mistress of the art of death series order

Henry was also responsible for the murder of Thomas Becket of Canterbury, depicted above. King Henry II of England appears in Mistress of the Art of Death. Please Click Here to Subscribe to My History Blog! The person dies in an appropriate way, and the reader will be glad to see the killer go. The killer was well-disguised until the right time, and the killer’s crimes were rather heinous. Henry was clever and had an ironic sense of humor. Although he appeared in only the first and last two chapters, I probably enjoyed him the most. Franklin’s portrayal of King Henry II was fun. At points, I found the writing engaging and very enjoyable. My enjoyment of the book was up and down. She’ll face other temptations, too, namely, the possibility of falling in love. One is the killer.Īdelia must unravel the mystery, find the killer, and survive her investigation, hopefully clearing the name of the local Jews in the process. The local prior, some rabble-rousing townspeople, a tax collector, a handful of knights, the prioress of a nunnery, and a woman from the fens near Cambridge. The exchange of cultures and ideas in Salerno contributed to the growth of logic and reason.Ī few more characters enter the story. Sicily and the Salerno medical school were cosmopolitan places, especially compared to England. The multicultural nature of Adelia’s party is another theme. This is among the themes of Mistress of the Art of Death the novel idea of people in the Middle Ages using logic and reason rather than religion or superstition to investigate a crime. She, her Jewish companion Simon of Naples, and Mansur, an Arab eunuch, use logic and evidence to try to find the killer of the children. The Mistress of the Art of Death in ActionĪdelia’s skills include more than conducting autopsies. King Henry wants to know the truth, although his reasons are self-interest rather than compassion for Jews in general.

Somewhat predictably for a European kingdom in the Middle Ages, local people blame the Jews. Someone has murdered several children near the town of Cambridge.

This Sicilian doctor travels to England with a pair of companions when Henry II of England requests help from the King of Sicily. Adelia studies dead bodies to draw conclusions about the circumstances of death. So, I decided to read this book and hope for a repeat.Ī mistress of the art of death is what we today would call a forensics expert. The last book I read about England in this era, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, turned out well. Mistress of the Art of Death is the story of Adelia Aguilar, a female doctor from Sicily. To read my other recent book reviews, please check out: The first book in a series, it’s a murder mystery set in medieval England, during the reign of Henry II. Mistress of the Art of Death is a work of historical fiction that appeared in 2007.

Mistress of the art of death series order