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A review by stefhyena
The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb
2.0
I read this book expecting a mystery/crime story and as a representative of that group it must be said that it kind of sucked. The story itself was predictable, and didn't even pretend very hard at being either a puzzle or even a psychological view of a crime (not that I like those). So really, the story was a romance novel featuring a crime. The romance itself irritated me, while I liked the character of Mistress Wilton (I don;t remember her name and NONE of the reviewers mention it which is telling), while I liked her as a journeyman and as someone who was capable and brave, I didn;t like her irrational confrontations with Owen- both he and she irritated me in them. It was supposed to be part of the romance/chemistry I realise. The chemistry entirely was wasted on me (and not just because I am queer, occasionally...very rarely I can appreciate a boy/girl romance where it doesnt rely on stereotypes and the man "saving" the woman). Owen's acceptance of his inferior/obedient status as Mistress Wilton's apprantice is an anachronism, but a charming one (and lets be honest historical novels are full of anachronisms because there is just not enough information to really get into the mind of a person from a time before ordinary people could write and leave lots of information about how they thought).
I thought much of the historical setting, and possibly the political intrigues (though ugly and dehumanising) were accurate. I was unhappy with the many steroypes (Magda for one and the lecherous archdeacon for another but also the "tart with a heart" innkeeper that I encountered. Stereotypes are on the whole offensive, certainly these were. There were flashes of an awareness of how class and gender are constituted by society and even a beginning of complex understanding of intersectionality (which is the sort of analysis that makes history interesting) but every time I started paying attention to that Owen and his friend would have a childish, sexually frustrated squabble and the book would degenerate to a drawn out, convoluted and unsatisfying romance novel once more.
Despite a lively, capable and intelligent (some of the time) girl/love-interest the book falls back into essentialised and patriarchal portrayals of gender (and contains oblique homophobia disguised as a sort of squeamish compassion). These elements kept intruding on parts of the book that would have been interesting otherwise (though the plot itself lacked something).
People have compared Robb to Ellis Peters which is why I was interested. The comparison does Peters/Pargeter a huge disservice!
I thought much of the historical setting, and possibly the political intrigues (though ugly and dehumanising) were accurate. I was unhappy with the many steroypes (Magda for one and the lecherous archdeacon for another but also the "tart with a heart" innkeeper that I encountered. Stereotypes are on the whole offensive, certainly these were. There were flashes of an awareness of how class and gender are constituted by society and even a beginning of complex understanding of intersectionality (which is the sort of analysis that makes history interesting) but every time I started paying attention to that Owen and his friend would have a childish, sexually frustrated squabble and the book would degenerate to a drawn out, convoluted and unsatisfying romance novel once more.
Despite a lively, capable and intelligent (some of the time) girl/love-interest the book falls back into essentialised and patriarchal portrayals of gender (and contains oblique homophobia disguised as a sort of squeamish compassion). These elements kept intruding on parts of the book that would have been interesting otherwise (though the plot itself lacked something).
People have compared Robb to Ellis Peters which is why I was interested. The comparison does Peters/Pargeter a huge disservice!