A couple weeks ago I was browsing around for soemthing to read next. When I'm not raring to start a particular book (usually because I've forgotten what I've been wanting to read-- I need to keep that list handy), I default to one of my standard genres or subjects. So I went looking for something medieval. I can easily lose myself in the Middle Ages. It's fascinated me for years.
The book I ended up with was The Minstrel's Tale by Anna Questerly. I wanted something quick and easy, and this book fit that bill perfectly. It's at the younger end of the young adult spectrum. My eleven year old could easily understand it. It's a piece of historical fiction that wonders what happened to Richard II of England on his way to his coronation. In Questerly's story he becomes an apprentice to a minstrel traveling through north-western Europe. It was a fun, light read.
I got the impression that Questerly is herself a fan of medieval Europe who wanted to use her imagination to transport her reader to this complicated, violent, beautiful time and place. She did a good job. If she had an education similar to mine, European history courses often focused on the power struggles of the times, and her book definitely speaks to those with her use of a crown prince as the central character. However, what I like about her book is that she also shows us what it was like to be an average, working-class person at that time. Maybe like me, she liked to image herself in this world, not as a duchess or princess, but as someone closer to our real positions. To that purpose, Amos the minstrel narrates the story. I love little details like the description of Amos's methods for fishing and cooking. She shows us the moment right before he begins a performance: "This was my favorite moment as a minstrel." I fell in love with his profession. Amos was a sympathetic, believable character. I enjoyed spending time with him and was glad when he began to consider romance for the first time since the death of his wife and child.
The one drawback of the novel was the framing device. We are supposedly reading Amos's memoirs, and I felt that this could have stood on its own as a complete book. However, Questerly chose to have a modern young woman find Amos's book in her family's ancestral home in France and present it to us. This must have been a concession to her target audience. It wasn't enough to have the (perhaps too) young Richard. There had to be a tried-and-true, somewhat stereotypical teenager involved. For an actual young adult reader, maybe this frame would be important. For me, it added nothing. Just give me Amos and Richard exploring medieval France and England!
Although the book does explore how power can corrupt and the sad gulf between the haves and have-nots, its real charm lies in the detailed picture of the Middle Ages. If you look for themes of class division and the misuse of authority, you'll find them. However, if you just want to go on a fun adventure in medieval Europe, you're more likely to be satisfied by The Minstrel's Tale.
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