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Bezig met laden... Prayers of the Deaddoor Priscilla Royal
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Onderdeel van de reeks(en)Medieval Mysteries (17)
November 1283. Prioress Eleanor's cousin, the Earl of Ness, visits with his wife, Eda. When his unloved spouse is murdered in the priory chapel with his knife, he becomes the prime suspect. Another murder follows. Eda's quiet priest is killed in the same chapel. Eda had many enemies, so what connection could there be between a ruthless woman and a pious man who cared nothing of earthy things?Crowner Ralf insists the crimes fall under the king's law and that Prioress Eleanor lacks objectivity because of her cousin's involvement. Prioress Eleanor refuses, claiming that she must determine why the crime occurred in her priory. She also believes that her cousin is more likely to tell her needed details than to an unknown crowner. But as she digs deeper, she begins to fear what she might discover. She may have thought her cousin was innocent, but she realizes he is lying to her. Having given her word that she would not be blinded by familial love, she knows that she may have to face tragedy and walk her cousin to the gallows. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyWaarderingGemiddelde:
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Tyndal Priory was part of the real Order of Fontevraud. This particular Order had both men and women and both were ruled by a woman. I was not aware that there were Orders such as this one. The story started out well. The pace was fast and the introduction of the characters was fascinating. They all had interesting foibles and one of the priests was intersex. No one knew this until he ended up dead and an examination of his body showed that he had both female and male genitals. However, the middle of the book was slow. Nothing much happened other than Eleanor interviewed the other characters. No real information about the crime was revealed here so it was a little boring. Toward the end, the novel picked up as Eleanor discovers more and more truths about those who lived in the Priory. The ending was a surprise.
What I found unbelievable is that two of the characters were aware that there were people who were intersex, or hermaphrodite as they were called in those days, and that it was OK for them to marry as long as the spouse knew about the condition. This doesn't sound 13th century to me. The Author's Note at the end of the book gives her views on gender and the belief that there are three genders: male, female and blended. She continues with a diatribe about how society has treated these people and developed rules governing them. She stated that when she began writing the novel, she wanted to have an intersex character. Four out of the ten page Author's Note is devoted to gender roles. I was turned off by all of this. Reading is an escape for me and I do not like being preached to, especially with historical fiction.
I would have rated the novel 3 out of 5 stars but the preaching requires a rating of 2 out of 5. ( )