I enjoyed this visit to 16th century Ireland and particularly appreciated the comparison between the English system of guilt & punishment and the Irish system of restorative justice, although if you were rich you could probably get through the Irish system as easily as through the English one where rank most definitely had its privilege. The idea of there being 7 types of marriage would work where communities are reasonably small and people know or at least know of most people so they wouldn't be secret arrangements. I doubt the church thought favourably about it though. It's hard to tell from this book because the one priest we meet is not a positive example.Mara, the lady judge of the title, has a number of years' experience at evaluating witnesses' evidence and is not easily taken in, but her hands-on approach is certainly different from most modern systems. She is also the head of her own law school where (mostly)boys come very young and are given the laws to memorize and debate their meaning. Mara was a fully qualified judge before she was 21 and had already been married and divorced by that time. It is a different world but MS Harrison gives us the background quite painlessly and even gives us snippets of law in the chapter heads. The community is complex, if small, and you can see how easy it is to distrust and reject neighbours who are, as the Newfoundlanders say, "from away". They're not our people so if we can say they are at fault, good, because then we don't have to look closely at our own.Some of the people have been to England or seen English law in Dublin. There is a definite fear as to what will happen if young Henry VIII ("Isn't it funny how they number their kings, as if they've no imagination.")decides he needs to stretch his strength in war. They just have to keep their heads down and hope his attention is drawn elsewhere.What is the book about? Oh, right! One of Mara's scholars, her assistant, is found dead, "unlawfully killed", after the Bealtain fire celebration and the knife in his throat belongs to one of the younger boys, although no one seriously thinks he did it. As Mara digs into the case she finds the young man had not been endearing himself to te community and that makes it difficult to get to the heart of the murder. It shouldn't be too hard to get a confession because the main penalty was the paying of the man's honour price, which varies with the person's status, but no one seems ready to admit to the act. The plot flows well and logically and I look forward to reading more in this series.
If you happen to be a fan of Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma mysteries, you will likely enjoy this series. Both deal with formidable Irish ladies who are trained in the Irish Brehon laws. While the Sister Fidelma books take place in the seventh century, at a time when the Irish Celtic church was beginning to go head to head with the Roman church, this series is set just after Henry the Eighth has become king of England. The Irish Church has become firmly absorbed by the Roman, and now the Irish law system is under attack by the English, who consider them barbaric. (This from a law system that hangs children for stealing a loaf of bread.) The Brehon laws are based on repentance and restitution, rather than the English law which sees justice as simply revengeful punishment.Mara is a Brehon, a judge, of the Burren, a rather remote and austerely beautiful part of Ireland. She not only serves as the first, final, and only word on law matters in the Burren, she also teaches a group of aspiring lawyers. When a "secret and unlawful killing" (meaning a killing that no one will admit to and apparently has no legally justifiable reason) takes place during a celebration, Mara undertakes the investigation with cool logic and a passion for fine detail. Unlike Sister Fidelma, who only has Brother Eadulf trailing in her wake and occasionally saying something useful, Mara makes full use of her scholars, who are of various ages and levels of intelligence. They seek out information for her, and discuss the case from all possible angles. Mara patiently works out the case step by step, and the conclusion is both logical and compassionate.I understand that Cora Harrison lives in the Burren, and her love for the country is clear in her marvelous, lyrical descriptions. Each chapter is headed with a short passage from the Brehon laws, on a subject that pertains, more or less, to something going on in that chapter. The mystery is good, but the gorgeous background and the fascinating information on Irish law and culture are what keep me engrossed. All the characters are well written, and if you go on in the series, you'll watch them changing (occasionally for the worse). Because of this, it is much better to read this series in order.I wish you joy in the reading!
What do You think about My Lady Judge (2007)?
I quite enjoyed this story of murder and the brehon legal system set in the time of Henry VIII. Mara, Brehon of the Burren, runs a legal school on the Burren and makes judgement on lawbreakers, advising the local leader on what's correct. It's May Eve, Bealtine, people climb Mullaghmore Mountain to celebrate the festival, and return home afterwards. However one of Mara's students doesn't, and when Mara starts investigating she finds a lot of possible reasons for his death. It's a little too light in places but it's interesting, the Brehon Law quotations at the beginning of chapters is interesting and reminded me of doing it in college (and made me want to break out the course book!). It's Peter Tremayne light but it's not a bad first, really, adult novel by this author.
—Deirdre
This gently-paced tale set on the Burren region in the west of Ireland, shows a lady Brehon or judge called Mara. She teaches a law school of young students - the author has been a principal teacher. At this time Henry VIII has just come to power in England and there are fears that the new wealthy king will look to extend his power overseas. Mara fears that the students may be involved when a young man is found dead after a traditional celebration on a mountain. However she is a kind and trusted person so she manages to get the stories out of various people to determine what happened and with whom. Along the way she travels by foot and by pony, so the story is not fast-moving. Animals are important in the story as they were to the farming people. Characters are well described as is the countryside, native plants and foods, and the atmosphere of the time. We also get a quotation of Brehon laws before each chapter, telling us the degrees of marriage (seven); the obligations when rearing a foster-son; and the occasions when injuring someone is not liable to incur a penalty, such as during sports or when the injuring party is slow-witted. These all help to set the scene and explain why a Brehon judge was respected by the people. Anyone who enjoys the mysteries about Brother Cadfael or Sister Fidelma should have fun with this series, which is distinct in not having a religious main character. The second book is called The Michaelmas Tribute.
—Clare O'Beara
First of a new historical series set in early 16th century Ireland, featuring Mara, Brehon (judge and lawyer) of the Burren, a somewhat isolated area of western Ireland. When one of Mara's assistants at the law school she runs, Colman, is found stabbed to death the morning after the Beltaine celebration on the mountain, it is up to her to investigate. Before too long, she realizes that she was not the only person who didn't much like her unpleasant assistant--he was blackmailing numerous people, and thus the suspect list keeps growing longer the more Mara looks into things.It was interesting to read this book, given that one of my favorite historical series is Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma series, featuring another Brehon but taking place nine centuries earlier. Much of the same laws were retained, and many of the Gaelic words were familiar from reading that series. There are some similarities between Mara and Fidelma, but many differences as well. This author does a wonderful job of setting the scene, giving a real sense of place with wonderful descriptive writing. Mara's character becomes quite well drawn and defined by the end of the book, and she's a character that I definitely want to go back and visit, along with the secondary characters she's introduced us to. I quite enjoyed this, and subsequent books may even be better once I get over the comparison to Tremayne's books.
—Spuddie
