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THE DEATH MAZE
by Ariana Franklin
Bantam, May 2008
359 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 0593056507


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Adelia Aguilar is an interesting protagonist to find in 12th century England. A trained doctor, she was originally sent for from her home town of Salerno to solve a series of child murders in Cambridge (the subject of the first book in the series THE MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH); although staggered when she turned out to be a woman, Henry II was so impressed by her success that he ordered her to stay in England. She now lives in the Fens with Mansur, her Saracen friend, Gyltha an Anglian country-woman, and her baby Allie. The baby was the result of Adelia's affair with Rowley, who has now become Bishop of St Albans following Adelia's refusal to marry him. It is Rowley who summons Adelia from her fen-land retreat to help him solve a murder which threatens the stability of the kingdom. Rosamund Clifford, the Fair Rosamund of legend and Henry's mistress, has been poisoned and all the evidence points to the Queen, Eleanor. A civil war which would rend the country apart threatens.

Adelia and her companions join with Rowley and his retinue and journey to Godstow Abbey - encountering the body of another murder victim en route - and from there on to the strange tower of Wormhold, surrounded by a complex maze, where Henry had kept Rosamund immured in what he believed to be safety. Events, which have already moved at a rapid pace, rapidly spiral completely out of Adelia's control at this point, and she has not only to attempt to solve two murders but also to stay alive in increasingly difficult circumstances - not least a winter of rigorous bitterness.

It should be clear from this summary that Franklin, despite the existence of some explanatory 'notes' at the end of the book, is not one of those writers who is over-concerned with scrupulous historical accuracy; the book's characters and circumstances are improbable to say the least. This is certainly not something which worries me; if I want to read history, I go to an actual historian! However there certainly are some problems with THE DEATH MAZE. Franklin does tend to hit the reader over the head with a spade and is given to telling rather than showing. Adelia is an agnostic feminist which, hardly surprisingly, gives her great scope for rumination on the brutally patriarchal nature of medieval society and the Church in particular. This works best when it runs counter to popular conceptions; for instance it was delightful to read her portrait of Becket not as some kind of saint, but instead a reactionary thug dedicated to stopping Henry's reforms (I have no idea if this is true but it makes a great story). After a while though Adelia's musings can become rather repetitive.

Indeed this is somewhat of a pattern for the entire book; its beginning is attractive and involving but gradually a certain repetitiveness, a consistency of tone and pace, start to become a little wearing. Events proceed at a headlong pace and are piled fast on top of each other as though the author is almost frightened to allow the reader to draw breath. This is especially disappointing as the best moments come precisely when the pace is allowed to slacken and a more philosophical tone or conversation is introduced. Yet even here there is one of those problems of comparison - I could never quite keep THE NAME OF THE ROSE out of my mind; and while Franklin is certainly to be greatly applauded for bringing a feminist perspective to bear on these matters, the level of philosophical enquiry is, hardly surprisingly, not at Eco's level.

The solution to the murders themselves are ultimately fairly simple; THE DEATH MAZE, published in the United States under the title THE SERPENT'S TALE, is as much adventure story as mystery. As such there is much to be said for it - it is exciting, Adelia is an engaging heroine, the historical reflection is interesting. But it could have been so much better if it had been less one-paced, if there had been rather less action and a little more conversation, some more viewpoints represented. And above all if there had been a much better mystery at the heart of the book. In many ways I wish I could be whole-hearted in my response to this book because I respect and value the author's intentions; it is the execution with which the problems lie. Even given these flaws however there is quite enough of interest, and a strong enough story, to recommend this to anyone who likes their historical mysteries to have some intellectual bite rather than to be merely accurate.

Reviewed by Nick Hay, June 2008

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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