- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (Mar 5 1992)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0747205132
- ISBN-13: 978-0747205135
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.4 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 440 g
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Product Details |
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written medieval mystery, Jan 31 2005
By F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: House of the Red Slayer (Hardcover)
It is sad but inevitable that Paul Harding's novels about Brother Athelstan have been overshadowed by the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters .The series heroes have much in common --both are medieval religionists with military backgrounds who have the uncanny knack of getting involved with ,and solving ,criminal cases .Both are partnered by the "official wing " of the law -Cadfael by sheriff Hugh Beringar ,and Athelstan by the mountainous and wine loving Sir John Cranston .Yet they are not really alike -Athelstan is a friar ,not a cloistered monk .He is free to wander the filthy ,grime encrusted streets of London rather than while away his time in a rural herb garden ,behind monastery walls .Indeed it could be argued that in the Athelstan books we have the equivalent of a middle ages " hard boiled " novel to act as counterpoint to the "cosies " of the Cadfael series .Certainly, a great asset of the books is the evocation of place namely late fourteeenth century London ,here in the grip of a bitter ,bone chilling winter .The Thames is frozen ,and death from exposure is evidenced on every street corner .Unrest is in the air -and signs of what soon became open revolt ( the Peasant's Revolt )are in the air
Murder has been done in the Tower of London ,the Constable ,a man named Witton ,having had his throat cut in a locked bedchamber having just four days previously received a death threat seemingly from Islamic "hashishi" aka "assassins".They are not the only suspects however as he was widely disliked and feared .Soon another knight is killed and the deaths prove to be linked to acts of theft committed in Egypt during the Crusades
Athelstan also finds time to investigate another bizarre crime -grave robbing ,
It is quite a dark book ;there are several deaths ,every street corner groans with the bodies of executed criminals and London emerges as a cesspit of disease ,ignorance and poverty .Yet it is withal a book with its share of humour and compassion .Athelsatn is a convincing hero and a human one ,still grieving for his deceased brother Francis ,and nursing a unrequited and undeclared passion for a member of his congregation ,Benedicta .There is also the splendid and very Falstaffian creation of Sir John- roistering ,vulgar from time to time ,but a charitable man and head over heels in love with Maud his wife and ruler of the household
This is one for those who enjoy their history with mystery in darker shades than most
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
