Scan barcode
A review by artemishi
The Canterbury Papers by Judith Koll Healey
4.0
The Canterbury Papers brought to life an historical figure I'd never encountered before- Alaïs Capet, stepdaughter of Eleanor of Aquitane. This book did an excellent job of bringing a little-known figure into life, especially as an older (for the day) woman caught in the typical Plantagenet drama of the day.
There's a fair amount of actual history in here, and the author is good at calling out the fictitious bits from it. It's got a lot going on- mainly intrigue and mystery, but also adventure, a strong female protagonist, and romance. It's a pretty well-paced novel, although I wanted to see more about William Marshall and a few of the other side characters (who are actual historical figures).
Overall, I recommend it for fans of historical fiction, especially 1200s England/France/Aquitane, the Plantagenets, and the Knights Templar. Even if you are only mildly interested in historical fiction, the narrative voice of a 40s-sh woman being given the breath and space to become her own person (at a time where she was, by status and birth, always meant to be a political pawn) was refreshing and sweet.
There's a fair amount of actual history in here, and the author is good at calling out the fictitious bits from it. It's got a lot going on- mainly intrigue and mystery, but also adventure, a strong female protagonist, and romance. It's a pretty well-paced novel, although I wanted to see more about William Marshall and a few of the other side characters (who are actual historical figures).
Overall, I recommend it for fans of historical fiction, especially 1200s England/France/Aquitane, the Plantagenets, and the Knights Templar. Even if you are only mildly interested in historical fiction, the narrative voice of a 40s-sh woman being given the breath and space to become her own person (at a time where she was, by status and birth, always meant to be a political pawn) was refreshing and sweet.