Matrix

I ultimately found myself with mixed feelings here. The prose is spare and elegant, in a way that I initially thought worked but as the story went on, I found myself wanting more verve and emotion. The central character, loosely based on an amalgamation of two historical persons, the poet Marie de France and Mary, the illegitimate daughter of Geoffrey Plantangenet who became Abbess of Shaftesbury Abbey, is interesting. She fluctuates between sympathetic and unsympathetic, but remains a consistent and compelling person to follow. The plot was the weakest element, with very little tension to give the narrative any propulsion. Altogether this was good but not great.