The Plague Tales [Hardcover]

Ann Benson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1997

Fourteenth-century physician Alejandro Guzman, caught performing an autopsy in Spain, flees across Europe at the time of the Black Death to escape execution for his heretical deed. When he arrives in the Papal city of Avignon, he is conscripted against his will to serve as a Plague Doctor in the court of England's Edward III. Unfolding in a dramatic counterpoint is the story of American medical archaeologist Janie Crowe, in England at the turn of the 21st century to recover from the tragic loss of her family. She digs up a medieval artifact as part of her research and unwittingly releases a deadly plague bacterium on an unprepared world. These two unwilling heroes from two different centuries are linked by history and defined by circumstance. Here are their stories--the plague tales.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Before venturing back and forth in time with this historical and futuristic adventure novel, Ann Benson was best known for her beads. The idea for The Plague Tales came to her during a period of research in London for one of her craft books; passing by an open plot of ground, she learned that it was a mass grave for 14th-century victims of the bubonic plague, inspiring her own fantastic version of the disastrous disease's effects.

The Plague Tales consists of two parallel stories: one an account of a king's physician in 14th-century England, the other a tale of futuristic London--a time when antibiotics no longer cure and "Bio-Cops," empowered to exterminate those suspected of carrying disease, prowl the streets.

From School Library Journal

YA. First time novelist Benson tells a parallel tale of 14th- and 21st-century England, centered on the ever-fascinating Bubonic Plague. Alejandro Canches, a 14th-century Spanish physician, becomes the Papal appointment to the English court of Edward III. He is consigned the task of keeping the court alive during the Plague years beginning in 1348. The descriptions of treatments, daily life, and death during these terrible times are fascinating. Alternating chapters take place in 2005, a few years after the "Outbreak" and the end of antibiotic effectiveness against microbes. This is a world of biocops who shoot to kill if the infected try to escape, where transatlantic travel must be done in sterile gowns and masks, and "body printing" eliminates any semblance of privacy. Physician Janie Crow, in England for mandatory retraining since the drastic drop in population has rendered her surgical skills obsolete, accidentally unleashes the 14th-century plague bacillus on an ill-prepared London. This adventure grabs readers and carries them back and forth in time on the trail of the deadly bacteria. The blend of historical color and current biotechnology trends will have great appeal to young adults. It works as historical fiction, science fiction, or a technology thriller.?Carol DeAngelo, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press; First Edition edition (May 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385316518
• ISBN-13: 978-0385316514
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,414,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Bio-Thriller!, June 27, 2004

By 

Robin Currier - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Plague Tales (Mass Market Paperback)

This book would be great to take on an airplane or to read on the beach if you want an exciting, but not too deep, read.

A really clever plot keeps you wondering right from the beginning. Two alternating tales of bubonic plague in the 14th century and disease outbreaks in the 21st century future keep you guessing what the connection between the two tales might be.

Both tales are equally fascinating: One is the story of a wandering Jewish physician from Spain who is unwillingly caught up in the political intrigues between Pope Clement and King Edward of England while trying desperately to hide the secret of his past. His experiences of plague in medieval Europe are frightening and grotesque. The other tale is of a woman physician, Janie Crowe, of the near future who has suffered heartbreaking loss due to outbreaks of unspecified diseases that have swept America and threaten Europe. Hysterical fear of these diseases have changed the face of modern civilization--air travelers are forced to wear sterile suits and masks and powerful Bio Cops are authorized to shoot and kill if it is suspected that a citizen harbors disease. Janie is engaged in research in London, and unearths something that has a connection to the 14th century physician.

As the book progresses, these separate stories begin to entertwine, bringing us to an interesting conclusion.

Benson does a wonderful job of making both stories compelling and equally interesting, and she gives you tantalizing clues concerning how the earlier story will come to bear on the future one. However, a slightly supernatural thread just doesn't fit with the technological bent of the book, weakening it.

Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn between this book and "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis, a Nebula and Hugo award winner which contains the story of Kirin, a student in future London who is mistakenly sent back to a 14th century English village just when plague is breaking out. Like "Plague Tales," the Willis book alternates between the 14th century and England of the future. While superficially similar, "Plague Tales" is much more of a bio-thriller that is a fun book to read once and then pass along to a friend, while "Doomsday Book" is a deeper, more polished book with a stronger emotional impact that you will want to read again and again. Interesting how two different authors can come up with such different takes on a similar subject.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good paranoid blend of past and present, January 4, 2000

By 

Tracy Davis (California, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Plague Tales (Mass Market Paperback)

In Ann Benson's The Plague Tales, the reader is introduced to two timelines and two protagonists: Janie Crow, a former surgeon from the near future, and Alejandro Canches-Hernandez, a Jewish doctor of the 14th century. The world in which both characters live is dominated by illness and death. For Janie, it's world trying to recover from the "Outbreaks", an undefined plague that wiped out most of the US, including her family. For Alejandro, it's the Bubonic Plague, which killed almost half of Europe during the 1300s. These two timelines intersect at several points throughout the book, especially in the case of Caroline, Janie's assistant, who seemingly dreams of the 14th century while suffering from its scourge dug up in the early 21st century. Benson creates a wonderful sense of suspense as the reader approaches the first third of the book. Although some of the plot points are obviously contrived, especially in the modern timeline, by the middle of the story, the reader is taken in. Benson paints an accurate picture of ancient and modern prejudice, paranoia, and desperation, as the protagonists of both times race to save their worlds and themselves. A good read.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interwoven tale from the past and the future, December 22, 1999

By 

Karen Bierman Hirsh (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Plague Tales (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved the way The Plague Tales alternated between two time periods: the fourteenth century and a near-police state in the early twenty-first century.

I wrote a research paper on the black death and found this book to be very accurate in it's descriptions of the disease and the time period. I also liked that Ms. Benson was able to weave these two plots together so seamlessly and create a believable future London.

Her characters are very strong and I liked how Benson was able to show cause and effect relationships not just in one time period but between the centuries.

It reminded me very much of my favorite book The Eight by Katherine Neville. Ms. Benson was really able to capture the feeling of both a historical novel and a medical thriller without alienating fans of either genre.

This was a great read.