Bog Queen
In 2018, a woman’s body is found buried in a peat bog near Ludlow, England. Is she the murder victim police have been looking for? The coroner sends for Agnes, a forensic specialist in bones and teeth, who discovers that this remarkably well-preserved young woman is hundreds of years old. Alternating chapters are dated by the cycles of the moon in 50 BCE, the lifetime of this Celtic Druid when Romans were encroaching on their territories. The book begins with a third element, the moss: “A colony of moss does not think or speak in language. But if such a colony could tell the story of its life, it might say this: Once we flourished.” These passages and their titles, recurring six times through the book, add a surprisingly moving perspective.
Events in these two periods are compelling in different ways. We know the Druid died young but not how, so as we follow her, we wonder what will cause her death. Agnes, who is used to studying murdered bodies alone, must consult with specialists to date the body and understand what struck her down, all of whom (including the precocious young Ruby) enrich the story. Agnes and the researchers want to excavate the peat more fully but are met with two opposing forces: environmental protestors who want to restore it by letting water flow freely again and a commercial company who plan to harvest it.
The mysteries in Bog Queen captivate, and the voice of the moss enriches our sense of a history much older than the Druid herself. The situations she confronts draw us into her Celtic life, and so too with the contemporary characters and their passion for discovering the truth and honoring the Druid. Highly recommended!
