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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stands the test of time,
By HISC (HI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fitzempress' Law (Hardcover)
I first read Fitzempress' Law (FL) after reading one of Diana Norman's later books, Daughter of Lir. Although FL was apparently written for the young adult market, it's a very sophisticated and absorbing treatment of 12th century England and the evolution of civil law under Henry II. I've reread FL several times now, and it only gets better. FL is the beginning of Diana Norman's fascination with Henry II. He reappears as a realistic character in Daughter of Lir and of course in the recent Ariana Franklin mysteries. Another of her books that deals with 12th century England (and the Fenlands) is the The Morning Gift - a good read as well. I think that the time travel aspect is handled well. In particular, the insertion of lawless and rather childish 20th century teenagers into a 12th century world where they seen and treated as adult is very believable.
Note to publishers: please look into reissuing Fitzempress' Law and the earlier Diana Norman books. The popularity of her more recent titles (under her own name & nom de plume) should be a good indicator of how well re-issues would do!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historial fiction doesn't get much better than this,
By Curmudgea (Georgia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fitzempress' Law (Hardcover)
Though I have to agree with another reviewer here that the ending was rather abrupt and the three youngsters' transitions from the present to the medieval past could have been detailed more (at any rate, were I the author I would have been tempted to explore that more) -- I have to say that this first novel of Diana Norman's is a great read. Rich with historical detail, it drew me into the 12th century and held me there, fascinated, from beginning to end. Reading about Henry II (a character here and in her more recent medieval thrillers), the nascient judicial system, and economics in the Middle Ages -- all woven through this story -- made me want to learn more. Though technically Norman's writing style has become smoother with her later books, this first novel leaves little to be desired. I've been working my way backward, reading her later, more readily available novels first and -- because of the prohibitively expensive prices -- I've been able to get this and others through interlibrary loans at my local public library. Since her 12th-century mystery books, under the Ariana Franklin penname, are being read here in the U.S., it seems her publisher would want to market and reissue her earlier books in the States. I'm surprised they aren't more familiar to Americans.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable first book from Diana Norman (aka Ariana Franklin),
By
This review is from: Fitzempress' law (Hardcover)
FITZEMPRESS' LAW (Hist/Mys/TT-Len, Pete, Sal-England-Cont/1100s) - G+
Norman, Diana (aka Ariana Franklin) - 1st novel St. Martin's Press, 1980, US Hardcover - ISBN: 0312294190 First Sentence: "Whassat?" Three contemporary teens set upon an elderly woman who curses them that they must use the law to save their souls. An accident results with their bodies lying in a coma in hospital while their souls have been transported back to the time of Henry II (Fitzempress). Len, an orphan, is now Aluric, a peasant with an eccentric mother, finds himself drawn to education and wanting to become a monk. Pete, always the follower, is now Sr. Roger of Mardleybury, a knight who has been cheated out of his father's land. Sal, forgotten in her divorced parents moving on with their lives, is Hawise, whose betrothal broken and is being forced, against her will, to take the vows of a nun. While this book involves both time travel and a mystery, it is primarily a novel about the challenges of living during the 12th Century during the time of Henry II. At that aspect of the story, Norman/Franklin excels. The author's descriptions are vivid and real. This is a time when superstition, paganism and the Church rule the lives of the people and murder of Beckett is laid at Henry's feet as the reason for anything going wrong. The injustices against the poor, the Jews and, in fact, anyone who has less power and/or money than someone else are starkly depicted, but not without humor and humanity. The characters, in their past lives, are fully-dimensional with the backstories of those characters. We learn more about Len and Pete than we do Sal, but each is interesting and involving. What does not work as well, for me, is the time-travel from the aspect that the characters have no transitional issues acclimating to the medieval time or language or that they give very little thought to their past. The biggest issue I have, however, is with the very end of the book, which is abrupt and, in some ways, makes no sense with the rest of the story. I enjoyed the book; I loved the realism, the history and that Henry is shown for all the innovations he made in law that have impacted our lives today. This was her first book and she certainly has come a long way from here to "Mistress of the Art of Death," and "The Serpent's Tale" so perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh. If you can overlook the weaknesses, it is well worth reading.
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