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Fiction. Mythology. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:The first novel in the Alix of Wanthwaite series, by bestselling author Pamela Kaufman. Eleven-year-old Alix is the daughter of the baron of Wanthwaite, whose lands along the Scottish border are among the best in England. But when her family is killed and her lands seized, Alix is forced to flee from the only home she�??s ever known. Her one hope of restoring her inheritance is to plead her case to King Richard the Lion Heart, who is far away in France, preparing to go on his Crusade. Alix resolves to follow him. She cuts her hair, dresses as a boy, and takes the road south to London. Disguised as a beautiful young boy, Alix is more than befriended by the handsome and mysterious King Richard, even becoming his favorite page. Their relationship sets tongues wagging and places Alix in considerable danger as the battle for Jerusalem unfolds. �??Richly rewarding, superbly written... The richness of the characters, the historical details, and the story as a whole make this novel a memorable reading experience.�?��??Chicago Su… (more)
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I found
Sure enough, the protagonist is an eleven-year-old girl, and the plot is linear, a coming-of-age-quest story with gender-bender elements but it is, by my standards, wholly adult.
The historical background is really a protagonist in itself, the beginning of the Crusade from England to France to Sicily to Cyprus and Acre, it feels vivid and it is probably accurate, along with the right dose of speculation and fiction.
I never had a strong feeling of deliberate gruesomeness but the author goes a little for shock value, in the historical events and most prominently in depicting the medieval society of the time.
Welcomed tropes, plot stretching, time skips, improbable expedients and convenient bends are also present, not too obtrusive for the whole structure of the tale, the historical part is surely stronger (including a certain irony on the Church, the "sheep masses", the game of kings and religion in general) than the characterization or the plot anyway. I had an easy time accepting what was going on, after all some aspects were so exaggerated (like the impromptu I-am-a-boy antics) I think I was expected to overlook the fantastic.
The protagonist is compelling but not always consistent, she is terribly naive in a scene and a consummate manipulator in another, but on the whole the story flows nicely and I liked it. The portrayal of Richard The Lion-Heart is a mix of history, myth and speculation, oh yes I liked it. The Scot protagonist speaks a very peculiar dialect, I guess it may be another technique of the author to stress authenticity, a bit confusing at first since all the others speak modernly with a choice of archaic colloquialisms or expressions like "I trowe" or sooth supplanting truth. Not detracting.
In short, a nice read, light on characterization, entertaining on history, even-paced and surely not lacking in humor. Of course I'll read the sequel.
But I wasn't really prepared to an encounter with Robin Hood.