I'm reviewing these two books together because they're the first two books in what I hope will be a series of novels by Ariana Franklin, a brilliant writer who I've just recently discovered.
The books revolve around the character Adelia, a very unusual woman for her times. She is a doctor, specializing in pathology - hence the title of the first book.
In Mistress of the Art of Death, Adelia is sent to England by the king of Sicily, who has received an urgent plea from his cousin, Henry II, to send someone who can help him investigate, and hopefully solve, a series of gruesome child murders. Adelia is accompanied by two men, a Jew and a Saracen castrato, as she travels to England where she must hide the fact that she's a doctor. The Saracen, Mansur, pretends to be the doctor, while Adelia "assists" him as nurse, and the the Jew acts as private eye. Once arrived, they must fight more than chauvenism. Anti-semitism and bigotry are rampant. All the Jews of the city are shut up in the castle to protect them from the hoards who blame them for the childrens' murders. And still the murderer walks free. He could be anyone. During her investigation, Adelia befriends Gyltha, her housekeeper, and Ulf, Gyltha's grandson. There's even a smelly, cowardly dog named Safeguard to lend a note of humour. Every character in the book sings with a life of their own, and you care for them all. In particular, Henry II himself is written as a powerful, yet witty and extremely likeable fellow, who makes the reader hope that Franklin will write a novel with him in the central role.
The serpent's Tale picks up two years after Mistress leaves off. Now Adelia is tasked with discovering the identity of the murderer of the king's mistress, Rosamund. Filled with political intrigue, potential civil war, and the same delicious assortment of characters as the first novel, it's difficult to say which book was more enjoyable. But I'd have to say that Mistress wins out, if only because the delight of getting to know the characters for the first time gives it that bit of an edge that tips it over into favourite status.
These are two books that will have you neglecting your chores and going to bed early to read. I could barely put them down, and devoured them quickly. I can only hope to find more books by this amazing writer,whose real name, I have just discovered, is Diana Norman - under which name she has written at least a dozen other historical novels which I shall be running out to look for at the first opportunity!
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