Customer Reviews

The Canterbury Papers: A Novel of Suspense

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Princess Alais is bored and disillusioned with life in the court of her brother the King of France. When Eleanor of Aquitaine dangles the promise of information that Alais desperately wants, Alais agrees to travel to Canterbury to retrieve a packet of Eleanor's potentially embarrassing letters. Her simple quest turns into something more dangerous as her rooms are ransacked and she is snatched away from the protection of her attendant knights.

How can she gain possession of the elusive letters and why are so many people suddenly interested in her jeweled pendant? Alais has to figure out whom she can trust as her path collides with King John, mysterious monks, and the Knights of Templar. Dangerous secrets about her stormy past with the royal family of England just might hold the key.

You don't have to be an expert on medieval times to appreciate The Canterbury Papers, but Healey thoughtfully includes a brief overview of royal politics of the time and a summary at the end separating the fiction from the facts. The book has a historically accurate feel, and it is obvious that Healey put a lot of time into her settings and characterizations. This charming mystery surprised me - I didn't expect to be as captivated as I was. Alais is a strong character with wit and passion. Healey throws in a charming romance, which does a great job of lightening the tone set by endless court intrigue and family betrayals.

At first glance, THE CANTERBURY PAPERS is slightly intimidating. It opens with a whirlwind two-page summary of twelfth-century French and English political history and then launches headfirst into the politics and betrayals of the royal Plantagenet family. Don't worry, though --- even if you flunked medieval history, there's still plenty to enjoy in this engaging suspense novel.

Alais Capet, a member of France's royal family, was, in her youth, betrothed to Richard the Lionheart. However, her engagement was mysteriously broken off, and now, years later, Alais is lonely, bored with French court life and tired of constantly bickering with her brother, the king of France. When Richard's aged mother, the legendary and powerful Eleanor of Aquitaine, summons Alais to perform a mysterious errand at Canterbury Abbey, Alais jumps at the chance to have a bit of an adventure.

As Alais learns more about the letters she's been asked to retrieve from the altar, she is forced to examine some of the less savory parts of her own personal history. She herself admits, "God knows there were plenty of those [sins] strung out like dark pearls in the years behind me." Through flashbacks, readers learn about these old sins, gaining insight into family dynamics and Alais's own bitterness.

Alais also gets more of an adventure than what she bargained for, as she is quickly drawn into the personal and political intrigues of the Plantagenet family, particularly the tyrannical King John. As she conducts her mission, Alais begins to question everything about her assignment. What are Eleanor's true motives? Whom, if anyone, can Alais trust? And why is everyone so intrigued by the pendant that Alais wears around her neck?

From a historical figure who is usually little more than a footnote in history books, Judith Koll Healey has managed to create a flesh-and-blood woman with a vibrant personality. Although some sections, particularly those dealing with lengthy dinner conversations, can seem a bit too leisurely, and although it can be hard to keep all those nobles straight, Alais's tart tongue and the mystery story will keep readers guessing. Medieval history and literature buffs, of course, will eat this one up, as some of the most intriguing historical characters come to life in the pages of THE CANTERBURY PAPERS. For the rest of us, the author includes an afterword that helps sort out fact from fiction and provides some suggestions for further reading about the dysfunctional Plantagenet clan.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I am not one for mysteries, but immensely enjoy historical fiction. I especially enjoy British history and knowing little about its medieval times, I thought this book would be worth a try. Alittle slow at first, it finally picked up about halfway through and then I couldn't put it down. I found myself often confused about the many names being dropped and had to reread passages to clarify their roles. I also had to read the facts behind the unraveled mystery over and over to understand the connections-maybe it's just my lack of understanding and that's why I stay away from mysteries in the first place. Once I took the time to slow down, I understood the plot alittle more clearly. I was able to figure out the mystery of Alais' son right off the bat; way before it was divulged by the author.
The reading was easy and fast. I enjoyed the first person narration and the main character, Alais, was likeable, even if sometimes she was alittle too brash and brave. I was alittle disappointed that some sex had to be thrown in near the end to cheapen the story.
All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction (I did learn a lot about the Plantagenet era)and anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
By the way, did anyone else notice the discrepancy on the cover? The main character repeatedly refers to her malformed left hand (I'm not giving away any big secrets); yet, the hand holding the letters on the cover is a beautifully formed woman's left hand. Just thought it was interesting.

Whether or not your familiar with the history of France and England during the twelfth century and all the power plays and intrigue that went on then, and the Plantagenets and the Capets, you have to read Judith Koll Healey's thrilling and engaging novel, "The Canterbury Papers." Cleverly mixing fact with fiction, Ms Healey gives a compelling new novel about Princess Alais Capet, once destined to be Richard the Lionheart's wife, but who instead returned to France unwed, and who spent many years of her life in obscurity.

Bitter and angry about her current status in life -- unmarried and gossiped about -- Princess Alais Capet is in no mood to feel festive about her nephew's upcoming marriage. So that when her stepmother, Queen Eleanor of Acquitaine, writes to Alais, asking her to retrieve a few letters hidden in the cathedral at Canterbury, Alais is in the mood to entertain Eleanor's proposition. More important to Alais though is Eleanor's promise to divulge all that she knows about a child that was born in secrecy many years ago if Alais agrees to help her. Desperate to be away from the court and to learn all that Eleanor knows, Alais agrees to help Eleanor, little expecting that the journey would be fraught with so much memories and danger. For not only is journey to England bringing back many memories, both happy and sad, and reuniting Alais with many friends from her past, but people seem to be following her. But are they following her intending to harm or protect...

"The Canterbury Papers" were a terrifically engrossing and engaging read. Judith Koll Healey is a brilliant storyteller, and her grasp on the history of the period and the personalities concerned is evident for all to see. Although I was fairly familiar with the history of the period, Ms Healey told her tale in such a winning manner and created such a wonderfully vibrant and taking heroine in Alais Capet, that I had to finish the book in one go. Thrilling from start to finish, "The Canterbury Papers" is one novel that should not be missed!

In 1200 though an octogenarian, the former Queen of both France and England Eleanor remains a wily influence in state affairs. Through an intermediary, Eleanor asks her former ward Princess Alais to travel from France to Canterbury Cathedral to retrieve some letters she hid there that if revealed could doom King John's reign. Though angry with Eleanor for her part in denying her the chance to marry Richard, Alais travels with escort Sir Owain of Cardwyd, a knight of King Harry.

Though Alais expected some danger, she thought overall the mission would be rather easy especially with her being sister to the King of France, Philippe. However, instead of the smooth completion of her quest, someone abducts Alais before she can accomplish the mission. Barely staying ahead of her unknown enemies, Alais joins with the Knights Templar to begin to uncover a conspiracy by powerful and evil people wanting to take over two kingdoms.

THE CANTERBURY PAPERS is a strong historical fiction mystery that enables the audience to see an era filled with treachery that makes the Democrat and Republicans parties look like choirs. The story line is loaded with action, but it is the powerful characterizations especially Alais the forgotten princess that make the plot a must read for fans of medieval tales.

Harriet Klausner

The Canterbury Papers, contrary to its title, is not a novel of suspense. It is, however, a mystery, one that's difficult for the reader to solve because we don't know, nor have many clues to, what the other characters know. This is a fun read, especially because of the (fictionalized) insights into the conflicts among the earliest Plantagenets. Little is actually known about the personalities of these tempestuous people; what is "known" has to be inferred from their recorded behavior. Who knows what they were really thinking? But I enjoyed this book because it brought them to life, and I found the central character, Alais, quite believable. The plot is somewhat thin, but the settings are interesting and help the amateur medieval historian to visualize even the places that are merely ruins now (Old Sarum, for example) as they might have been when full of life. Healey is a decent writer without the annoying mannerisms that so many writers of popular literature rely upon.

This book fits well into the genre of light historical mysteries. In this case, the word "light" especially applies becuse the plot is thin and much is obvious to the reader long before the rather dim-witted protagonist gets a clue.

As a historical, it fails to convince. The characters are 21st century people wearing medieval clothes. But sadly even the clothes fail to convince.

The medieval "facts" are lain on thick, but you never, ever feel transported in time. In fact, I spent much of the book, thinking I would look this or that up, because it just didn't seem right.

What didn't seem right? Well, for example and to deal in generalities, the privacy accorded all the characters for sleeping, dining and conversation whenever they wanted it; the general lack of piety as if religion had no intrinsic place in ordinary life; Richard Coeur de Lion (a notorious lover of men) as a heterosexual romantic lover; and so on.

All this said, I did read until the end. The book is short and had enough appeal to keep me turning the pages.

If you are at all sensitive to historical accuracy in your fiction, you'll want to give this one a pass. It's full of anachronisms--not to mention plain old blunders. For example, Healey boards a princess of France and the Duke of Burgundy in a common inn, which is a bit like running into Prince Charles at a Motel 6. She then refers to these same two characters conversing with the Arab philosopher Averroes in English, even though they are in France (p. 46). Healey has King Henry criticising the protagonist's charcoal sketches for their lack of verisimilitude, when, as anyone who has seen medieval art knows, realism was not a big concern for that era's artists.

But the biggest howler in the first 70 pages (which was as far as I got) was the result of the author forgetting that her own protagonist has a lame hand! She writes: "I leaned across the table, propping myself on my hands" (p. 39), but then, only several pages later, says: "He gently pulled my dead hand from out of my left pocket and pressed his lips to it. This embarassed me. I am intensely private about my hand and rarely expose it." (p. 47)

One wonders if anyone read this book before it was published.

Although they have been long estranged, Eleanor of Aquitane, once Queen of England and mother to kings, sends a request to Alais Capet, at King Philippe's court in France. Philippe, the princess's brother, has also received a letter, but Alais keeps the contents of her missive to herself. Eleanor, now nearly eighty, has asked Alais to retrieve private letters written years ago, stored behind the altar of Becket's Chapel at Canterbury. Leaving nothing to chance, Eleanor has baited her hook artfully, dangling information Alais is desperate to obtain.

Taking with her only the messenger, Owain ap Caedwyd, a seasoned soldier, and a few knights proffered by Philippe, Alais sets out to accomplish Eleanor`s unusual task. En route to Canterbury, Alais observes some suspicious riders not far behind their party. When she meets her uncle, the Duke d'Orleans, at the inn where they retire, the French princess is suspicious, pondering the extraordinary activity to and from the famed cathedral. From the first chapter, we learn that Alais is spirited away while on her mission to Canterbury, but the identity of her captors is a mystery, as is the significance of Eleanor's request and why Alais Capet has become the focus of recent interest.

So begins an adventure that brings into play the early figures of the early 12th Century, King John of England, King Philippe of France, Eleanor of Aquitane and the Knights Templar, who have their eyes on the misanthropic John's throne. The author captures the era with her descriptions of place, the castles, cathedrals, countryside and the differential language of those dealing with royalty. Alais is an educated, observant woman past the years of early bloom, but still at the height of her beauty, made wiser by experience, especially the unrequited love of Richard the Lionheart and the crushing disappointment of their cancelled nuptials. Alais is no frivolous royal, but a woman with a past that now beckons, long-forgotten issues reawakened to torment her with a hope too devastating and uncertain to bear.

The novel addresses court intrigue on several levels, the usual machinations of kingship, but also the undercurrents of historical events that reach from one generation to another, secret societies and religious cabals operating under the guise of nobility. This is the stage of great figures, the Capets, the Plantagenets, the kingdoms of France and England vying for dominance in the great age of chivalry. Like other successful novels of this genre, Healey intimately inhabits her subject, drawing the reader into the spirit of the times, invested in Alais' assignation with destiny and the resolution of her most profound hope. This engaging tale gallops through the labyrinthine passageways of medieval conceits, racing across time with all the antics of larger-than-life historical figures. Luan Gaines/2005.

From John Howard Prin, author of STOLEN HOURS: BREAKING FREE FROM SECRET ADDICTIONS.

I found THE CANTERBURY PAPERS historically convincing and the characters appealing. From the first few pages I was drawn into Princess Alais Capet's world, primarily by her voice (first-person) and the believable details she talks about regarding external settings and her immediate feelings. Two such details that play heavily in this mystery/drama are her jeweled necklace and her "dead" (lame) hand. It's obvious that the author loves the medieval time period in which she writes, with its courtly intrigue and everyday customs, all described in bounteous detail.

Eventually a love story develops between Alais and the enigmatic Prior William of Caen. For my taste it could have been foreshadowed sooner and her feelings toward him more sensually depicted, so that by the end when they do confess their mutual love and they experience joyful emotions this moment would have had more dramatic impact. Although the final pages describe their falling in love well, the satisfaction I hoped to feel was muted.

All in all, Judith Koll Healey has done a splendid job of weaving plot, setting, characters, and meaningful themes into a story worthy of today's fiction lover.