Agnes, watched from a deep hedge while a nobly born woman was brutally murdered. The man who did it seemed familiar to Agnes but she can’t quite place him. There is no doubt the man was after something because after he killed her he stripped her looking for whatever it was he wanted. But finding nothing he left without any concern for the woman lying there naked and exposed. Now Agnes finally moves, her arms and legs cramped after hours of hiding in the hedge, and realizes that she is still clutching the small rectangular package that the woman thrust at her moments before the man caught up with her.  Agnes can still here the strange words the woman said just moments before she died:

Though faun escape the falcon’s claws

And crochet cut its snares,

When father, son, and ghost we sing,

Of city’s blade beware!  

Slowly she unwraps the package. First there is a beautiful cloth with intricate embroidery and then inside that is a book with only writing and no pictures. Agnes is uncertain. What was worth dying for? The cloth, the book or the verse?

In this wonderfully written book we are dropped into London in the year 1385. The young Richard II is on the throne. Treachery and fear of foreign and domestic attempts to overthrow the king are rampant and suspicions abound. But in the midst of all this political intrigue life goes on. We are introduced to Geoffrey Chaucer, who is just beginning to think about writing his magnum opus and his friend, John Gower, a fellow writer and trader in information, meet after a long absence and renew their acquaintance.  Slowly, however, the clouds of intrigue settle on London. The naked body of the brutally murdered woman is found and suddenly rumors of a book that contains prophecies of the deaths of all the monarchs of England including the present one begin to be heard in local taverns and in the corridors of power. John Gower using all his skills and knowledge must determine what is a real threat and what is mere fiction and try to head off whatever treachery is planned before it is too late.

This is a first novel by Holsinger, who is a professor of English at the University of Virginia, and it is quite an a achievement!  Like The Crimson Petal and White by Faber or Dissolution by C. J. Sansom, Holsinger is able to imbed us into a medieval time period and give us a deeper insight into the people, their lives and times. His ear for the vernacular;   the language of whores and butchers and noblemen, adds an extra layer of texture and authenticity that is so often lacking in historical novels. Characters like Agnes, John Gower and even Chaucer are fully realized and their struggles become our struggles. Holsinger is welcome new voice in historical fiction and I have already downloaded his new book: The Invention of Fire!  

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)  

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian and Lauren

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.