It is May of 1272, and Prioress Eleanor, recovering from a near-fatal winter fever, returns to Amesbury Priory to visit her aunt in time for the Feast of Saint Melor. Although Eleanor hopes to regain her strength in the midst of pleasant childhood memories, Death reveals a most troublesome fondne...
Sorrow Without End, by Priscilla Royal, is a bit different from her first two books. It has its usual cast, Prior Eleanor, Sister Anne, Crowner Ralf (Sister Anne’s former husband) and Brother Thomas. This latest addition to a wonderful and growing series takes on the horror that war, murder and i...
A nun and a monk defy death and dishonor at her family's Welsh fortress...In the winter of 1271, Death stalks the corridors of Wynethorpe Castle on the Welsh border. When the Grim Reaper touches the beloved grandson of the castle lord, Baron Adam sends for his daughter, Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal...
Still on my medieval history binge, this book, by Priscilla Royal was recommended to me by a friend. The short novel set in 1270, tells the story of Sister Eleanor, the newly appointed prioress of a monastery that houses both monks and nuns in one of the only orders that allowed such co-mingling ...
Where shafts of light struck the ground, the damp stones glistened, and the air was rife with the stench of must. A few pilgrims wandered in, but they spent little time on their knees before the small box containing the Virgin’s hair. Reverence was sincere but they quickly...
“I never would have thought such a thing.” Ralf stared at the rushes on the floor. Although no one could read his expression, his shoulders were rounded as if heavy melancholy had weighed them down. “Nor do I now,” Sister Anne replied. “Signy may ha...
Even in these shadows, his head throbbed after that night of drinking. If someone offered to chop off the offending part, he might have considered the proposition. Only the state of his soul would have stopped him, a concern that rarely troubled the sheriff except when he was reminded of death. S...
The door fell shut behind her with a thud. Folding his arms, Hugh turned to the monk. “I have the right to know what you learned from Baron Herbert,” he snarled. “Any new information might help capture a killer. Your willful delay of this hunt is reprehensible.” He rudely ...
I doubt Hilda will ever again greet fellow mortals on this earth.” Mistress Maud stood back from the pallet where the cook lay, her breath almost imperceptible. Looking down at the body, which had quickly become little more than a frail mortal shell eager to release a stru...
“I have sinned, my lady. I have been so wicked that I contaminate all within the priory. Indeed, I have dishonored you by failing to confess what I have done and should have left your service…”“You shall not leave my side until you marry,” Eleanor replied, then gestured at the abandoned mazer on ...
Bees hummed love songs to the flowers. A gentle breeze caressed her cheek. In the distance, a seagull called out its pride in the successful hunt for food. Even the autumn sun gave what vigor it had left to warm her. This peace should have cheered and strengthened. Instead...