Walters writing is gripping, imaginative, descriptive and fraught with emotion. She weaves so perfect an image that the reader is immersed in the novel, surrounded by death and fear, following along with these Saxon serfs determined to survive what appears to be the wrath of God. Lady Anne is such an intriguing and likable character. Having been raised in a nunnery, then married to a cruel Lord, she is strong, determined, smart, sweet and adventurous. She dreams of more for herself, her daughter and her servants, willing to use the plague to accomplish this goal. She has been teaching the serfs to read and write, allowing them to think outside of their roles, encouraging intelligence and independence. She is also the reason the plague excludes their Demesne; she has taught the serfs good hygiene, cleanliness of domicile (latrines dug outside and away from the dwellings, pests and rodents to be eradicated), and the necessity of removing those sick from the general population. I was on her side immediately, desperate for her to find freedom for herself and her friends, from the plague and from serfdom. Lady Anne has assistance in two trusted friends. A bastard son, Thaddeus Thurkell, who was continuously beaten by his father as a child, for the possibility of being another man's son. He is smart, strong and technically a free man, with no oaths of fealty ever having been given. He cares deeply for Lady Anne and risks his life for those of the Demesne, leading a team of young men out to find food and word of what is going on in the rest of England. The other friend is Gyles Startout, a serf who was promoted to guard on her orders, for reasons later revealed. He is wise, a father figure to Lady Anne, and a leader to the people of the Demesne. Each character is well crafted, easy to understand and sympathize with; everyone, that is, except the cunning Norman steward, Hugh de Courtesmain, and Lady Eleanor, Lady Anne's daughter. Hugh, a God fearing man, took no notice of Lady Anne until after the plague hit and she began to show her intelligence, then he works behind the scenes to ingratiate himself to everyone, to make a place for himself, to find out secrets he can later hold over others. He is conniving and untrustworthy, but he is understandable in his choices, for his fear of leaving wars with his fear of staying. Lady Eleanor behaves exactly like her father, feeling she is above others, with little care for the lives of those who serve her. Her character is easily detestable, but as the story progresses she begins to gain sympathy from the mere fact it is obvious she does not know any better and is going insane. By the end of the novel, she is the most tormented soul trapped behind the walls of the Demesne. The descriptions of the plague make the skin crawl. So adept is Walters at explaining the horrors of this unknown sickness. The vulnerability of catching it, or of being spared and then subjected to what comes after most of the population has been laid to waste. There is unrest, no rule, no law; therefore, those willing to take advantage of such a bleak situation run rampant. For untrained serfs, fighting men or theives could mean the end of the precious peace they have attained. Loose dogs can tear a person to pieces out of hunger, fetid bodies pile within villages (not one left to bury them), children left homeless (at the mercy of predators), and women and girls are taken by men without conscience. At times, this horrid, unimaginable death by the plague seems a mercy, compared to what those who travel to find help encounter on the plague roads. I am excited for the second installment in this series. Wondering how Lady Anne, Lady Eleanor, Thaddeus, slippery Hugh, and Gyles will fair once the possibility of catching the sickness has passed and they must wade into this newly formed England. I was sent this advanced reader's copy by HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.
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