THE LOVE KNOT
Elizabeth Chadwick
St Martin's Press
December 1999
ISBN# 0-312-24407-X
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When the name Elizabeth Chadwick comes
up in conversation the first thing you think about is
"First Knight". Not her first book,
but probably her most well known, this story
went on to become one of the best movies of the last decade,
and the story will remain a true classic. But in that classic
sense Ms Chadwick brings us another story that just might rival
"First Knight" and knock it from his pillar of popularity.
"The Love Knot" takes us back to Medieval England
when Christianity is beginning to overcome Celtic domination,
when the traditional teachings have become outlawed and when
an estate could be won or lost with a single arrow.
Oliver Pascal has returned home after three
years on pilgrimage. With a wife and child buried and a heart
nearly mended, he seeks to right the wrong that has been done
to his family in his absence. With the death of his brother
in battle his long time family home falls into enemy hands,
and Oliver vows to get it back at any cost. On his way to
Bristol, finding himself in the employ of the Earl of Gloucester,
Oliver stumbles on the aftermath of a raid on a small estate.
Everyone is dead save one small boy and his nurse. He takes
them to Bristol where they can be cared for and protected.
But over the next few months Oliver finds himself drawn to
this nurse, Catrin, who begins to show him that true love
exists in the heart of even the hardened and the disenchanted.
After three years of mourning the untimely
death of the man she loved with her whole heart Catrin sought
the employ of nurse to Richard, the illegitimate son to the
old King Henry. But when the estate she had been living on
was raided and everyone killed it is Oliver Pascal who becomes
her knight in shining armor. Months after arriving at Bristol
Catrin seeks the aid of the local healer for one of her headaches.
Catrin befriends Ethel and Ethel teaches Catrin the old ways
of midwifery, the accepted term for healer in the 12th century.
Ethel also teaches Catrin some of the old traditions that
have been handed down since the dawn of time with the local
Celts. And its Ethel that brings Catrin and Oliver to face
what they had both been long denying, unbridled love. But
when Catrin's long dead husband returns from the grave Catrin
must decide where her loyalties lie.
In true Chadwick form, "The Love Knot"
transcends the genre with an epic tale of love and lust, loyalty
and betrayal, and age-old traditions mix with 12th century law.
Each page is full of rich and vivid color for the period. The
historical accuracy of every aspect of the story was brought
to vivid life and laid out simply to understand the politics
of the time. Characters are well thought out and vibrant. Settings
and costumes were not lacking in their rich detail. And old
world traditions such as the meaning of a "love knot"
bring more understanding of some of our modern day traditions.
By the time I finished this book I was left enriched by the
experience. "The Love Knot" is deservedly the best
book that I've read so far this year and I will rush out to
buy the others in Ms. Chadwick's collection.
