Relics of the Dead: Mistress of the Art of Death 3 is a story about King Arthur, Glastonbury and the west country. The first sentence sets you up beautifully....”And God was angry with His people of Somerset, in the year of Our Lord 1154....”. In Glastonbury two skeletons have been discovered. Could they be the remains of King Arthur and Guinevere? King Henry II summons his Wise Woman (but she has to be careful as heresy and witchcraft are everywhere) to examine the remains and give her assessment. She has to overcome those who want the remains to stay unidentified; there are many who believe that Arthur still lives and will return to lead the Welsh once again to challenge Henry’s rule.
The descriptive writing is excellent and those who like these historical novels, loosely based on legends and history, will really love it. It also has a very modern twist where the Wise Woman has to make her judgements through a male intermediary as women were not taken seriously. Also, another interesting theme is how the legal system actively changes during the progress of the novel as Henry tries to modernise ways of judgement.
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You can also read this short story at the Western Gazette website. Click here to follow me and be the first to know when I publish my next article, short story or book review.
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