I enjoyed this book as from the start it draws you into the plot, the characters and their lives and backstories and the history of the period. All of this while maintaining a fast pace overlain with the constant threat of how the characters are going to react top and possibly survive the machinations of both the Black Death and the actions of other survivors.
Lady Anne quickly assumes the role of the leader of the demesne after the death of her husband and it becomes quickly apparent that she has been the hand behind the throne in the way that she has sought to run the demesne in an enlightened manner without the knowledge of her dim witted husband. Lady Anne has educated the serfs to the extent that many can read and write and that they have chosen to restrict the number of children that they produce in order to have healthier children. Much of the plot surrounds the interaction between her and the leading serfs particularly when she makes a serf her steward much to the annoyance of the existing Norman steward and her own daughter.
There are many themes in this novel: knowledge versus ignorance; established order versus equality; man versus nature; good versus evil; hope versus despair and sanity versus madness. The reader is drawn into each of these through the actions and reactions of the characters.
The character of Lady Anne's daughter Eleanor is well crafted as is the complexity of both their relationship and Eleanor's character failings which play a major role in the story.
This novel has clearly been well researched as is apparent from the detailed descriptions of local folklore and beliefs and also the descriptions of the contrasting lives of the serfs and the nobility. It is also clear that the role of religion and the role of the priesthood has been researched in terms of good and ill. Added to this is the acknowledgement that priest's are subject to the same human frailties as everyone else.
I really enjoyed this book and would have given it four stars but for the fact that I felt slightly cheated by the ending. However this is offset by the possibility that a further novel may follow that would allow unresolved issues to be resolved.
Lady Anne quickly assumes the role of the leader of the demesne after the death of her husband and it becomes quickly apparent that she has been the hand behind the throne in the way that she has sought to run the demesne in an enlightened manner without the knowledge of her dim witted husband. Lady Anne has educated the serfs to the extent that many can read and write and that they have chosen to restrict the number of children that they produce in order to have healthier children. Much of the plot surrounds the interaction between her and the leading serfs particularly when she makes a serf her steward much to the annoyance of the existing Norman steward and her own daughter.
There are many themes in this novel: knowledge versus ignorance; established order versus equality; man versus nature; good versus evil; hope versus despair and sanity versus madness. The reader is drawn into each of these through the actions and reactions of the characters.
The character of Lady Anne's daughter Eleanor is well crafted as is the complexity of both their relationship and Eleanor's character failings which play a major role in the story.
This novel has clearly been well researched as is apparent from the detailed descriptions of local folklore and beliefs and also the descriptions of the contrasting lives of the serfs and the nobility. It is also clear that the role of religion and the role of the priesthood has been researched in terms of good and ill. Added to this is the acknowledgement that priest's are subject to the same human frailties as everyone else.
I really enjoyed this book and would have given it four stars but for the fact that I felt slightly cheated by the ending. However this is offset by the possibility that a further novel may follow that would allow unresolved issues to be resolved.