and Peg
tells her that she must go to the market and buy something and
cook it.
But that is not the worst. Far from it. Peg's work goes against
everything she has been taught. When Peg tells her about bonesetting
Matilda is uncomfortable. Surely God sent people' suffering and
it is for Him to alleviate it, not Peg?
Pushing and pulling people's bones is bad enough but one day Peg
actually asks her to help a cat with a bad leg. A cat, a creature
with no soul that consorted with devils and ate rats!
It takes a long time but gradually Matilda comes to see things
differently. She learns to appreciate the kindness of Peg and
her husband Tom and their friend Doctor Margery. She also sees
that they do actually help people and they have more real skill
than the learned Master Theobald. She also makes the first friends
she has ever had -- the servant girl Tildy and the apothecary's
apprentice Walter. She begins to realise that she has gifts and
abilities of her own and, in due course, should be able to take
her place in this new world.
In writing this book Karen Cushman has returned to some of the
themes of her earlier books -- medieval medicine and the place
of women in medieval England. There are certain parallels with
The Midwife's Apprentice.
Comes with a bibliography and a note on medieval medicine.
Well researched and explaining the crude cures and superstitions
before the advent of modern medicine.
Teenage
Catherine called Birdy is about a girl growing up.
In the England of 1290, women have almost no rights at all. Catherine's father regards her as a chattel, a means of furthering his own fortune. He hopes to sell her off in marriage to a wealthy husband. Catherine tries to resist this by such stratagems as blackening her teeth and dressing her hair with mouse bones. All to no avail. A marriage is finally arranged. But Catherine is lucky. The repulsive husband chosen for her dies and she marries his son. If not free Catherine is "at least less painfully caged."
A detailed account of a year in medieval England. Quite poignant in parts, especially where the "little bandits" - two twelve year old boys - are hanged.
Told in diary form by Catherine with a rather earthy style.
Catherine called Birdy was runner-up for the 1995 Newbery Medal and shortlisted for W H Smith's Mind-Boggling Books Award.
Teenage
John is a new boy in the cathedral choir school struggling to come to terms with the scanty food, the bullying, the harsh discipline and savage beatings. It is all so different from his old life when he was helping his father -- a stone-carver who was working on the cathedral. Then there was an accident when a scaffold fell. John's father had been killed and John crippled.
John does however make some good friends. There is Hugh the little choir boy, and Rufus the kitchen boy. John's other friends are more surprising -- and forbidden. They are the leader of the Jewish community, Reuben ben Ezra and his son Aaron.
Then the harshest and most severe of the canons is murdered. One of John's new friends has disappeared and is blamed. Then he is also found murdered and this time another of John's friends is blamed. John is determined to find out the truth, clear his friend's name and do justice to his other friend who was murdered.
As well as the background of the cathedral school, this medieval murder mystery is played out against the Feast of Fools -- the parade with the Lord of Misrule in charge, the feasting and the biblical plays. This background is given a somewhat darker portrayal than usual. The crowd watching the parade soon degenerates into a drunken rabble who later shout ribald comments at the actors in the plays -- until they are dispersed by a furious canon. The feast in the Earl's manor is just sheer debauchery. There is worse. Although there is nothing too explicit, child abuse by one of the canons is hinted at.
The wider background concerns the treatment of the Jews just before they were banished from England in 1290 and there is a description of a riot and an attempt to burn their houses near the end of the book.
Comes with a short historical note.
This is a well researched book with a story which holds the interest. And with an imaginative interpretation of the medieval mystery plays.
Young adult
This is a sequel to Feast of Fools. Determined to find Aaron' John is aboard a ship bound for Flanders when the ship is attacked by pirates. The crew are successful in fighting off the pirates but their ship –– the Esperance –– is so badly damaged that they must put into harbour for repairs. They are near Fairholm and make for there only to find out that the river has changed course and the harbour is silted up, the village derelict and the inhabitants impoverished. So they are forced to put into Highwold which has profited from Fairholm’s disaster. But there is ill feeling between the people of the two villages and this could result in problems if not danger for the crew of the Esperance as the master himself comes from Fairholm. Wanting to leave Highwold as soon as possible the master of the Esperance sends John off to find a Sir Richard Elleston whom he is sure will be able to help. John sets off on his mission and gets involved in the affairs of Sir Richard’s cousin’s family –– especially the rebellious Christina. John is finally accused of murder and sentenced to die on the gibbet. Will the joint efforts of his shipmates and the kindly monk Brother Edmund be enough to save him?
Ship’s Angel is based loosely on three events. The first event concerns the village of Dunwich where the harbour mouth silted up and then, over a period of time, the cliffs collapsed causing many of the buildings to fall into the sea. Then not far from Dunwich is an avenue of beeches on which seamen carved little ships to commemorate sailors who had died at sea. Lastly there is a record of a girl who destroyed the town gibbet. Bridget Crowley has given her own reason why the girl did this.
As well as this background this book also gives a good picture of the difficult and subservient position of women in medieval times with the unfortunate Christina being forced into marriage with a man she hates.
Comes with a sketch map and a historical note.
An exciting story with a detailed and authentic background.
12 +
This is the first in a series of medieval mysteries. It is a new addition to Scholastic's teenage Point Crime range.
There is one mystery which is solved in each book. There is another ongoing mystery which stretches over the whole series.
In this first book of the series Joslin de Lay is living in a castle in the Cotentin between Normandy and Brittany. His father is minstrel of honour to the Count. Joslin is learning the songs off a troubedour from his father but he does not know anything about his mother. One day an English lord and his entourage arrive and stay at the castle. Later Joslin's father is found stabbed. Friends help Joslin to get his father away from the castle but he dies on board a ship bound for England. Before he dies he tells Joslin to go to Wales and find his mother and find "why all this has been."
Joslin lands at Ipswich and, with his harp, prepares to sing himself to Wales. But, on the way, he has the misfortune to stop at Stovenham. The earl's bailiff is murdered and Joslin is accused and found guilty of the murder. He escapes but the thatcher who helped him is hanged. Joslin feels he owes it to the thatcher to find the real killer.
In the church two young artists are painting a Doom. This is a special kind of medieval painting showing the good being taken to Heaven and the devil taking the rest to hell. The two painters have been given very particular instructions. They have a series of envelopes. They have to open them and paint the faces of the doomed in the exact order. Joslin discovers that the first face which they have painted is that of the murdered bailiff. Then they paint another face. It turns out to be that of the steward and shortly afterwards he is found murdered too. There are three more paintings to be completed. Does this mean three more murders?
All is resolved in the end and Joslin is free to continue his journey to Wales but as he goes a man with a sallow, pockmarked face and a twisted mouth watches him from horseback and laughs to himself and says, "at your journey's end ... we'll meet at last."
One mystery is solved but there is still the mystery of Joslin's mother and his father's death.
This book is true to the spirit of one aspect of Medieval England - superstition and preoccupation with death. It is set just after the Black Death when many earlier beliefs were being questioned. But it deals exclusively with the darker side of medieval life with no light relief at all. The Earl of Stovenham is a cruel despot who metes out his own private form of justice.
Of Dooms and Death is historically authentic. It is a historical novel but it is written in a style which will appeal to the many devotees of horror stories. The opening sentences may explain what I mean.
"Joslin de Lay smelt Death. He felt it, too, clammy on his face and arms. It seeped up through the ground, wreathed round skeleton roofs and ruined walls, skulked and hid, then crept up whispering in his ear, 'Go home, Joslin de Lay; this land is not for you.'"
This is only the beginning but there are similar touches throughout the book. For example, at one point Alys becomes convinced that the instructions in the envelopes have come straight from the devil.
This book should help to introduce the many devotees of horror to historical fiction.
Teenage
This is the second of the Joslin de Lay medieval mystery series. It comes under Scholastic's teenage Point Crime imprint.
The story starts with a prologue about an attempted murder in the shadow of the twin unfinished towers of Cologne Cathedral. The scene then switches to London when Alfred, a nightwatchman, lets two mysterious strangers into the City.
After this the story returns to Joslin de Lay and continues where the first book in the series, Of Dooms and Death, left off. Joslin is returning with Alys to London to explain to the master painter Randolf Waygoode, how his apprentice Robin had died. Joslin tells his story and Randolf invites him to stay as long as he likes. Joslin has not been there long before he argues with Hugh, one of the apprentices. Then Joslin receives threats. He is wakened in the night by someone holding a knife at his throat but his assailant runs off before he can see who it is. Next morning Hugh is found to be missing. Then, a few days later, Hugh's body is found in the street outside Randolf's house. Hugh's throat has been cut and on his neck and under his armpits are the black boils of the plague. Shortly afterwards it is found that Hugh's brother Thomas has died in a similar manner. This is strange because it is autumn and the plague is a disease of the hot summer months.
Suspicion falls on Joslin and he has to try to prove his innocence. Alys helps him and eventually all is resolved.
Despite the the descriptions of Randolf's large house and of Joslin's minstrelry A Pact with Death, like the first book in the series, highlights the darker side of medieval life. Much of the terminology helps this. For example the crowded streets of London are described as a "Trackway on the floors of hell" and, at the end, we find that the murderer believes that he is under the direct protection of the devil.
At the end of the book Joslin leaves London and continues on his way to Wales to try to discover why his father was murdered and to try and learn about the mystery concerning his mother. As Joslin rides out of London he is again watched by the horseman with the sallow face with pock-marks and a twisted mouth.
The story of Joslin de Lay is certainly not over.
Teenage
This is the third in this series of medieval mysteries. Joslin de Lay, a young minstrel, fled from France after his father was murdered. He is singing his way to Wales where he hopes to find his mother and learn why his father was murdered.
In this book Joslin finds himself in Oxford. He stays with a scribe, Roger Crabbe, his ward Joanna and his nephew Matt. As well as being a scribe Roger also has a hall for students and that is where Joslin stays. Once again Joslin finds himself forced into investigating a murder. Fourteen years before, on St Scholastica's Day, there had been a fight between the townspeople and the students. Joslin finds himself trying to discover who killed the parents of Gertrude and Leonard in this riot.
To this end Joslin gets himself made minstrel to Doncaster College - and at once finds himself in the midst of many more murders. First Leonard is killed and then the body of Martin, one of the masters, is discovered. Is there a connection between this and the earlier murders?
But finding a murderer is not the only mystery which Joslin has to solve. There is also the question of the strange manuscript in the library of Doncaster College. It is kept locked and only a chosen few are allowed to read it. It is an account of the tales of of a traveller. Towards the end he came to a cold land of high mountains inhabited by people who had a forbidden knowledge. Something so dreadful that it is heresy just to think about it. But there are those who think that it is worth risking the penalties for heresy to read this book and the vital pages are cut out and stolen. But Joslin soon finds out that there is a second copy of the book. The traveller has asked for another copy and he has left his own manuscript with Roger Crabbe and Matt is helping to copy it out.
There is a third puzzle for Joslin. Why is the notorious mandrake, a plant from a hot country, growing in the quadrangle of Doncaster College? The notorious mandrake which emits a shriek when pulled from the ground and kills the person who uproots it?
The mystery of the missing pages is handled very skilfully. The solution is revealed gradually. From time to time we are given more information until at last all is disclosed. And for a book so rooted in the Middle Ages the secret of the stolen pages is remarkably modern.
Medieval Oxford, Doncaster College, Roger Crabbe's Hall, the work of a scribe - all are meticulously described. Nevertheless this is very much a novel of ideas. Medieval religion, medieval ideas about the workings of the human body and medieval ideas about the world around us. There is a useful note at the end.
I feel that this is the best of the Joslin de Lay mysteries to date. The style of the writing is more that of a straight mystery and there is an absence of the undercurrent of horror which there was in the first two books.
Teenage
This is the fourth in the series about the young French minstrel, Joslin de Lay. Joslin is crossing England and singing himself to Wales where he hopes to find his mother and learn why his father was murdered.
Joslin is bound for Coventry when but he misses a turning and finds himself in the Forest of Arden. He is attacked and wounded by outlaws but is rescued by another strolling minstrel - Crispin Thurn. Crispin takes him to a woodcutter and his wife who look after him in their cottage until he is well enough to travel. Then Joslin leaves with Crispin. They are going to Coventry for the feast of Corpus Christi. They stop at an inn and meet a company of strolling players and agree to go on to Coventry with them.
The players have sent one of their number - Bartholomew - on ahead to try and get permission from the mayor for them to play in Coventry. But Bartholomew does not come back so they go to look for him. They search the streets of Coventry and they come across something very strange - a huge pageant wagon and on it is the Mouth of Hell. They saw, "sharp, bloodstained teeth, a cavernous and stomach-churning mouth fearful red interior, wafts of smoke from somewhere deep inside..."
Then they realise there is something very odd about all this. If this was for a play about the Day of Judgement then there should also be heaven and Earth and a throne for God to sit on. Is the pageant wagon only half built? No, if anything were to be added it would be too big. In any case, Coventry does not have a Judgement play. Moreover, the wagon is hidden away in a part of Coventry where no one ever comes. In a street where everyone died of the plague.
Later Bartholomew's body is found. He had been murdered. He had been deliberately impaled on one of the teeth from the Mouth of Hell. Bartholomew, the player who could make people laugh. Why should anyone want to kill him? As if all this is not mystery enough for Joslin there is also the puzzle about Crispin, who is keeping his past a secret and tells Joslin not to ask any questions.
Against the background of the mystery plays the story moves on to Corpus Christi Day and the climax and we finally learn what the strange pageant wagon is all for. It is to be used to terrify and demoralise the people of Coventry so that men of evil can take over the town. Joslin uses all his skill as a minstrel and actor to thwart them and learns of the power of laughter.
When it is all over Joslin rides out of Coventry. But this time he is not alone. He has a companion, Crispin who has business on the Welsh Marches. As they leave they are watched by the sallow, pock-faced man with the twisted mouth who makes a cryptic remark about his "final meeting" with Joslin. The Coventry mysteries have been solved but there is still the mystery about Joslin himself.
There is a comprehensive historical note at the end. Among other things it gives details about the medieval mystery plays. Of the plays in the story, two are taken from the two Coventry plays which survive. The rest are taken from the Wakefield cycle. We are also told about the pageant wagons and the way in which they moved from station to station.
The importance of these pageants to the superstitious people of the time is also made clear. Most people could not read, and in any case the Bible was in Latin. They learned about the Bible from pictures on the walls of churches, from what they were told by the priests - and from the mystery plays, which brought things home to them as nothing else did.
A well researched medieval mystery with an authentic background.
Teenage.
This is the fifth -- and the second last -- of the Joslin de Lay
historical mystery series. Joslin's father was a minstrel in a
French castle. He was murdered but, while dying, he told his son
to go to Wales and look for his mother. So Joslin, a minstrel
like his father, is singing himself to Wales where he hopes he
will find out why his father was killed.
In this story Joslin has a companion, Crispin whom he met in Coventry. (See A Devil's Judgement). Crispin and Joslin ride to Hereford together. Crispin was cheated out of his inheritance. Now he wants to see his old home again and find out what has happened to his family. Joslin is going to help him before riding on alone to Wales.
Just before the two friends enter Hereford a strange and dreadful thing happens. The body of a young nun was found one morning at the foot of the tower of Hereford Cathedral. What was she doing so far from her convent? Did she fall from the tower or was she thrown?
When Joslin and Crispin hear of this
they fear that the dead nun is Crispin's sister, Christina. This
later turns out to be the case. Her death is followed by other
murders. Joslin and Crispin try to find out why she was killed.
So does Edwin the Justice of the Peace. And Agatha, the indomitable
prioress of St Katherine's, carries out her own investigations
into the death of one of her sisters.
How was Christina lured up the tower? What is behind all the rumours
of the strange golden angel? Why did Luke, Crispin's brother,
turn his home into a fortress and build his own tower? Why are
the peasants living near it so afraid? These are only a few of
the questions facing Crispin and Joslin.
This book has been carefully researched and the background to the story involves two different facets of medieval life. First, the building of the great cathedrals. In this case Hereford Cathedral the home of the mappis mundi. Second, The way in which many local magnates turned their homes into tower houses.
The masons and the way in which they worked forms an important part of this book and this is woven skilfuuly into the climax. This takes place in the cellars of the mysterious tower. Crispin and Joslin are prisoners and evil masons are busy with trowels, mortar and stone preparing to cover them up in the walls for ever. But help is on the way in the form of groups of reinforcements led by Edwin the JP, and Hubert the chief mason of Hereford Cathedral and his own masons, to say nothing of the redoubtable prioress, Agatha.
And of course they arrive in the nick of time. They have to as there is one other book in the series. Crispin is restored to his inheritance and Joslin rides away to Wales. But he is once again watched by the pock faced man who says to himself,
"We're near the final reckoning, Joslin. What will it
be? We'll soon know now, won't we?"
And for any readers wanting to know about this "final
reckoning," look out for the last in the series, The
False Father.
A well researched and interesting series.
Teenage
This is the last in the Joslin de Lay
medieval murder mysteries. In the earlier books we heard how Joslin's
minstrel father was murdered and, as he lay dying, he told his
son to go to Wales and find his mother. Joslin sails to Ipswich
and sings his way across England to Wales where he hopes to find
out why his father was murdered.
This last book of the series starts with a flashback. Joslin's
father was forced to act as a messenger for Owain Lawgoch. Owain
was the last of the Princes of Gwynedd and he fled to France after
his family was dispossessed of its lands by the English. He roamed
France with his band of renegades and fought for the King of France.
He dreamed of returning to Wales and driving the English out.
He made Joslin's father carry a message to Wales to find out how
much support he would have if he were ever to land there.
Joslin's father went to Wales and made his way to a castle where
he found his message was not welcome. Being warned of danger he
escaped in the night. But he did not escape alone. With him was
the Lady Rhiannon who was betrothed to an English knight -- whom
she was determined not to marry.
The story then moves on nineteen years to the arrival of Joslin
himself in Wales. He sees a carriage attacked by robbers and rushes
to help the travellers and is amazed to discover he has rescued
Gyll, the daughter of the jailer in the first book. Gyll remains
his companion throughout this last book.
Gradually Joslin and Gyll find clues to their quest. They go to
the same castle as Joslin's father and hear of his mission for
Owain. Then they hear from a monk that there is a shrine to St
Ursula on the Island of Anglesey. Joslin is sure that this is
where he will hear all the answers because his dying father had
managed to stammer out something about St Ursula.
As they travel on the sallow faced, pock marked man of the earlier
books finally catches up with Joslin. He is James Lamb and he
tells Joslin that he is his true father. Joslin is horrified at
this and refuses to believe him.
But later on Joslin begins to have doubts. The man he believes
to have been his father had married the Lady Rhiannon and Joslin
hopes he is their son. But at the same time Olwen, Rhiannon's
servant, was pregnant by James Lamb. One of the babies had died
but which one?
Surely Joslin is not the son of the evil, treacherous, murdering
James Lamb?
On the Isle of Anglesey all is resolved. There are more murders
but Joslin finally learns the truth and finds happiness at last.
This book has been well researched and many of the characters
and places really existed, Owain and James Lamb to name only two.
Political intrigue, murder, mystery and a touch of romance.
Comes with a historical note.
Teenage
This is from Scholastic's new Forget me Not series from their Point Romance imprint.
Alys Sherwood loves Tom Taverner but her stepfather says she is to marry Sir Henry Capshaw - fat, old, dirty, slobbering Sir Henry. When Alys refuses her stepfather imprisons her in a tower. With the help of one of the stable lads and her sister Cecily Alys escapes. Together the two sisters make their way to Tom's mother's castle.
They have many adventures on the way. They are attacked and robbed on the highway. After being cared for by nuns they help Dame Marjery to run a wealthy merchant's household in Bedford. This also involves nursing the children through a fever. Finally they complete the last stage of their journey to Yorkshire in the company of a band of strolling players. Eventually they find themselves safely at Broughton Hall under the protection of Lady Taverner. But Alys's troubles are not over yet. It is the time of the Wars of the Roses and Tom is away fighting for the Yorkist cause. Will he ever return or will he be killed in battle? As this book is a romance I think we all know the answer.
Within the framework of a romance this book contains much historical detail. The castles of the aristocracy are contrasted with the town houses of the merchant classes. And always the Wars of the Roses in the background.
This is a romance which is devoid of any explicit sex. Tom and Alys never get beyond some exceedingly chaste kisses. There is a good reason for this. Point Romance is very definitely a teenage imprint but I know for a fact that romances are read by girls as young as ten. So authors and editors have to be responsible and restrained.
This book is a good example of a historical romance. It should help to encourage girls to take an interest in history.
Teenage
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