England 1382. The youthful Richard II is on the throne but the times are troubled. At home, after the horrors of the Black Death when one-third to one-half the population of England perished and then the bloody suppression of the subsequent Peasants’ Revolt, the countryside is seething with rebellion, nourished by the availability of Wyclif’s translation of the Bible into English which all can understand. Abroad, two Popes, one in Rome, the other in Avignon, are rivals for supremacy over the Church; some in England are loyal to one Pope, some to the other. And behind the Popes stand other European powers, France, Burgundy, Scotland.
Into this maelstrom comes Hildegard, a widow, now a Cistercian nun. After seven years of grieving, her aim is to found her own convent. Encouraged in this ambition by her prioress, she rides north to Meaux, near York, where Hubert de Courcy is abbot. The prioress has given Hildegard secret letters from Rome for the abbot and Hildegard hopes that he will also assist her in finding a suitable site for her convent. He, however, is unhelpful in the latter regard so Hildegard rides on to Hutton, her childhood home where she hopes that her kinsman, Roger, Lord de Hutton, will aid her. At Hutton, she finds, as well as Roger and his latest wife Melusin, her childhood friend Ulf, now Roger’s steward, as well as Roger’s brother Ralph and his wife Sybilla and also Roger’s sister Avice and her husband William. And there is a host of serfs, maids, grooms, and some mysterious and rather sinister Lombards from Italy. Sybilla is in the throes of childbirth and when the birth of a son is announced, Roger, who has disinherited his own son and so has just the one daughter, Philippa, is overjoyed. He names the new baby as his heir and authorises festivities during which the game of Hangman Blind, not unlike Blind Man’s Bluff, is played. But during the game Roger is struck down, apparently by poison. Later, a maid who had been present at the birth of Sybilla’s son is brutally murdered.
As can be seen, there are many layers to this book leading to apparent confusion which are eventually deftly sorted out by the author. It moves at a rapid pace and the historical explanations are interwoven with the plot. For all that Hildegard is a nun, there are hints of romantic interest both with Ulf and with Abbot Hubert. This is Cassandra Clark’s first book; clearly more titles are envisaged.
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Radmila May