Blood Oath
Felicity Pulman’s novel is the first in a series of stories about the adventures of a young girl, Janna, during the period of civil war in twelfth century England. Janna is a fledgling herbalist, taught by her mother who grows and uses plants that have healing properties to make medicines to help her community and to sell to earn a living. A tragedy changes everything and Janna finds herself alone and struggling for answers.
Blood Oath is a pleasant read that engages the reader and reveals a mystery that you want to read on and solve. Janna is a well-rounded character and the entire novel is written from her point of view, so the reader comes to know her. This is somewhat at the expense of other characters but the doubt left as to their personality does actually add to the mystery of the book and you can never be quite sure in which direction it will go, who is guilty and who innocent.
Despite its setting in a very specific era of English history, the novel does little to address the turbulent events of the reign of King Stephen. The few mentions of the troubles between King Stephen and Empress Matilda are in passing and the story would work equally well without them. We are promised in future novels that this element will be brought out and become a major theme. There are a few historical inaccuracies but the novel does not suffer for them, and in general there is a good sense of period throughout.
I did find that some passages felt somewhat wordy, that there was some repetition, a little bit of editing maybe would not go amiss, but overall I found this novel to be pleasing and I would like to read what happens to Janna. Fans of Ellis Peter’s Cadfael, which the author admits was an inspiration, will find themselves on familiar territory and will enjoy exploring a more female view of the medieval world.
Format reviewed – mobi for Kindle
