In Grave Goods (Mistress of the Art of Death series), a Glastonbury monk claims to know where the final resting place of legendary warrior, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere is located. The bones are supposed to be in the sacred place of the Isle of Avalon. It takes almost a quarter of a century for the news of King Arthur’s final resting place to reach King Henry II. He sends Adelia Aguilar, a Salerno trained doctor, to authenticate the two skeletons that allegedly belong to the Welsh warrior and his queen. This will go a long way in helping the King subdue the Welsh rebellion and the warriors who continue to fight in King Arthur’s name.
The novel starts off with Adelia, her Arabic manservant Mansur, her daughter Allie and the child’s nurse being run off from Cambridgeshire. The town doctors have complained to the archdeacon about Adelia (posing as translator) and Mansur (posing as the doctor), stealing all their patients. Even though Adelia is a trained doctor and recognized as one in her native Sicily, she’s not accepted as one here, in this “backwards thinking country.” Church policy forbid Adelia from doing anything to the body after death. The local doctors manage to convince church authorities that Adelia and Mansur are “heretics” and thus they are forced to leave the fenlands.
There are several threads in this story. One thread (most interesting one to me) involves Emma Wolvercote (see The Serpent’s Tale) in a property dispute that involves a barbaric form of “battle by trial” served to solve her claim that her son is the rightful heir to his father’s property, etc. We get to see how Henry Plantagenet brings England out of the dark ages with law reform in this thread. Then’s there’s a subplot involving an arsonist and a dispute between two abbey’s that has King Henry sending his bishop, Rowley Picot to resolve. Picot runs into Adelia after they’ve been separated for a bit. The two have a child together and some unresolved issues.
There is a loose thread at the end, a cliffhanger I guess you can say. I haven’t read the next book in the series yet. My bad. I plan to read it really soon. The series does have a nice romantic thread as a bonus but then again, the author saw fit to have it be an on/off again relationship. The reason behind Adelia wanting to be an “independent woman” instead of being with the man she fell in love with didn’t make much sense to me when I first read it.
Who really makes this book and this series stand out? The portrayal of King Henry II. The author masterfully made him this larger than life hero and not the villain we all know from history, as the murderer (albeit indirectly) of Thomas à Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. It’s a big deal when King Henry shows up between these pages. Between his bouts of temper and his contentious relationship with the church, King Henry can be charmingly clever and persuasive. He steals every scene he’s in. You can’t help but be captivated by his character. Alongside the historical detail, the author created strong women who quietly led while at the same time highlighting their lack of rights during this time period.
The first book in this series (the best one of all) is The Mistress of the Art of Death and the reading order is below for those who have an interest. Be aware that since the author’s death the series has not been resolved. Still, I wouldn’t let that stop you from reading these if you enjoy historical mysteries. Some readers have stated online and in other places that they don’t care for the anachronisms in the series. The author actually explains all of that in her letter to the reader or on the acknowledgement page (last I checked). I find no problem with it but if you’re stickler for “accuracy” then maybe you should skip these books. My grade, B because the middle did lag there a bit. Coming up next, The Indian Bride by Karin Fossum.
Reading order:
Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
The Serpent’s Tale (2008)
Grave Goods (2009)
A Murderous Procession (2010)
I couldn’t believe she died in the middle of the series. Still, worth reading anyway!
it’s gonna be hard to find anyone who writes like she does. She was an expert as far as I am concerned at interweaving her research with recreating a time period that seemed real without it feeling like an info dump or showing off her knowledge of the period. Thanks for the feedback.
I agree. The first book was the best of the series, but I still enjoyed them all!
I enjoyed them all too but there’s something special about the first book. Need to read the last one. *sigh*
Ariana Franklin’s real name was Diana Norman so I had to love her books. My wife is Diana, and I am Norman.
Ah, I see. It wasn’t until I read Bernadette’s post today that I learned you were a fan of her work.
Keishon, I just bought this book this morning for less than $2 at Borders going out of business sale, but I haven’t read any of the others. Would it be any good as a stand alone? Thanks for any advice.
Hi Karen, this series is connected (some more than others) and that is so true for Grave Goods which doesn’t stand alone all that well, unfortunately. I recommend starting with the first book, The Mistress of the Art of Death. If there is a library near you see if they have the first two.
In that case I’m glad I asked. I’m sure our library will have it, thanks!
I had the good fortune to meet Ariana Franklin when she won the 2007 Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award here in the UK for her first book The Mistress of the Art of Death. She was absolutely taken aback to have won. I agree with you that Grave Goods wasn’t quite up to her first book but it is still a good read.
You have a great blog by the way!
In an obit it mentioned she had finished another book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series and the family had plans to publish. This was last spring and haven’t heard anything else but I do keep hoping
Hi Krista, there seems to be conflicting reports out there stating that she has either a) written another book in this series or b) that her last book was a standalone. We shall have to wait and see which is true.