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5.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive work of historical fiction., May 6 2003
I have enjoyed the Owen Archer series since a patient of mine suggested the books. This is my third venture into the 14th Century and the first of the series. In Apothecary Rose the author introduces most of the main characters: The Archbishop of York and King's Chancellor Thorsby, his spy/sleuth Owen Archer, Owen's apothecary wife Lucie Wilton, the infirmarian Brother Wulfstan, the mysterious healer Magda Digby, and the helpful neighbors and local pub owners Bess and Tom. With this work, the author sets up the personalities and histories of her characters, their new relationships, the format of this and succeeding stories, and introduces the main players on the historical stage of the time. Like Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael) with whom she is often compared, Ms Robb has a good handle on the mystery story as set in old England. She keeps to the story, but insists that it remain as historically accurate as she is able to make it. As she points out in one of her expositions on writing historical fiction, she attempts to produce a work that is as true to the time as possible, taking liberties only where there is no data and where her theories are at least plausible. Ms Robb is a professionally trained historian shy of a PhD only by a dissertation, and seems to have a feel for her time period of choice. She creates a realistic ambiance without burdening her readers with more information than they need to visualize the setting and characters. One of the interesting facets of this story is the clear understanding that one gains of the social life of the times. The author is able to recreate the intertwined nature of church and secular authority. She also makes it clear that, no matter how we feel about religion, the religious, or God today, the early Europeans, in this case the English, were often quite serious about their beliefs. Even the very ambitious churchmen, like the Archbishop, who were involved in political intrigue, plot and counterplot were not totally lacking in belief. Why this might have been--and in fact why it is less so now--becomes more apparent when one is placed in the precarious setting of the Middle Ages. Another of the things that the author is able to put across for the reader is that much of what is taken as "unfounded," anti-science herbal remedies today, have a long and respected history behind them. The apothecary underwent a lengthy training period or apprenticeship before practicing his/her craft, much as a modern pharmacist does today. Furthermore, there were specialties in the health care world of the time, just as there are today. In a world before antibiotics, much of what these people could do to heal and to relieve suffering was impressive. It may not measure up to today's standards, but the technology and economic wherewithal for modern medicine did not exist at the time and in fact still doesn't in many 3rd World countries. Very impressive work. It might make a good introduction to this period in history for students.
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