After a steady diet of mysteries and romantic suspense novels I thought I needed something totally different.I've had this book in my TBR pile for more than a year. I had picked it up because I loved Katherine and I wanted to read more books by Seton. Also this book has a theme that fascinates me - reincarnation, karma, good and evil... - even if I'm not sure if I believe it or not. Maybe it was my feelings toward it that kept me from picking it up for so long but now I'm really happy that I did.The book starts in the sixties of the XX century. Celia Marsdon, a young american girl, married Richard a british gentleman and his fascinated by british history. They are having some problems as Richard's behaviour becomes strange. During a weekend house party Celia plans a visit to a nearby estate and feels strangely disturbed especially after hearing mention of a young woman being walled up alive 400 years previously. It's soon obvious that unknown forces are affecting both Celia and Richard who both display uncharacteristic behaviour who will lead them to a brutal scene that leaves Celia in a coma and Richard with a death wish.A interested and active participant in all this is Dr Akananda, a hindu medical doctor, friend of Celia's mother, who believes in reincarnation and how past lifes may affect your present one. He starts an unconventional healing treatment trying to save Celia by making her relieve her past.So a big part of this book, I should actually say the bigger part, is set in Tudor times during the reign of Henry VIII's children. As the drama unfolds we soon identify most of the present day characters in the historical ones.I think one of Seton's strong points is how well she makes characters come to life both by good characterisation and vivid settings' descriptions. After we jump to the past I was totally immersed in the reading and didn't want to have to interrupt it when real life called. I have only one thing to mention regarding the story in the past, I think we had a lot of build up and then the actuall tragic event happened too quickly and with little detail, I also realise though that to deal with it differently would probably evoke too much anguish in the reader so maybe that was a good thing. After the action returns to the XX century Celia is already recovering and it's ultimately her who takes Richard through the final steps of the healing process.Although we could consider this book an historical romance because there is a love story that takes centre stage, this is much more complex than just the love story. According to the Author's note in the beginning: The theme of this book is reincarnation, an attempt to show the interplay - the law of cause and effect, good and evil - for certain individual souls in two english periods.Also fascinating to me is to know that most characters and places truly existed.My book is a 1974 edition and I was unable to find the cover online. However the one shown here seems almost as old and that's why I chose it. An A read!
a vivid portrayal of Tudor England with all its drama, intrigue, and grisliness presented at the fore of the tumultuous story of passion doomed from the start, and reincarnated for redemption. Ms Seton has quite expertly maneuvered the love-hate relationship between the seemingly staid monk, Stephen, and the in-so-many-ways-as-yet naive and seductively beautiful, young Celia amidst the raging political and religious conflict following the death of Henry VIII. England finds itself in dangerous vacillation as the throne passes from the temperamental, protestant Edward, to the zealously catholic Mary, and then again to another protestant in the form of the wily Elizabeth--the people at turns changing their religion to suit the one reigning at court to save themselves from prosecution, and oftentimes, death.In the center of the story is Celia, the "past self" of another Celia introduced in the beginning of the novel, set in the 1960s. The tale unfolds with the chilling narration to a group of modern-day aristocrats of an unidentified woman mercilessly walled-up alive in one of England's oldest dwellings. What follows then is the account of a dangerously alluring girl named Celia whose life in 16th century England is paved foremost with unbridled lust for a Benedictine monk, combined with hardships, despair, terror, and even witchcraft in the furor that is the Tudor dynasty. Her blind and fervent desire for Stephen has landed her often in dire straits as she becomes "fair game" for men drunk in lust at the site of her beauty, that which ultimately brings forth her demise. I applaud Ms Seton as she brings closer to home the various political struggles that the court of England went through, the effects of which trickled down to the masses, in due course defining their way of life. Yet, she managed to stray away from lengthy (and what, to some, may become boring) descriptions of far-reaching political cause and effects, whilst heaping her prose with lively, often subtly menacing, sometimes edge-of-your-seat scenes. Her characters have depth and realistic emotional conflicts they themselves have had to go through--even so far as giving the English monarchs a different dimension precluded from the history books--without overshadowing the real premise of the story, and without veering away from the main character of Celia. I dont think she could have made her novel work if it was any shorter or longer--it had the perfect take off point to set down the events that led to the violent death of the young woman. Even her approach on reincarnation was believable, and was, in fact, instrumental in adding vibrancy to the deep-seated turmoil some of the characters felt and had to overcome.on par with philipa gregory, anya seton is definitely a master storyteller. Green Darkness is a wonderful historical fiction with a deft mix of drama, love, and suspense. a satisfying read...
What do You think about Green Darkness (2005)?
I first read this in 1973 when I was 14. I plucked it off the shelves of my parents' bookstore and quickly became absorbed and a little obsessed with it. I read it over and over. I ran across a copy in a used bookstore this week and sat down on a couch to spend an afternoon re-reading it. Apparently 40 years later just before my 54th birthday (in March), this book doesn't have quite the same appeal to me as it did when I was in my very early teens. That's a pity. The atmosphere and mood are still there and I am still fascinated by the battle between Catholicism and Protestantism that went on among Henry VIII and his successors (as an Atheist, I am very grateful to the founders of our own country that they specifically set this up as a secular nation with NO official religion)but I have lost that loving feeling for this book. Now Celia and Richard seem to annoy me and the hokey reincarnation theme which bugged me then is just unbearably idiotic now. There is also the issue of romance. There was a time when I was a lot younger when I devoured romantic suspense. I was a huge Velda Johnston, Phyllis Whitney, Phillippa Carr,etc fan and even read a bunch of the original Harlequin romances in the late 1960's/early 1970's but now I like more mystery and as little romance as we can get. However, for those who DO like historical romance and are interested in England during this historical period and don't mind the reincarnation bit, this might just be for you and you could do a lot worse.
—Terri Lynn
I was really looking forward to reading this book. Maybe that's why I was so disappointed with it. I truly liked the idea of the book (reincarnation and karma- two things I strongly believe in), which is the only thing that prevented me from rating it with one star. The characters were not real, I didn't felt as though I knew very much about how they were feeling and that some things were ridiculously elaborate (Julian is from Italy- we get it! I think that is mentioned at least 300 times. Yet his marriage gets one sentence when it happens and a paragraph later?? Would that not be slightly more important thank knowing that he's from Italy?)Worst of all, I felt like there was hardly much of a love story-- which is what the entire book is supposed to be based on (or that was my interpretation, at least.) It didn't seem to me that Celia and Stephen loved each other all that much (come on, she "forgot" about him SEVERAL times- you don't forget about the person you're truly in love with!) and Celia and Richard seemed to hate each other. They seemed to hardly know each other.Overall, very disappointing. If you want to read a real love story- go for Outlander by Diana Gabaldon instead.
—Lisa
1960s Great Britain back into mid-16th century England. reincarnation. undying loving. characters reborn but carrying the same damn baggage. all of that. for the most part this is an enjoyable novel about two lovers reborn who knows how many times, destined for tragic ends until they are able to sort out all of their issues. I loved the opening chapters: cosmopolitan aristocrats lounging around the pool, touring historical sites with rolled eyes, making loaded comments to each other during a dinner party... it was all so fun and chic. I should read more 'contemporary' novels written during that era featuring similar characters. what a droll life! i also enjoyed the remaining nine-tenths of the book set during the reigns of Edward VI, Lady Jane, Bloody Mary, and Elizabeth the Great. Seton clearly spent a lot of time researching the book, and it shows. the details are amazing but never overwhelm the story. and she does more than show off her extensive research - the novel is written by a person with such a strong feeling for the era that I eventually felt like I was living there as well. I love that kind of immersive experience, a world that feels real. all of the characters felt real as well - even major figures like Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth who appear only briefly.the moments when the characters experience what their future lives hold in store for them were great, but even better were the eerie moments when they glimpse their past lives. Seton doesn't explore those past lives, pre-16th century, so I can only imagine what they were like based on those very brief and haunting bits of imagery. tragedy on a Grecian isle? maybe.my friend Richard criticizes the book for its gay character (reincarnated as well), but honestly I don't see a problem. I think Seton treated the 16th century version very fairly and sympathetically. his modern incarnation is dismissed as a "queer" by other characters, but that clearly is not Seton - it's her characters and the era itself.the villainess is brilliantly characterized. the petty, vindictive motivations. the weird rages during her many times of drunkenness. those dead black eyes.the big problem with the novel is in the characterization of its male lead. the protagonist Celia is very well done, three-dimensional and true to the era, frustrating and surprising, in general fairly passive but also often strong, or wayward, or defiant, or idiosyncratic. the sequence when she gives up on God was impressive. all in all, a richly developed character. her lover - not so much. well, he's well-developed but he's just such a pain in the ass. Stephen remains an obstinate, uptight, unappealing prude in each incarnation and is not only utterly unsympathetic but is genuinely a drag to have to read about. he's the only thing that brings this novel down. ugh.but all in a all, a good book and well worth reading for fans of historical melodramas.
—mark monday
