Customer Reviews

The Water Devil: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel (Margaret of Ashbury Trilogy)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Water Devil is another one of Judith Merkle Riley's wonderful medieval novels about Margaret of Ashbury. It is truly a gem of a book, colorful, descriptive, humorous, and completely fascinating. Margaret is such a wonderful character, feisty and intelligent and totally fearless. She has unusual healing powers (first revealed in A Vision of Light)and a fey quality that blurs the world of spirits and demons and ghosts with her normal surroundings. The wily Brother Malachi and his ally Sister Hilde return to help Margaret once again fight the forces of evil and save her family. Margaret's husband, Sir Gilbert, is gallant but rather clueless. Her father-in-law is my favorite comic relief character. In this book he finally meets his match and the ending is truly delightfully humorous. Once again, the world of the Middle Ages, of Edward III, the Black Prince, the Duke of Lancaster and the wars with France come vividly alive as a backdrop for Margaret's story. A must for lovers of historical fiction!

Years after its publication in German (?!), the conclusion of Judith Merkle Riley's Margaret trilogy has been published in English. Unlike many other series, you needn't have read the earlier books to thoroughly enjoy this one. I barely remember the plots of the first two Margaret books and hadn't been enamored of them (Riley's later book The Oracle Glass, however, is one of my all-time favorites)--but I found The Water Devil a rollicking read.

Riley is a fluid, graceful writer. Her characters and the dynamics among them are convincing even when, at times, they shouldn't be (the relationship between Margaret and her husband, for instance, would have been considered progressive in the 1950s, let alone in the 14th century). Perhaps best of all, these are characters that one enjoys spending time with.

All that's left to do now is hope that Riley is working on her next book...

I'm definitely a fan of Riley's historical fiction, and enjoyed the first two books in this series. However, I was rather disappointed with this one. The flow of the story line just wasn't there, seemed like pieces were taken out or unfinished. Also, whomever edited this book did a poor job. I lost count of how may times "Sir Hugo" was incorrectly written for "Sir Hubert". It was like a spell checker when through an did a replace on about half of the references. While I enjoyed the first two books, and the characters that Riley created, after reading this one I wonder if she just bowed to pressure to put out this one. I didn't really expect or think the series needed to continue, she's done well with creating new characters for her other novels. So, unfortunately, while I've kept many of my Riley's for my library, this book will go in my donation bin for the next trip to my local library.

The latest Lady Margaret of Ashford novel is painted on a smaller canvas, the story set in the household of her father-in-law, Brokesford Manor in 1362. The Sieur de Vilers, not uncommonly, is beset by debts, desperate to avoid selling off pieces of his land, the family legacy. At issue in this legal battle is a lush woodland with a spring that reputedly includes a demonic water spirit. The era still mired in ancient ritual and superstitions, the water spirit is much feared, the locals hoping to appease a greedy malcontent that requires periodic sacrifices from the villagers, one of which will ultimately be Lady Margaret's young son. Wife of Gilbert de Vilers, youngest son of Hubert de Vilers, Margaret has recently had her share of adventures abroad, settling happily into her London home with her red-haired daughters from a previous marriage and young son Peregrine de Vilers. Now the sanctity of Margaret's home is threatened by her father-in-law's injudicious financial commitments, the senior de Vilers casting desperately about for a source of income to defend the contested woods on his estate.

With their crops threatened and living conditions nearly unbearable, the villagers are slowly reverting to the old ways, invoking ancient gods for protection, delivering offerings to the spring. Rather than put her debt-free home up for surety against a loan, Margaret introduces Hubert de Vilers to the alchemist, Brother Malachi, who creates an impressive forgery of an ancient deed that will hopefully sway the magistrate in the de Vilers' favor. In order to plant the evidence, Gilbert's family must visit Brokesford Manor, where they encounter all means of trouble, not the least of which is the increasingly unpredictable moods of Lady Petronilla, Hugh de Viler's wife. Convincing everyone she is with child, Hugo's wife is behaving erratically, paranoid and hateful toward sister-in-law Margaret, who so far has borne the only de Vilers heir. Equally disturbing is the villager's appetite to appease the water spirit, Margaret's daughters willing partners with them at a dangerous time in church affair, the Inquisition looming.

From her prior novels, we know that Margaret possess the gift of healing and a second sight about the motivations of those in the lord's household, most notably the evil intentions of Petronilla toward Gilbert's family. Certainly, there are confusions enough for all to deal with, including a history of pagan sacrifices, a colorful exorcism and a magistrate who can be bought with a promise of his son's marriage to Margaret's daughter, Cecily. Throughout her travails, with Gilbert at her side, Margaret overcomes all with her usual tenacity and forgiving spirit, winning over even the dour Madame who has contracted to subdue the barbaric manners of the girls. Cognizant of the religious and political upheavals that define the era, Margaret protects her family from assaults on all fronts with the vigor of a lioness. Luan Gaines/2007.

Interesting read. Not quite as engrossing as earlier titles in the series. Some threads left hanging such as the fate of the two daughters, some new characters not as skillfully drawn or engaging as earlier ones. Worth buying, but probably not a title you'll want to read over and over again.

This wonderful book just sparkles with wit, humor and marvellously engaging characters.

Ms. Riley writes accurately and confidently about the Middle Ages, with a particular insight into the life/psyche of people and their mechanisms adapted to cope with the restrictions and limitations posed by this era.

The characters are drawn with a droll wit and charm; being of a somewhat sardonic nature, I especially loved the Sieur de Vilers.

Ultimately, though, this book imparts a sense of uplifting joy and joie de vivre; and is indeed a pleasure to enjoy.

a disappointment. Not as compelling, as intriguing as Judith Merkle Rileys wonderfully amusing, vivid and romantic A Vision of Light, which ranks as one of my all time favorite works of fiction. The Water Devil's not a bad book, just not up to the first two installments of the trilogy. If you want to enjoy a fabulous historical romance, try A Vision of Light and its sequel, Pursuit of the Green Lion. If you long to know what became of Margaret and Gregory after the first two novels, as i did, please try The Water Devil, just don't read it first or expect too much.

I'm sorry to have to say this book is defective. The last several pages of the book are upside down with margins at the end of each line being cut off making each line impossible to read. For story content I'm giving this book a "4" rating, but the printing defect has not made this particular copy a "keeper". I'll need to find my paperwork and return 'The Water Devil' for a copy with no defects. Hope I can return it with no problems, otherwise I'm out of luck.

This was very good, but just not as good as the first two. I missed Magaret's conversations with God.

All Ms. Riley's books are wonderful, the characters delightful, intelligent and witty, the time periods wonderfully well researched, the plots suspensful and engaging.
I 've been eagerly awaiting the English version of this book for a couple of years, and it was well worth the wait. The publisher's blurb/review is misleading, showing Margaret battling the Water Devil throughout the book, and suggesting a dire situation which doesn't evolve. The real villan of the book is Margaret's sister-in-law, who may or may not be mad, but is wicked in a most amusing manner through most of the book. Her horrible Father-in-Law adores his grandson and is growing a soul; and a new character is introduced, the governess of Margaret's daughters, a woman who can handle any situation in a truly ladylike manner.