Across a Moonlit Sea [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Stuart was not Elizabeth I's half-sister; she was her second cousin. Ms. Canham seems to have confused the Scottish queen with Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. It is also strange that given the research Ms. Canham must have put into rights of succession for her book IN THE SHADOW OF MIDNIGHT, she does not seem to have researched Mary Stuart's claim to the throne of England. She simply takes it for granted that Elizabeth was the rightful queen of England. In point of fact, by the rights of blood succession, Elizabeth had no claim at all to England's throne because she was illegitimate. Mary Stuart was indeed the rightful heir to throne after Mary Tudor's death.

This concern pales in comparison to the sheer and unrelenting anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish bigotry that overwhelms this story. Given the feelings of English Protestants toward Spanish Catholics, I can understand that some portrayal of this was necessary. But when historical bigotry has to be portrayed in a novel, it is *always* put in the mouths of unsympathetic characters and acknowledged as such. In ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA Simon tells Beau that he hopes his father is in hell, a father who was never shown to be cruel or evil toward him or anyone else. The only reason given for this prayer of Simon's is because his father (who was French, not Spanish) was a devout Catholic who made yearly pilgrimages to Rome.

This novel's anti-Catholic slant also affects Ms. Canham's interpretation of history (not just her facts). Incredibly, she denies the persecution of Catholics by Elizabeth. Through the mouth of Geoffrey Pitt, she claims that Elizabeth only "discouraged" Catholics from practicing their faith publicly. Tell that to St. Edmund Campion, a priest who was hanged and then drawn and quartered in 1581. Tell that to St. Margaret Clitherow, a wife and mother who was pressed beneath the weight of heavy boulders for refusing to attend Anglican services, for hiding the hunted priests, and for providing her home as a place for Mass to be celebrated.

I have not given up on Ms. Canham because her books are usually very good. In fact, IN THE SHADOW OF MIDNIGHT contains the most beautiful portrayal of a vocation to the religious life that I've seen in a secular novel. That makes ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA all the more puzzling, but encourages me to give Ms. Canham another chance.

What makes this book my favorite is the heroine, Isabeau Spence. Marsha has created a character who is independant, intelligent, strong willed and way ahead of her time.