Green Darkness (Paperback)

The first portion of the book is set in 1968. American heiress Celia Taylor has married Richard Marsdon after meeting the young British nobleman on a cruise. They are blissfully happy and living on his Sussex estate when, during a visit to nearby ruins of a cathedral, she experiences some rather bizarre visions and her husband begins to be rather distant. Then, after a visit and tour of Ightham Mote, a manor house in the next county, she rather mysteriously faints. Her friend Dr. Akananda is worried. And he, but only he, knows what is going on. When Celia lapses into a catatonic state after hosting a dinner party, her future is very much at risk. It appears she needs to relive the events of her prior life before she can find happiness in the present.

At this point, the next 400+ pages of the book is set in the 1550s beginning with a visit of the young King Edward VI to the estate where Celia, now 15-year-old Celia Bohun, is living with her aunt Ursula. There she meets Stephen Marsdon, the young monk who has become the house priest for the estate, albeit covertly in the now protestant country, as decreed by Edward's father, Henry VIII. Celia is immediately smitten.

The book is intricately detailed with history of the period and characters meet and have conversations with Edward and then Mary and other historical figures of the time as the political and religious structure of the country has gone from Catholic to protestant and then back to Catholic again.

It is interesting to discover who the counterparts of the dinner guests of Celia and Richard Marston in 1968 are in the 16th C. It is clear early on that Ursula is Lily (Celia's mother) and Julian, the Italian physician, is Dr. Akananda. Some of the other characters aren't as apparent until later and it would be seen as a spoiler to reveal them here.

A small warning, don't do as I did and put names of some of the secondary characters into an internet search engine. Doing this with one character revealed a major spoiler nearly 100 years before the book told of it. It was also very interesting to discover that two of the secondary characters were ancestors of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So, for those who want to know more about the historical figures - major and minor - of the 16 C., I urge you to do so but wait until the book is completed.

Even though some of the details were a mystery, the eventual outcome of Stephen and Celia was pretty much known from the beginning. That said, the next to the last portion of the book where their 16th C. destinies are played out is some of the most dramatic of the entire book.

I'm not much into re-reading books - but this one is certainly going on my keeper shelf.

And so the older story begins, in the reign of Edward VI, as lovely young Celia de Bohun and her loving aunt take up residence with a grand family as "poor relations". Celia is a fascinating and "real" character, full of contradictions and human failings. She is headstrong and impulsive; dreaming of true love but entranced by male flattery; innocent but coquettish. She creates a scandal when she falls in love with the family chaplain, Stephen--who in turn desires Celia but does not want to break his vow of chastity. They part--but never forget each other. Time passes; Edward's persecution of Catholics gives way to Mary's persecution of Protestants; the family fortunes rise and fall; sympathetic characters harden into detestable ones (I weep for you, Magdalen!). Anya Seton draws us deeply into her world, filled with schemes, ambition, and lies; and with ghosts, madwomen, superstitions, and a particular, notorious Celtic witch. And when Celia and Stephen finally meet again, nothing can stop the power between them. It ends tragically, and we cry; we've been so sucked into the Tudor story that we forget we're headed back to the 1960's to resolve it all.

One gripe: It always gets on my nerves when authors of historical fiction insert modern beauty standards into their novels. I didn't like the treatment of the overweight girl, Mabel. This story is supposed to be taking place in a time when "pleasingly plump" was a compliment and not a euphemism. Had Mabel really lived, I doubt she would have been thought of so derisively. However, this gripe is sort of offset by the kudos I must give to Seton for having a sympathetic gay character in her novel--especially considering the date of publication. Even current romance writers (who should know better) still tend to assign homosexuality to the most depraved of villains. So, I grumble about Seton's treatment of the overweight, but I'm impressed with her treatment of the gay man in the story.

Overall: An enthralling story. Starts slow, but by the time you get to the halfway point, you won;t be able to put it down.