Ratings13
Average rating3.9
Midsummer's Day, 1348. On this day of ill omen, plague makes its entrance. Within weeks, swathes of England will be darkened by death's shadow as towns and villages burn to the ringing of church bells. While panic and suspicion flood the land, a small band of travellers comes together to outrun the breakdown in law and order. But when one of their number is found hanging from a tree, the chilling discovery confirms that something more sinister than plague is in their midst. And as the runes warn of treachery, it appears no one is quite what they seem, least of all the child rune reader, who mercilessly compels each of her companions to tell their stories. And face the consequences. Take a leap of imagination and embark on an unforgettable journey through the ravaged countryside... with only a scarred trader in holy relics, a conjuror, two musicians and a deformed storyteller for company.
Reviews with the most likes.
Very solid book. If you enjoy well researched historical novels but are still character driven this will satisfy. Twist in the tail that I did not see coming
Karen Maitland really knows her stuff, working details about life in the middle ages around her story of a company travelling around England, trying to avoid an outbreak of the plague. She also manages to create a fascinating mystery - are the travellers dying one by one of unrelated causes, or is there a murderer in their midst?
An engrossing story about a group of travellers, each with a story to hide and to tell, with the 1348 onset of the Black Plague in England as a backdrop. There is a horror-story frame to it, which I didn't like because I thought it was so unnecessary, given that it all takes place while the Plague is raging–what could be more horrifying than that?! The only way I can find the “horror story” aspect of this book acceptable is to explain to myself as a kind of personification of the horror of the Plague. I don't want to spoil anything for other readers, so if you have read the book and have thoughts about this, please comment. Anyway, the book makes good use of historical details about the Plague year 1348 and has well drawn characters –there is a lot to like.