I'm just going to have to accept that Hilary Mantel, and Wolf Hall has ruined me for mediocre historical fiction, for life. (And trust me, this is mediocre historical fiction ...)
I tried to struggle on, past the clumsy, tone-deaf dialogue, and complete ignorance of early 17th century social hierarchies (Everyone mateily calls each other by their first names. The servants are rude to the protagonist, their Mistress, because she is a "child bride." In an era when people were regularly married to each other while they were still in the cradle, I'm not sure the term would have meant anything to anyone, let alone the servants ...) But I gave up on this book when the author has the pregnant protagonist (a 17 year old girl, the Lady of the Manor, who has already suffered three miscarriages or stillbirths) jump on her horse one morning to ride alone to the nearest town and do a bit of shopping ... (She was all out of ambergris, you know. And while she was out, she was going to check in with the apothecary, and see if she could get a potion to protect her unborn child.)
I'm just going to say this once: the Lady of the Manor HAD SERVANTS TO DO THAT FOR HER.
So, aside from ruining me for mediocre historical fiction for life, the Blessed Hilary may have to bear some of the blame for abominations like this -- because she makes it look so easy. It's all too easy to take away the wrong lessons from her wonderful, beautifully written novels: that people 400 years dead are Just Like Us, that they spoke like us, occupied their time like us, and viewed their world just like we view ours. Without noticing that the thin veneer of Relatability that Mantel creates is constructed on a rock-solid foundation of understanding of their history, their society, their religion, and their worldview -- which are very, very different from ours.
If you would like to read a decent potboiler about the Pendle Witch Trials, I recommend "Mist Over Pendle" by Robert Neill. Old-fashioned, but well researched, and with a great sense of place.
I tried to struggle on, past the clumsy, tone-deaf dialogue, and complete ignorance of early 17th century social hierarchies (Everyone mateily calls each other by their first names. The servants are rude to the protagonist, their Mistress, because she is a "child bride." In an era when people were regularly married to each other while they were still in the cradle, I'm not sure the term would have meant anything to anyone, let alone the servants ...) But I gave up on this book when the author has the pregnant protagonist (a 17 year old girl, the Lady of the Manor, who has already suffered three miscarriages or stillbirths) jump on her horse one morning to ride alone to the nearest town and do a bit of shopping ... (She was all out of ambergris, you know. And while she was out, she was going to check in with the apothecary, and see if she could get a potion to protect her unborn child.)
I'm just going to say this once: the Lady of the Manor HAD SERVANTS TO DO THAT FOR HER.
So, aside from ruining me for mediocre historical fiction for life, the Blessed Hilary may have to bear some of the blame for abominations like this -- because she makes it look so easy. It's all too easy to take away the wrong lessons from her wonderful, beautifully written novels: that people 400 years dead are Just Like Us, that they spoke like us, occupied their time like us, and viewed their world just like we view ours. Without noticing that the thin veneer of Relatability that Mantel creates is constructed on a rock-solid foundation of understanding of their history, their society, their religion, and their worldview -- which are very, very different from ours.
If you would like to read a decent potboiler about the Pendle Witch Trials, I recommend "Mist Over Pendle" by Robert Neill. Old-fashioned, but well researched, and with a great sense of place.
