Mistress Of The Art Of Death (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
This book was a group read on LibraryThing...The Highly Rated Book Group sponsored it, with the game-though-gravid Vintage_Books leading us through some very trenchant questions about our impressions of both the book and the world it's set in...and thank goodness for that! It's a lot more fun to read a book in a group of like-minded people, ones who read on multiple levels like our brethren and sistern here on this site.Adelia Vesuvia, our sleuth, is a forensic physician in a time when I didn't know such existed. The twelfth century is a time period I find extremely fascinating. I've read a fair bit about this time, focusing on English and French history and the Crusades (those horrific events!); Catholic Church history at this time, when the schism from Eastern Orthodoxy was new and the invention of religious primacy in matters of the state was being consolidated, is also an interest of mine. This book's evocation of that time is appealing to me precisely because it's relatively new to my somewhat jaded sensibilities. Salerno as the primary focus of Western medicine is a well-trodden path; the fact that Salernitan physicians could be women is not well-trodden, and the simple IDEA of forensics in this time...! Irresistable pulls for me, the historian-who-hated-school.So I was disposed from the giddy-up to like the book. The author's execution was the primary unknown quantity for me. I am thrilled and delighted with the execution because the characters, while displaying anachronistic ideas and ideals, are quite believably constructed and supplied with plausible motivations for their divergent social attitudes. I can willingly suspend my disbelief at every turn where the story requires me to do so. That's very high praise from me!Characterization, in a series mystery, is make-or-break. Do I, the reader, like this group of people enough to continue inviting them out to dinner? (The price of a hardcover book being equivalent to the price of an entree at a tablecloth restaurant; the trade paper to an entree at Applebee's or TGIFriday's; the rack-size to a value meal at the local McDonald's; which restaurant am I willing to take these characters to?) The answer, while unique to each individual, is the source of the publisher's and author's income. It behooves all parties to the preparation and publication of a mystery to consider this. The good people at Putnam, now a tentacle of the Penguin empire, have done a very very good job of making this assessment and bringing a solid, interesting cast of regulars to my table at Le Cirque.Sir Rowley, Adelia Vesuvia's English suitor, is a fine example. He's three dimensional in his pursuit of her, not simply presented as out to get some one thing; I think of some of the characters in Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries as contrasts to this quality of characterization. We're given to understand that Sir Rowley has goals and ambitions that Adelia Vesuvia can both forward and threaten in equal measure. His ultimate place in her life, and her in his, isn't a foregone conclusion. Both characters are presented as struggling with what the other means to them on multiple planes. That's just plain good storytelling. It will keep me buying hardcovers as long as Franklin keeps doing it.The minor characters, eg Gyltha the housekeeper and Mansur the Moor, are deftly drawn as well. They don't, in contrast to many series mysteries, come across as convenient mouth-pieces for the author's needed plot developments. (*cough*PhryneFisher'sDot*cough*)Finally, the integration of real political developments like Henry II's move to take control of the Church's legal framework in his empire, is seamless enough to take a moment to recall as factual instead of created. It's necessary to move this plot forward. But it's also the historical reality. Well done, madam! Seldom achieved in fiction, still less the less-respected "genre" fiction that mysteries are published as.This is a four-and-a-half star recommended book. Sally forth and procure it from yon bookery.
This historical mystery set in Henry II's England was the gift of a friend. Thank you, Kandice, you chose well. The central figure in the novel, Adelia Aguilar of Salerno, is a "Mistress of the Art of Death"--the closest thing the middle ages had to a medical examiner. And as unlikely as it might seem, a female doctor like Adelia is not a politically correct anachronism, was not unique--although she comes from perhaps the only place in the world that could have produced her. For from the 11th to the 13th Century the Schola Medica Salernitana in Salerno was the most celebrated center of medical learning in the Western world--and it taught and graduated both men and women. So Adelia isn't made of whole cloth. Yes, there were and are strong women in every age and position in society. As one friend put it, making them credible is all a matter of the right context--and I think Franklin gives her that. The book is a great blend of historical fiction, mystery and romance. I think it's strongest in the first category though. The romance and mystery is satisfying enough, but I don't think by themselves would make me want to read beyond the first book. I didn't think the romance was really developed enough. But it at least is no "insta-romance" and after all it's not the book's focus. In terms of the mystery--well, I think the main culprit was far too obvious, far too early on. Even if there was one surprising aspect to the mystery, and one that did fit the clues. The style is strong in some respects. My one complaint was the head-hopping. This isn't really omniscient--it doesn't have the overarching narrative structure and voice for that--it just comes across as sloppy third person limited, and if the story weren't strong in other ways, that might be a dealbreaker. But I grew very fond of the characters in the course of the book, and Franklin's way with the setting was beguiling. She's great at bringing the middle ages to life in all its misogynistic, anti-Semitic, superstitious glory--but showing some of the complexity that makes it perhaps not so easy to put down as simply barbarous, with the glints of humanity here and there. Maybe at that not so different from our own age in that respect.Franklin's medieval England is as credible, and just as involving, as Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series of mysteries. This is a series too, and I'm eager to spend more time in this world. Although, alas, it will be a brief tour. There are only four books, and since Franklin died in 2011, there will be no more of them.
What do You think about Mistress Of The Art Of Death (2007)?
I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm not normally a big fan of mysteries but since this book seemed so different I gave it a shot. First of all I was surprisingly pleased about the lack of descriptions of the people in the book. While there were a few adjectives here or there, you (as a reader) weren't bombarded with a complete description of every character from the tops of their heads to their toes. I was delighted to be able to use my imagination for a change. I think the only thing I knew of the main character was that she was short, blond haired, and had horrible fashion sense. Same with the other characters, you had a basic sense of hair color, height and body shape. It was fun :) Unfortunately there has been a tendency, especially with romance novels, to completely describe every stitch of clothing a character was wearing while (in my opinion) just saying that someone was well dressed would have been a suitable alternative. I just don't feel that I need a history of clothing every time I pick up a book.I also enjoyed the depth of the characters. While I didn't feel like I understood the heart and soul of each person, I felt that the thoughts and emotions of each character were perfectly given for each moment in the book. I never felt like I was guessing. I also liked how the main character stayed true throughout the book, sometimes authors like to change a character midway through a book just for a plot twist. That tends to bug me, makes me feel like I've been tricked with a bait and switch.The one thing that disappointed me about this book is that the last tiny bit of the book seemed rushed. Everything was tidied up and seemed to leave no chance of a sequel to the story (which I found out later that there is a second book). All in all though I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a nice solid book to read. The story was good, the characters interesting and the setting unique. In the mean time if you enjoy this book and would like something similar, you might try a book called Elegant Witch by Robert Neill (the English version is called Mist over Pendle). It's an older book-but of similar vein.
—Coffcat
Loved this book!I'd looked at it a couple of times and thought it wasn't a book for me. It's a mystery, which I always like, but a woman doctor in the 12th century in England seemed not my sort of thing. But it was! It was totally my thing. It has lush writing and terrific interesting characters and an off-beat romance. The mystery wasn't terribly mysterious, but it was a pleasure getting there. The characters are well-drawn and sympathetic and the author takes her time introducing them and showing us their intelligence and complexity. Adelia, who has been trained as a doctor in Salerno, Italy has been sent by the King of Sicily to England to help King Henry the 2nd discover who has been killing the children of Cambridge. The Jews in the town have been accused of the murders, even though the murders have continued after the Jews take refuge in the sheriff's castle. Henry wants the murders stopped, the real murderer found and the Jews freed so they can continue to pay large amounts of money into his coffers. Adelia is smart and cranky and dedicated. She travels with her manservant, Mansur and Simon of Naples, who I think is supposed to be a mediator, but is actually a spy. To avoid accusations of witchcraft, Adelia pretends that she is merely an assistant to Mansur and that he is actually the doctor. There are priors, prioresses, monks, nuns, Fenlanders, Jews, crusaders, kings, tax collectors and stinky dogs.
—Deborah Coates
The story was slow getting started and excruciatingly slow wrapping up. However, the middle 250 pages or so engaged me in a fun and absorbing Medieval mystery. Another reviewer had said that this book is like CSI for the Middle Ages, and I tend to agree. The general plot was episodic, with quick witty dialogue by a sassy female detective, and a gushy romance story laced in between. Much research went into this novel, creating a detailed history lesson about forensic science, the Crusades, and th
—Sarah
