Product Description

Twelfth-century anatomist, Adelia Aguilar must once again examine the dead as gruesome events are beginning to unfold...Henry II's favourite mistress, Rosamund Clifford, has been poisoned - and, rumour says, by his jealous wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. If Henry believes the stories, England will be torn apart as King battles Queen. In a race against time to prove Eleanor's innocence, and with a dangerous assassin on the loose, Adelia has never faced greater danger. The armies that might cause civil war lie behind her. The icy winds of a dreadful winter blow around her. And ahead she must brave the thorns of the impenetrable labyrinth that surrounds Fair Rosamund's tower, and decipher the mystery of the dead woman who lies frozen within.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6125 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Franklin is one of the very best creators of medieval whodunits writing today. --Guardian

Review
Highly entertaining...Franklin is an adept storyteller who disseminates her research into the period with clarity and lightness of touch

Review
Captivating...this excellent adventure delivers high drama.

Customer Reviews

4.5 Stars - A very good historical mystery
First Sentence: The two men's voices carried down the tunnels with a reverberation that made them indistinguishable but, even so, gave the impression of a business meeting.

King Henry II refused to let Adelia Aguilar return to her home at the School of Medicine in Sicily so she is living in the fens with her baby daughter Allie, companion and baby's nursemain Gyltha, the Saracan Mansur, who poses as the doctor allowing Adelia to treat patients without being named a witch, and her new dog Ward.

King Henry's mistress, Rosemund, has been poisoned and his wife, Queen Eleanor is being accused. Adelia, recruited by Rowley, must prove Eleanor's innocence before the country is brought to civil war.

In some ways, this seemed a much bigger story than Franklin's first book (Mistress of the Art of Death) because of the themes.

Franklin presents a very real, unromanticized look at the time and the people in it, including Thomas Beckett and Queen Eleanor. She clearly illustrates how difficult it was to be a woman during the time as well as what life was like during civil war for those not of the ruling class.

Her descriptions are extremely visual and sometimes quite unpleasant but very effective. Although I had read the first book, I appreciated the way Franklin provided a recapitulation of the plot and the character's backgrounds sufficient to bring readers up to current to this book. It's not all politics and description.

The plot is fascinating with good intrigue and suspense with bits of romance and humor. Yes, there are anachronisms, but they are small and I've willing to forgive them when viewed against the strengths of the story. In all, it was a fascinating book and a thoroughly good read.

Second book in the Adelia Aguilar Series

First, let me warn the reader that this book is also published under the title The Serpent's Tale.

Ariana Franklin is the pseudonym of a well-known author of historical novels, Diana Norman, wife of the film critic Barry Norman. She is a former Fleet Street Reporter and lives in Hertfordshire.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's first book The Mistress of the Art of Death, finding it well researched and very well written, so of course I was delighted when I saw the Serpent's tale in the bookshop. Sometimes in these circumstances the reader feels let down, either because the second book is not as good as the first or more likely the reader's expectations are too high. No such thing with this book, it is equally as good if not better than the first, particularly as the main character of Adelia Aguilar is now familiar to those who have read the first book.

In the first novel, Adelia initially came to England at the request of Henry I who asked his cousin the king of Sicily to send him a "Master of Death" an early version of our present medical examiner in the hope that a scientific examination would be able to exonerate the Jewish community and save them from the rioting mob who believe that the Jews sacrifice Christian children. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno. But her name is Adelia, the king has been sent a mistress of the art of death.

In the Serpent's Tale Henry II is now on the throne and his mistress Rosamund Clifford has died a painful death by poisoning. Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine is the number one suspect. Henry feels that this could well be the start of a campaign by Eleanor to discredit him and take the throne either for herself or her son's. Civil war could soon break out and Henry needs an answer to the crime and quickly. Henry immediately sends for Adelia is Mistrress of the Art of Death, who is less than pleased to be brought from retirement in the country where she is spending a carefree life attending to the needs of her little daughter.

All historical fiction should be so good!
This is an excellent follow up to Mistress of the Art of Death (which I highly recommend you read first, though it isn't strictly necessary!) and picks up a few months after the first left off.
Adelia Aguilar is a supremely well-formed protaganist and the plot is just convoluted enough to be interesting without being long-winded or impossible to follow. The changes in Adelia wrought by motherhood are particularly interesting, which is why I recommend reading Mistress.. first.
This is a wonderful mystery, rich with historical detail that in no way leaves you feeling like you are reading a text book. It is clearly well-researched but the details simply help to immerse the reader in the story, without detracting from it. And speaking as someone who does history for a living, that is no mean feat.
For anyone with an interest in history and a love of mysteries, this is a book not to be missed and I for one am very much hoping that there will be many more tales from Dr Aguilar's casebook in the future.