RA Crossroads: Mystery and History Summer Reads
Neal Wyatt Jun 2, 2010Begin:
Franklin. Ariana. Mistress of the Art of Death. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA). 2008. 432p. ISBN 978-0-425-21925-6. pap. $15.
Into England, during the age of Henry II and the Crusades, comes a woman who does not fit in, Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno. Adelia is a forensics expert, a mistress of the art of death, more bound to science than religion, freer in her actions and agency than most women of the time. She comes to Cambridge upon the hire of the King of Sicily and in service to Henry II and find that the city is besieged. Someone is killing children, and the Jewish community is blamed. Adelia digs into the mind of a twisted child killer and into the fens of Cambridge where small bodies lay, the fear-bound town with its conflicts of religion, wealth, and values, and the politics of the local priories. Cleverly written in a lyrical and smart style, this mystery is deftly plotted, creates a fully realized world, and introduces deeply fascinating characters. Franklin followed this first entry with The Serpent's Tale, Grave Goods, and A Murderous Procession (released this April).
Read-Alikes:
Peters, Ellis. A Morbid Taste for Bones. Mysterious. 1994. 208p. ISBN 978-0-446-40015-2. pap. $6.99.
A great next set of historical whodunits are Peters's Brother Cadfael books. The 20-plus titles in the medieval mystery series share with Franklin a strong sense of place and time, great puzzle mysteries with plenty of tension, strong writing, and well-developed characters that hold reader attention through the extensive series. In this first entry readers meet Cadfael, the canny yet gentle monk who resides in the Benedictine Monastery of Shrewsbury. Cadfael journeys to Wales with the ambitious Prior Roberts to claim the bones of a saint-from a village unwilling to lose their relic. When the leader of the village resistance is murdered, Cadfael must untangle the knots and trap a killer, all the while putting much of the village to rights.
Tremayne, Peter. Absolution by Murder. Penguin. 1997. 272p. ISBN 978-0-451-19299-8. pap. $6.99.
Readers who were drawn to the power of Adelia might find the Sister Fidelma books a good series to try next. Fidelma, a Celtic nun authorized to practice law, is also a powerful and brilliant woman with a clever mind and a strong sense of her own value and purpose. Set in seventh-century Ireland against a backdrop of religious conflict, the books flirt with a romantic subplot, a feature Franklin similarly develops. When the Celtic and Roman branches of Christianity are pitted against one another and the Abbess of Kildare is murdered, Fidelma is asked to investigate, along with Brother Eadulf, an advocate of the Roman branch. Franklin fans will appreciate the fine writing in this series as well as the spot-on evocation of time and place. Readers will wish for a time machine so Fidelma and Adelia could meet and compare notes.
Downie, Ruth. Medicus. Bloomsbury. 2008. 416p. ISBN 978-1-59691-427-8. pap. $14.95.
Another doctor who might capture Franklin fans is Gaius Petrius Ruso, a physician attached to the Roman legion in Britain. Downie shares with Franklin a focus on sharp writing, fully detailed characters, a strong sense of time and place, and a romantic subplot. In the opening series title, Ruso is trying to earn money and write a first-aid guide in hopes of financially recovering from his recent divorce. On top of his sideline efforts to increase his cash flow, Ruso practices medicine in a setting not focused on care-to his eternal disgust. The army is also not noted for its attention to the locals, and when young women start dying, only Ruso seems to care. He begins investigating but finds that looking into murder is a risky and costly business.
Read-Arounds:
Warren, W.L. Henry II. Univ. of California. 1977. 350p. ISBN 978-0-520-03494-5. $25.95.
King Henry II is a beguiling character in all of Franklin's books. If she has gotten readers hooked on Henry, they should turn to this classic biography. It traces his life and actions as king, including his tragic confrontation with Thomas Becket and his ongoing troubles with his wife, Eleanor. Warren moves beyond these well-known aspects of Henry's reign to focus on his entire life and times, with a particular focus on church and state as well as the power of medieval kings.
Penman, Sharon Kay. When Christ and His Saints Slept. Ballantine. 1996. 768p. ISBN 978-0-345-39668-6. pap. $16.
Readers might also want to consider meeting Henry via historical fiction. If so, there is no better place to start than the "Plantagenet Trilogy" (Time and Chance; The Devil's Brood). The books are lush, historically detailed, and vividly set, making Henry and his world come alive. In the first book Penman develops the backdrop to Henry's ascension. Maude (Henry I's daughter) and Stephen (the son of William I) battle for the kingdom, throwing the country into what amounted to civil war. This rubble of war eventually vaulted Henry Plantagenet to the throne.
Listen-Alikes:
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Tantor Media. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4001-4550-8. $55.99.
If Adelia gets your readers interested in early forensics, consider this crisp investigation of the deadly sciences in the 1920s. It makes for addictive listening as narrator Coleen Marlo reads Deborah Blum's perfectly wrought history of Dr. Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, the first trained chief medical examiner and toxicologist in New York City. Like Adelia, these early medical detectives figure out how death overcomes. Marlo adds to the pleasure of the text with a reading that perfectly matches the pacing of the history, offers precise enunciations, and delivers it all with a fabulous tone that heightens the tension and the creep factor beautifully.
Watch-Alikes:
Becket. MPI Home Video. 2007. $24.98.
Once you enter Henry II's world you enter Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket's. Henry and Becket crossed swords over the rights of the Church and presumptions of power, eventually leading to Becket's assignation. Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole offer Academy Award-nominated performances in this film that brings their turbulent relationship to life. Franklin's book starts after Becket's murder-in fact it begins with pilgrims returning from Canterbury, wearing tokens of Saint Thomas on their clothes. Throughout the book Franklin makes readers aware of how Becket's death shaped Henry's behavior, and this movie adds more dimension to that element of mystery.
The Lion in Winter. MGM. 2001. $14.98.
Henry II also is a matched pair with Eleanor of Aquitaine, his powerful and troublesome wife. In this film Henry and Eleanor meet on Christmas Eve in an attempt to reach detente over the state of the throne. Henry has kept Eleanor locked up ever since she raised an army against him. Adding to the troubles are their three sons, each more grasping than the next, who want to take over. Katharine Hepburn is razor sharp and sparkling as Eleanor, and Peter O'Toole, reprising his earlier turn at Henry, is wicked and kingly. As Henry and Eleanor trade barbs and match wits, the King of France plots to take the English throne. Happy Christmas to all.
