Tag: 12th century

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Review: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Review of The Pillars of the Earth, an epic historical fiction novel set in 12th century England by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett cover
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Synopsis

When the cathedral at Kingsbridge burns down, the newly appointed prior hires Tom Builder to manage the rebuild. In order to pay for the new cathedral, Prior Philip asks King Stephen for the rights to take stone from a nearby quarry and wood from a local forest. This puts him at odds with Bishop Waleran, who wants the wealth now owned by the priory for his own projects.

In the secular world, England is embroiled in a civil war over who the crown rightfully belongs to. Small-time knight Percy Hamleigh hears that the Earl of Shiring is conspiring against King Stephen and attacks the Earl’s castle. Percy’s son (William) is bitter over the Earl’s daughter (Aliena) breaking their betrothal and delights in leaving her destitute.

Kingsbridge prospers under Prior Philip’s capable leadership. Tom Builder’s family prospers as the cathedral grows. Aliena also prospers, as she has become a successful wool merchant and singlehandedly funded her brother’s goal of retaking the earldom. This angers William, who tries several times to destroy the town and steal the income for his own lands.

Review

The Pillars of the Earth has a slow start. It promises to be a book about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. However, I was disappointed by the first couple of hundred pages as there was no cathedral and it wasn’t even set in Kingsbridge. Even once the story arrives in Kingsbridge, there seems to be no need to build a cathedral.

I enjoyed the ongoing conflicts between Prior Philip and Bishop Waleran, and between the Hamleighs and Aliena. They have such ‘on-sight’ rivalries that affected their actions (and much of the story). I was particularly amused by the way these rivalries mirrored the conflict between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda in the 12th century.

I also enjoyed how the relationships between the characters change over time. For example, when Aliena and Prior Philip first meet, Philip helps Aliena and they become good friends. Then Philip prevents Aliena and Jack from living together, and their relationship sours. This seems more like real life than the always consistent relationships I’m used to seeing in novels.

I loved how many various threads there are to this story. There’s the tale of Jonathan being abandoned by his family and raised by the monks. I enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Jack Shareburg and why. Then there’s the story of the earldom of Shiring and the competition between Aliena’s family and the Hamleighs.

Occasionally, one of the characters will use a word that doesn’t sound right in the historical setting. I understand that no one spoke modern English in the 12th century, but some words just don’t fit. I would give some examples, but they’re too crude for my liking.

Guided by a Stone-Mason (Complementary reading)

While reading The Pillars of the Earth, I kept a book called’ Guided by a Stone-Mason: The Cathedrals, Abbeys and Churches of Britain Unveiled’ by Thomas Maude close at hand.

I found it difficult to picture where different parts of the cathedral were located, and the technical terms were difficult to follow. Guided by a Stone-Mason helped me with this. It also has information on other aspects of cathedral building (like types of stone) if you’re interested.

Conclusion

Have you read The Pillars of the Earth? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.

If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!) or Waterstones (free delivery on UK orders over £25, will ship internationally).

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Chronicles of Brother Cadfael

Medieval mysteries set in 12th century England by Ellis Peters

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael the first omnibus cover

Books

  • A Morbid Taste for Bones
  • One Corpse Too Many
  • Monk’s Hood
  • St. Peter’s Fair
  • The Leper of Saint Giles
  • The Virgin in the Ice
  • The Sanctuary Sparrow
  • The Devil’s Novice
  • Dead Man’s Ransom
  • The Pilgrim of Hate
  • An Excellent Mystery
  • The Raven in the Foregate
  • The Rose Rent
  • The Hermit of Eyton Forest
  • A Rare Benedictine
  • The Confession of Brother Haluin
  • The Heretic’s Apprentice
  • The Potter’s Field
  • The Sumer of the Danes
  • The Holy Thief
  • Brother Cadfael’s Penance

Synopsis

After a life on crusade, Brother Cadfael has retired to the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul outside Shrewsbury. His days are mostly spent working in the garden and creating medicines for the local community. However, his worldly experience makes him perfect for solving any mysteries that come his way.

These mysteries sometimes take Brother Cadfael away from Shrewsbury and the monastery. Occasionally, he is called to his native Wales. Always, he uncovers the truth and does what he can to see the right thing done.

Review

One of my favourite TV shows at the moment is Death in Paradise. I like it, partially, because despite the fact that it’s a murder mystery, the overall feeling is upbeat with the occasional bit of humour. The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael are the same. The writing is light and easy even as it deals with death and murder.

I like how the books don’t glorify the violence that must occur in murder mysteries and books set in this rather violent period of English history. They don’t go into detail on the gore-y bits and the language is kept clean.

Speaking of language, the writing style is easy to read. While it’s obviously not the same English that was spoken during the 12th century, the language doesn’t feel historically out of place – there’s no modern slang, euphemisms, or sayings. Also, the pacing is generally unrushed, which feels suitable to the historical setting, but doesn’t drag.

While the books are set in a particular historical period, the reader doesn’t have to know anything about history. However, Ellis Peters (the author) still pays attention to historical details, particularly clothing and the way things are run.

I also like how much variety there is between the different mysteries. Victims are murdered in various ways: strangulation, poisoning, stabbing. Then there’s the occasional mysteries that look like but aren’t murders. So much variety!

Have you read this series? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.

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Review: Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick

Review of Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick, historical fiction based on the life of Henry I’s daughter, Matilda, set in 12th century England and France.

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (review by Travelling Book Nerd)
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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full disclosure for further information.

Synopsis

Following the death of her husband, Empress Matilda returns to her father’s court in England. As he has no surviving legitimate sons, King Henry is making plans and back-up plans for the succession. Part of these plans involve marrying Matilda to Geoffrey, Count of Angou. Matilda is almost twice Geoffrey’s age and sees him as little more than an insolent puppy.

Then Henry dies. Matilda’s cousin Stephen swoops in to take her father’s crown before her supporters can act. United by the need to secure their sons’ futures, Matilda campaigns for England while Geoffrey fights in Normandy. Will they succeed? Can Matilda win back the crown her father promised her?

Review

Of course, anyone who knows the least bit of Medieval English history knows how the story ends. Stephen holds on to the crown until his death, at which point Matilda’s son Henry becomes king. I liked how the author ended the book where she did, at the point where Matilda leaves England and her son comes to the fore of the story.

I like how Lady of the English shows Matilda in a different light to how she is usually seen. Historically, Matilda is thought of as proud, demanding, and overbearing. Book-Matilda is brave, intelligent, and frustrated at not being taken seriously just because she’s a woman. This makes her fascinating and likeable.

She looked round at the menfolk of her family and knew they would never understand, much less want to do so. That her place was above theirs, that she was the only one born of a ruling king and queen, was cause for envy, not worship. Had she been male, she could have led the discussion about to begin without a second thought. As it was, although she was a figurehead, they did not expect her to contribute to the dialogue, any more than they expected her to gird on a sword and don a mail shirt. Geoffrey was here with his army, amply fortified by the two thousand marks Stephen had given to him the previous year. He wanted to talk tactics with Robert, not her.

The author, Elizabeth Chadwick, does a great job of plausibly filling the gaps in the historical record. She really transported me into the 12th century. I appreciated how well she stuck to historical fact; for example, there is an opportunity to sensationalise the story with a possible affair between Matilda and one of her supporters, but the evidence is sketchy and she instead shows Matilda as devoted to God and her family. The book seems really well researched, though I’m not so sure about her use of akashic records.

The ending had me crying my eyes out (this seems to happen a lot these days). For so long, Adeliza had longed for children and once she finally had a family, she had very little time with them before she became unwell and had to leave. It is so sad.

Conclusion

Have you read Lady of the English? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.

If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!).

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Review: One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters

Review of One Corpse Too Many, the second Chronicle of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters, a mystery set in 12th century England.

One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters cover
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This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full disclosure for further information.

Synopsis

Following the 1138 Siege of Shrewsbury, 94 people are executed. Brother Cadfael volunteers to clean and dispose of the bodies. Counting them, Cadfael notices that there are 95 bodies. He identifies the extra corpse and is convinced that he must find the killer.

His breakthrough comes when his new helper finds the dead man’s friend lying behind some bushes, badly wounded. Together, the three of them work to gather evidence and Cadfael finds who was behind the attack, and why they attacked.

Review

I really enjoyed One Corpse Too Many. It has a couple of romantic sub-plots, lots of lively intrigue, and interesting characters. The overall story is well constructed. I love the way this author writes; the language feels like it fits the historical setting and it doesn’t linger on the gore-y bits.

One Corpse Too Many was the first of the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael that I read and even though it’s technically the second book in the series, it’s a great starting point. It’s the book that introduces Hugh Beringar; even though Hugh becomes important in the rest of the series, it’s not obvious in this book.

The evidence was attained a bit too conveniently. Cadfael seems to stumble across much of the evidence, especially the last piece that proves who the murderer is, accidentally. Even once he knows who the murderer is, the murderer is only convicted through trial by combat. Granted, it took intelligence to put all the pieces together.

Cadfael was walking back to the hall when his eye fell upon a lad of about twelve, who was sitting in the torchlight on the inner side of the gate house, his back comfortably against the wall, carving his meat into small pieces with a narrow-bladed knife. Cadfael had seen him earlier, in the kitchen, gutting fish with the same knife, but he had not seen the haft of it, and would not have seen it now if the boy had not laid it down beside him on the ground while he ate.

Cadfael halted and gazed, motionless. It was no kitchen knife, but a well-made dagger, and its hilt was a slender shaft of silver, rounded to the hand, showing delicate lines of filigree-work, and glowing round the collar of the blade with small stones. The hilt ended in a twist of silver broken off short. It was hard to believe, but impossible not to believe. Perhaps thought really is prayer.

I liked how Ellis Peters respects both sides of the ongoing war. She doesn’t favour either Stephen or Maud (Matilda) over the other. In fact, many of the characters seem unconcerned about who sits on the throne and it makes no difference to the story.

Conclusion

Have you read One Corpse Too Many? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.

If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!).

Want to get more from your reading? Get my free book review template here.

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