OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile
In this sequel to THE LAST HOURS, narrator Helen Keeley tells listeners in her rich, clear voice about the intrigue and conflict in Dorset following the worst of the Black Death in 1349. The earlier historical novel followed the progress of kindly Lady Anne as she saved the people of her manor from the pestilence by keeping outsiders on the other side of the moat and by killing rats. Keeley's narration is authoritative, fast paced, and precise. Her characterization of Lady Anne gives listeners a compassionate, intelligent leader who continues to argue for her progressive policies against the forces of greed, prejudice, and ignorance. Other characters are also well depicted. This audiobook will appeal to listeners looking for an engrossing expedition to the dark and dangerous days of the fourteenth century. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-05-27
Survivors of the Black Death's terror search for safety in this sequel to The Last Hours (2018).
In 1348, while pustules and agonizing death plague the rest of the English countryside, Lady Anne has the good sense to wall off Develish and surround it with a moat. So no one there dies from the plague, but they can't survive indefinitely in isolation. "Milady" has backup from Thaddeus Thurkell, a strong, intelligent, and courageous serf. Readers of the first novel will know many of the details already because the two books are one tightly woven story. For example, Sir Richard, Anne's late and unlamented husband, not only impregnated their daughter, Eleanor, but carelessly helped spread the plague (the dirty rat!). Most have no clue of the plague's cause. The official answer of church and royalty is that God really, really hates sinners—apparently even those whose infractions are trivial or imagined—so He inflicts a pestilence that could "[rob] all England of its peasant class." Of course it afflicts nobles as well, because "the pestilence makes equals of us all." But Milady sees the problem as not wrath but rats, hence the wall and moat. She conspires with Thurkell for him to go away and return as My Lord of Athelstan so he'll be better able to protect her people. Then he must safely lead everyone from the village through a countryside laid low by disease. They face strong opposition from enemies such as Master de Courtesmain, who thinks Thurkell a "harlot-hatched bastard" as well as a thief and murderer. Courtesmain also correctly accuses Milady and Thurkell of conspiring to let the serfs of Develish buy themselves out of bondage. Thurkell's bravery complements Lady Anne's use of "kindness and reason to quell the anger in men's hearts." We should be "loved and honored for who we are," Lady Anne writes. Yes indeed.
Thoroughly enjoyable, if less exciting than The Last Hours. Read them both, and in order.
