Customer Reviews

The Tenth Gift: A Novel

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are a couple of subjects that I consistently seek out and read whatever I can find out about them. Seeing as I mostly read fiction this means I end up reading a lot of novels on the same subject- the settling of Australia, Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, rebellions against the Roman empire and white women in harems. It was that last obsession that lead me to this book, "The Tenth Gift."

"The Tenth Gift" is the story of two women in very different times, connected by birthplace and a love of embroidery. Julia Lovat is a modern woman with a secret-she's been seeing her best friend Anne's husband Michel for seven years and is racked by guilt but unable to give up the relationship. Luckily Michael makes the decision to end it for her and gives her a parting gift of a seventeenth century embroidery book.

Cat is a 17th century housemaid in the richest manor in her neck of Cornwall but she wants more for her life. She wants to be a master embroiderer, something only men can aspire to, and travel far beyond her home But just when it looks like she will stuck forever in Cornwall married to her cousin fate intervenes.

It is the book Michael gives Julia "The Needle Woman's Glorie" which tells Cat's tail. It contains, written by her own hand, a diary account of Cat's days in Cornwall and the fateful day which made Cat one of the sixty or so men, women and children who were taken in a church raid by Turkish pirates and transported to Morocco for sale.

Julia is soon caught up in Cat's captivating story (to the extent of dreaming the events that occurred) but she had no idea of the books true value. And when Michael realizes he has given her a gift worth a great deal of money he begins to try and get it back. To avoid him and search out more of Cat's history she heads to Morocco where the lives of Julia and Cat converge in the unexpected turns their destinies takes them.

As a first novel this isn't bad. The plot is interesting and it certainly brings to light a whole aspect of English history I knew nothing about (by 1625 there were than 2,000 English citizens who had been kidnapped and sold in Morocco.) And also tells how different Cornish culture, names and mythic beliefs varied from the rest of England. But like any book it has its bad points, the dialog is stilted and just plain weird sometimes and occasionally people act in ways-especially after terrible tragedies-that doesn't make any sense at all. There is also a mystical quality to the novel, an aspect of destiny, people connecting across times, possesions carrying part of their orginal owners spirits, which really was underplayed for most of the book. I really liked the mysticism of the book but it should have been either enhanced or taken out all together not just put together willy nilly.

But the vivid descriptions of scenery and embroidery do make up for a lot of the problems in the book.

All in all this is an enjoyable story and a very fast read that has some problems but this is still an author I will be on a the lookout for in the future. And though "The Tenth Gift" is very similar to another book I read recently, The Aviary Gate: A Novel they differ in enough ways to be able to read both without feeling like you've read it before.

Three point five stars. (P.S-While the title may not make sense until the end, in the end it is perfect for the novel (much better than the UK title of "Crossed Bones.")

Jane Johnson's first novel, The Tenth Gift, flies back and forth between the present and the past, woven together through a small book used as a journal by one woman and given to another as a parting gift for a failed relationship. In the present time, Julia Lovat finds the handwritten words of Catherine Tregenna inside the small book of needlepoint; through Cat's thoughts Julia discovers that Cat was kidnapped from her Cornish home in 1625 by Moroccan raiders to be thrust into slavery. It is only as Julia's ex realizes his costly mistake--he'd meant to give her another book; this one is obviously an historical treasure--that she finds herself going to Morocco to learn more of the life of the young girl who had yearned for adventure and found so much more.

This is an exciting book, and the chapters written from Cat's point of view are especially well done. I knew very little about life in Morocco during this time period, and Cat's untamed character was not only believable, it was her salvation. The present day characters were far less appealing; Julia's seven year affair with her best friend's husband, who is something of a cad, set the stage for my not liking her, and while I could understand her need to experience something new, I just didn't connect with her as well. The mystical elements are good but far between; just when I'd forgotten they were even involved in this tale, they'd come at me again unexpectedly (and not necessarily naturally). However, this unusual tale is entertaining, and to lovers of dual points of view and historical fiction, it is a gem. Be prepared to love Cat and her choices.

Pirates off the coast of Cornwall in 1625? The abduction of a flame-haired beauty and others from a Sunday service, the captives swept into the hold of a ship sailing to Morocco? Such a scenario would seem the stuff of nightmares and fairy tales, were it not grounded in historical fact. Using this obscure information, Johnson fashions an adventure that begins in Cornwall and ends in the slave markets of Morocco, two women centuries apart caught in the mystery of an exotic place, yet sharing a common bond. Catherine Anne Treganno is the unlikely captive of corsair raiders, Julia Lovat pursuing the young woman's journey as written in a precious 17th century book on embroidery, "The Needle Woman's Glorie". It is on these pages, in tiny script, that Cat pens her diary, few expectations in life, a planned marriage to a man she does not love and the day her life changes forever as she and other villagers are snatched from their church, destination Morocco, to be sold as slaves.

When first the book comes into her possession, Julia Lovat has no idea of its value. Neither does soon-to-be-ex-lover, Michael, the husband of Julia's best friend. Michael offers the book as a parting gift; only later does he realize his mistake, desperate to recover the valuable tome. Retreating from London to Cornwall, Julia at first has no idea of the book's secrets. When she discovers Cat's fascinating diary, she reads the young woman's entries obsessively, fascinated and appalled by the sudden turn in Cat's fortunes. She reads of the hardships on the slave ship, the fearsome attacks on the high seas, Cat attending the wounded after one battle. Two cultures collide as Cat refuses to be cowed by circumstances, even though her actions may bring certain death at the hands of her oppressors. Of course, it is Cat's spirit that makes her all the more intriguing.

Julia will not be left alone in Cornwall to ponder Cat's fate once she reaches her final destination, or whether a ransom is ever paid, for Michael has followed in a bizarre repetition of Cat's journey centuries earlier. Hoping to comfort her newly-widowed cousin, Julia finds no peace with Michael on her trail. Boldly, Julia sets out to track Cat across the ocean, hoping to discover what became of the kidnapped woman, but no matter where she goes, Michael will intrude. With the aid of a local guide, Julia immerses herself in an exotic city, the valuable book never out of her sight. It is in this distant place that Julia comes to terms with Cat's fate- for the diary ends abruptly- but also faces the consequences of her own choices as well as an unexpected opportunity, a direct result of her quest to learn more about the enigmatic Cat. With her own experience to inspire this unusual tale, Johnson weaves past and present in an intricate pattern of intrigue, love and adventure. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

"Innocent maid captured by pirates, falls in love with handsome captain" has been a staple of romance novels for decades. Johnson tries to give her version of this story lit fic cred by framing it within a contemporary storyline. Unfortunately, the modern characters are all so terminally self-involved that they detract from, rather than add to, the novel.

When the novel opens, Julia is being dumped by her lover of 7 years, a guy she met when she was maid of honor at his marriage to her "best friend." As a parting gift, he gives her an antique book on needlework, because she likes needlework and now she's got all those Wednesday afternoons free ...

Between bouts of nausea at the thought of her lover sleeping with his wife (I guess this never came up over the previous 7 years) she begins reading the book and discovers it has been used as a diary by her 17th century counterpart, Catherine Anne Tregenna ("Cat"). It's indicative of Julia's character that when Cat's story shifts because she's abducted along with a group of other villagers in a daring pirate raid on a church, Julia is annoyed because she wanted to know more about 17th century life in Cornwall.

Cat's story follows a fairly predictable trajectory. First she's chained in the ship's hold with the other villagers, barely fed, forced to wallow in her own and others' filth as people die of disease. Then the captain is wounded, so she's taken to his cabin to tend his injuries. Seems he's not such a bad guy after all - he only kills and kidnaps English Protestants to get revenge for the deaths of his family during the Spanish Inquisition, so it's okay, see?

Julia's segments are told in first person (of course!) and rely heavily on coincidence and overwrought parallels with the historical story to drive the action. Cat's chapters are introduced with entries from her diary but then switch to omniscient third person. It's an odd construction and the transitions always felt clunky to me. There's a slight paranormal twist tacked on at the end that didn't work for me at all, considering the character involved.

I'm sure there's are plenty of people who wouldn't touch a "romance novel" who will adore this "love with a pirate captain" story, and a multiculti, politically correct group who will appreciate the heavy-handed "women thwarted by English patriarchy find fulfillment in Muslim country" theme. Personally, I liked the author's story of how she came to write the book much better than the actual novel.

I really liked where the book was headed. Great story line with interesting topic. And then with about 50 pages to go, the book completely stops in it's storytelling and goes into a lesson on Islam and stays there for the remainder of the book?? I wouldn't recommend this to anyone I know. I gave it 3 stars for the first 2/3rds of the book.

Julia receives a break-up gift from her long-time, married lover. Shocked by this development, Julia finds solace in this gift, a very old book on embroidery. Being a talented embroiderer herself, she enjoys the patterns depicted there. Then she discovers that Cat, a talented embroiderer from the early 1600's, has written journal entries in fine print across the contents of the book. Cat's story about her capture as a slave intrigues her. Following Cat's story, she finds refuge from the pain of her break-up. In order to find out whether Cat's story is actual history, she travels to Morocco, where she has adventures of her own.

The Tenth Gift is narrated first by Cat and later by Julia, then alternating between the two in subsequent chapters. Although this format proved to be quite interesting, there are sections of the storyline that are tedious and superficial. Julia's trip to Morocco to uncover the truth as to the existence of Cat is a colorful presentation of a very different land. The two love stories embedded in the book are interesting but lack sincerity. I recommend this book, but it isn't perfect.

First Sentence: "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they have never happened before, like larks that have been singing the same five notes for thousands of years."

Born in Cornwall, Julia Lovat loves doing embroidery. As a supposed consolidation for her married lover ending their affair, he gives he a book of embroidery patterns from the 1700s once owned by Catherine Tregenna. Julia discovers the books contains more than patterns but is also a journal of Catherine's live, particularly during the time when Muslim pirates kidnapped Cornish residents and transported them to Morocco as slaves. Julia's former lover is desperate to get the book back, but Julia decides to follow Catherine's path and goes to Morocco.

I do needlepoint, rather than embroidery, but understand working with pattern and fibers and it was part of the books appeal to me.

The story is told in first person from the perspective of Julia and Catherine during the two time periods. The two periods were handled well with the transitions being clearly done. The history was interesting and informative, albeit realistically brutal. The author's descriptions create a very strong sense of place.

Oddly, I didn't particularly care for either female protagonist. Both seemed immature, self-centered and rather callous. The two romances struck me as improbably and rushed.

The plot was rife with coincidences, but they were needed to make the story work. There is even a paranormal element which rather tied everything together. Although it was a good read and I enjoyed it, the book certainly wasn't a perfect book.

The two intertwining stories of both Julia in modern day Cornwall, and of Catherine in 17th century Cornwall mix together for an engaging and enthralling story within a story. The characters of both Julia and Catherine are very well developed, they are both captivating and interesting woman you will like. Both of their lives bring intrigue, passion, and endurance as well as heartache, love and pain. I was totally riveted to this novel, and could not put it down. The author's detailed and evocative descriptions of the actualities of the Barbary Pirate slave trade, and the luscious and exotic environment of Morocco then and now, leap off the page allowing the reader to feel as if they were there in that spiced and alluring foreign land. In a small way this reads like an old fashioned historical romance but it has much more substance and is written in a more literary style. The added attraction of weaving in the art of embroidery to both sides of the story was also very unusual. I eagerly await another masterpiece like this from the author, and think she deserves many claps and a standing ovation!

"There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they have never happened before, like larks that have been singing the same five notes for thousands of years."

These well-chosen lines from Willa Cather mark the start of the gripping and entwined tale of two women --- one an affluent modern-day woman, the other a servant girl from the 17th century. Thirty-something Londoner Julia Lovat is enmeshed in an affair with the husband of her erstwhile best friend. Her married lover ends the affair abruptly, giving Julia an uncharacteristically generous gift in parting: an antique book of embroidery patterns. Julia finds original diary entries from the early 1600s written in the margins of the book in tiny, nearly indecipherable print.

As Julia transcribes these entries, she becomes engrossed in the life of the book's original owner and diarist --- 19-year-old lady's maid Catherine (Cat), who yearns for a more adventurous life than the one that appears to be in store for her. Cat is a gifted embroiderer who hopes --- somewhat optimistically, considering her era and circumstances --- to be recognized as a master artist. She is being pressured into marrying her upstanding, if uninteresting, young cousin. Cat hopes for some great adventure that will avert this dull fate, allow her to see the world beyond Cornwall's borders, and in turn show the world what she herself is capable of achieving. Her idle ruminations on the future come to an abrupt halt one day as Cat, along with 60 others, is captured by Barbary pirates (or Corsairs, as they called themselves) during a daring slave raid on the Cornish coast.

Julia, who has become invested in Cat's fate and wishes to escape her own past, decides to travel to Morocco to pick up the thread of Cat's narrative after she is sold as a slave. In doing so, she embarks on a life-altering journey of her own, finding much in common with Cat, who may in fact have been a distant relative of hers.

The storyline moves seamlessly from Julia to Cat and back, capturing each woman's life with great verisimilitude. This incredible story was inspired by first-time author Jane Johnson's own life. She wanted to write a novel based on the life of a family member who was rumored to have been captured during a slave raid by the Sallee Rovers (Corsairs from Salé, now Rabat) and taken to North Africa. During her research into her ancestor's life, she discovered that between the 16th and 19th centuries, over a million Britons, many from Cornwall and other coastal regions, had been captured and enslaved by the Corsairs. Johnson's research led her to Morocco, where she met a man whose striking appearance impressed her so much that she cast him as the pirate chief in her novel, never suspecting that she herself would eventually marry the man in a Berber ceremony and move to a remote village at the foot of the Atlas Mountains to be with him.

Johnson's writing is infused with her own understanding of the two cultures, British and Moroccan, and she does a credible job of explaining the diverse viewpoints of her central characters in ways that remain true to them and their times. She weaves historical fact unobtrusively through the narrative, pointing out, for instance, that the Ottoman Corsairs took to piracy primarily in retaliation for the atrocities committed by Christian Spain on the Moors, such as the expulsion of third-generation Moroccan immigrants from Spain during the reign of Philip III.

The spice markets, narrow lanes and heady perfumes of Morocco; the wild beauty of the Cornish countryside; and the rhythms of daily life in each are captured in lush, sensuous prose. The descriptions of embroidery are so lovely as to make you want to learn to sew, or at least go admire a beautiful old shawl. The portrayal of the slave raid and its immediate aftermath, although detailed, is somewhat lacking in emotional resonance, but even this does not deter from the general narrative flow. The only jarring note in the entire 400-page book came towards the end, where a minor and tangential plot line felt forced to accommodate a supernatural slant to the story.

This small criticism aside, Jane Johnson has spun a truly masterful tale, confidently weaving historical fiction, suspenseful romance and literary sleuthing into one captivating narrative.

--- Reviewed by Usha Reynolds

Better known as fantasy writer Jude Fisher, Jane Johnson tries her hand at historical fiction with The Tenth Gift. The two protagonists are embroiderers, separated by four centuries, but there's no time travel in this tale. Julia Lovat's married lover, Michael, has dumped her, hoping to ease the pain with a parting gift, a 17th century needlework book. In addition to patterns, "The Needlewoman's Glorie" contains a sort of diary, written by Catherine (Cat) Tregenna in 1625. The Tenth Gift takes place now, with Julia setting off to "find" Cat, and also in 1625, when Cat is swept away into the adventure of a lifetime.

Julia's antagonists are her own conflicted emotions about Michael, Michael himself, who wants his book back, and the dangers she faces when she travels alone to Africa on her quest. Cat's are more daunting; hers come in the form of Barbary pirates, who capture her and more than fifty of her neighbors as they attend Sunday services, to sell into slavery. Cat's story is the more compelling one, being more dramatic than Julia's, but each woman must come to terms with who she is and what she wants, and finally to identify what is most important in her life. Set in Cornwall and Morocco, this novel contains plenty of historical detail, and is based upon actual events, though the main characters are fictional. I enjoyed the story, but somehow, since it never truly mattered to me what happened to Cat or Julia, reading it was more intellectual exercise than breathtaking saga.