Customer Reviews

Fitzempress' law

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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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!

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.

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.

This book is mainly historical fiction--about life in the medieval world and about the changes and outright reforms that King Henry II of England instituted in the 1200s--with only the teeniest possible bit of fantasy thrown in to get three modern teenagers sent back to the thirteenth century. They each end up in very different situations which teach them something about themselves and the world, one an impoverished peasant, one a wealthy knight, and one a young lady struggling to have some control over her own future, but eventually they find each other again and try to figure out how to get back to their own time.

As readers we learn along with these characters about the difficulties of life in the thirteenth century, and we learn it in some fascinating detail. We see daily life and society in a poor farming village, a royal court, the Jewish quarter of Cambridge, and an abbey, we see medieval warfare, we see the workings of the judicial assizes that Henry II created.

This book has many themes that will continue to show up in the author's future books under the name Ariana Franklin, such as medieval Cambridge, the hostility towards the Jews, and most notably, Henry II. He actually has a large role in this book, as the three protagonists get to know and admire him.

The writing is excellent, the story is interesting and touching, the characters are real, well-rounded and sympathetic, and the historical backdrop is detailed. I dearly wish this book would be reprinted, because there's only one copy in any library in the Bay Area, and used copies online cost a bundle. Her new books are so popular that I'm sure reprints of her older ones would do well. Please, publishers?

What would happen if you were suddenly thrust back into the 12th century? What would you do? Where would you live? What would you wear? What would you eat? How would you travel? What would your attitude to life be? And how would you seek justice, if you'd been wronged?

Fitzempress' Law is a novel that succeeds in answering these questions. It's the story of three teenagers from the present who are thrown back in time when their motorcycle crashes. Pete becomes a knight; Len becomes a villein; and Sal becomes a novice, set in a convent when her betrothal goes awry. Soon, all three must use the law--that of the King, Henry II, also called Fitzempress--in order to right wrongs that were visited upon them.

It's a brilliant evocation of the late twelfth century--the sights, the smells, the people, all come alive, because all aspects of the twelfth century are vividly described. She even gets the medieval mindset down right. Even if I hadn't known much about Henry II's England, I would have learned a lot about the period anyways, because all the details are so absorbing. And, because these three main characters come from such different walks of life (as their past selves) there's a lot to cover. So often, authors who write about this particular period focus on the big stuff: the kings, queens, popes, and wars. It's great to see an author who focuses on the small stuff as well.

Norman (who has written a number of novels under her other name, Ariana Franklin) has clearly done her research, but she doesn't hit her reader over the head with it. Rather, she unfolds bits and pieces of the 12th century at a time, as it applies to the course of the plot. Especially well done is Norman's description and understanding of legal matters.

However, I did feel as though the modern-day personalities weren't as well drawn out (mostly, I suppose, because Len, Sal, and Pete are all in a coma as all this goes on), and they seemed to become a little too adjusted to the past, too quickly. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this novel. Highly recommended, if you can find a copy somewhere--prices online for it tend to be exorbitant. They really need to reissue this one!