These 4 stories of medieval England give a glimpse of what life was like for women at that time. It seems somewhat similar to the way women are treated in some Muslim countries today. ( )

This book consists of a collection of 4 short novellas set in Medieval England and 'France' (or more correctly Belgium/Holland under French control.

The first two are and best, though they are not entirely two 'separate' stories as the second is really the sequel to the first, which continues and wraps up much of what was left unresolved in it.
The plotline for these stories (especially the first) is more compelling and plausible, and some of the charcters are excellent. In an interesting twist for instance the villain of the first story is the hero in the second.
The themes of forgivness and reconciliation are well presented, though on one occasion two lead charaters go from hating to loving each other within a few minutes, which did seem rather unrealistic.

The heroine from the first story is quite strong, but her counterpart in the second seems a lot more helpless. The main problem is that some of the good characters are a little too perfect, and the descriptions of them rather whimsical, making them seem like something out of a disney fairytale.

When it comes to the second two novels the storyline, chacterisation and historical detials seem to become altogether much weaker. The leading characters religious doubts in the third story seemed contrived and rather too moderm.
In these storiesmajor aspects of the plot were based upon popular misconceptions about Medieval period, which suggested some lack of knowledge or flawed research. These included the notion that human dissection was forbidden, when it was not, or that women were forbidden from practicing medicine.
Ironically, some readers have complained about one of the stories including a female healer, arguing it was inaccurate- but it is technically not. Many people, including women practiced herbalism and this was considered quite acceptable, and there is in fact a Medieval illustration of a woman performing a surgical procedure.


These stories were also just corny and cliched in places, with the final one being almost painfully predictable in its resolution of the peril threatning the heroine.

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A Kingdom Divided
I loved this story. The love and acceptance Arianne finds in the arms of her husband were so wonderful to read. I could feel for myself every emotion through the words of the story. I can only pray that I’ll find someone just as perfect as Richard. This story was a perfect example of how a wife should be treated. Read more: http://christianfictionaddiction.com/book_reviews/castles.htm ( )