Rosemary F. (canadianeh) reviewed on 11/5/2011 + 242 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

We will never know what it was truly like to live in medieval England: this might just be close as we can get. It's a time when educated men are few and a book is worth such a fortune to a poor man that he risks theft. Language and descriptions work so well, that when the tale erupts, you are there with Hugh de Singleton, surgeon and bailiff, using wits and logic. I loved the archaic words, characters and scenes from many different layers of society - and the juicy descriptions of medieval food. Thankfully there are no explanatory asides to mar the experience; but there is a lexicon: "... a woman dressed in a long cotehardie of blue, and a man wearing parti-colored chauces, a red cotehardie, and a cap ending in a long yellow liripipe." Read on.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details