The Gallows Curse - Karen Maitland

I have read two of Karen Maitland's historical novels Company of Liars (2008) and The Owl Killers (2009) in recent years. Both are set in medieval England and contain a mix supernatural elements and speculation on less well known historical facts. They are dark and well researched novels, showing the life of ordinary people in detail. I haven't always been too impressed with the way Maitland handled the supernatural elements in her novels but the were decent reads so when I came across The Gallows Curse in a bookstore in Maastricht last month I couldn't resist. Maitland delivered another solid novel but again, I felt some elements of the story were not handled as well as they might have been.

The year is 1210 and England is ruled by King John Lackland. A man with a lot of enemies and one of them happens to be the pope. After a row over the appointment of the bishop of Canterbury, the pope Innocentius III places England under an Interdict. No mass was allowed to be held and many priests fled the country. A situation that lead to babies left unbaptized, confessions left unheard and corpses buried in unconsecrated ground. The interdict puts Raffaele, the steward of the manor of Gastmere, in a very difficult position when his master and friend dies without having the chance to confess his greatest sin. After their experiences shared in the Holy Land, Raffeale cannot let his friend spend eternity in hell. He will have to use unconventional means to prevent it. Without her knowledge young villein Elena plays an important part in his plan and it will dramatically change the course of her life.

The pope's interdict is the historical event that drew Maitland's attention this time. Conflicts between the pope and heads of state over the appointment of bishops was common in Medieval times. Kings saw these appointments as a useful tool to reward supporters while at the same time making sure that the associated titles and lands would fall back to the crown after their death. Clergy could not have legitimate children after all. The pope of course, would rather appoint people loyal to the church and in the 11th and 12th century in particular, this lead to a series of conflicts with successive Holy Roman Emperors in which violence and excommunications were not uncommon. The whole affair became known as the investiture controversy and it was not limited to the Holy Roman Empire. The English King Henry I. ruling a century and a half before our story is set for instance, had an argument with the pope as well.

Innocentius III put England under interdict in 1208. He seems to have been fierce about protecting the church's position and this measure was one of the means he used t get his way. Apart from England, interdicts were placed on France and Norway as well during his papacy. When the interdict failed to make the king give in, John was excommunicated the following year. This didn't seem to have bothered the king in the slightest however. The general population bore the brunt of the pope's displeasure of course. In a society where the church played a pivotal role in everyday life, an interdict was a pretty extreme measure and could be a considerable burden to the population. Historians don't agree on how much of a burden it actually was. The church in those days was pretty demanding too, after all. Personally I think I could have lived with a few less masses. Then again, I don't particularly fear spending eternity in hell. The fact is that John's actions against clergy siding with Rome caused quite a disturbance and in the novel, Maitland uses this historical event in a very believable way. The interdict did not include confessions and absolutions for the dying, even if the text on the back of the book suggests otherwise, but without a priest around, who could perform such essential services?

Perhaps it is not surprising the people in the book are very sensitive to superstition. Without a church to protect them, they see evil omens and witchcraft everywhere. The supernatural part of the novel is based on a series of superstitions surrounding Mandrake root. Many strange properties have been ascribed to this plant through the ages. Maitland mentions more than a few and gives it a point of view in her novel. It plays a pivotal role in events. The Mandrake root never judges but allows people to do some pretty dreadful things. As with Maitland's other books, I feel the supernatural element is the story is more present than it really needs to be. Her characters don't really need it to provide a motivation for their actions and the acts of violence they do commit, are quite within the real of the possible without divine aid. In the end, the Mandrake root is mostly there to misdirect the readers and create an air of mystery in the story. I must admit I didn't really see the eventual twist coming but the resolution of this mystery did not really satisfy me.

Another element I didn't really think convincing is the relationship between the two main characters. Raffaele is a tormented character, castrated before puberty but never achieving the singing voice the church hoped for, he spent most of his life at his Lord's side. He carries with him the scars from events in the Holy Land as well as Gerhard's terrible secret. While this part of his history and motivations become more or less clear over the course of the novel, his obsession with Elena is presented more or less like a fact. He chooses her on the faulty assumption she is 'innocent' and spends the rest of the novel paying for that mistake I guess. Not entirely undeserved one might add, Raefaelle's use for the young girl is quite repulsive. Elena for her part, scarcely seems to care about him beyond his efforts to keep her safe, insofar her hideout could be called that. It leads to quite a lot of melodrama, especially later on in the novel, none of which feels very convincing to me.

All things considered, I liked the history and setting a lot more than the characters or stories in this novel. The Gallows Curse is a decent read, it kept me engaged and mildly curious to see how events would play out but it is not a book I'd be tempted to reread. I do feel the story fell flat in the last few chapters. By the time the fates of Raffeale and Elena became clear I didn't really care about either of these characters enough to really get caught up in the climax of the story. A shame, I feel this novel did have potential. Some readers might still enjoy this novel, as I said, it isn't a bad read, but if you are looking for an introduction into Maitland's writing I would suggest trying Company of Liars first.

Book Details
Title: The Gallows Curse
Author: Karen Maitland
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 564
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-241-95836-0
First published: 2011

The Owl Killers - Karen Maitland

The medieval period in Europe serves as an inspiration to many a fantasy novel. Apparently there is something very appealing to imagining oneself living in such an environment, so much so that our perception of the period has become more than a bit romanticized. In sharp contrast, history books tell us just how miserable and brutal life could be for a large part of the population. Historical fiction does not entirely escape the romanticizing of this period but quite a few novels attempt to paint a more realistic picture. Like Maitland's previous book Company of Liars, The Owl Killers does not shy away form the harshness of life. Hunger, disease, natural disasters, oppressive taxation and unbridled religious madness, very little is spared the 14th century village the book depicts. It makes The Owl Killers in a very dark book. Fear is a main ingredient an the author makes sure the reader knows it.

The Owl Killers is set in the year 1321 in the fictious village of Ulewic, located somewhere near Norwich. The church and a minor noble rule the village but below the surface old superstitions linger. Besides being caught between these two pillars of medieval life, the mysterious Owl Masters terrorize the village with their harsh brand of justice. Their presence appears to be a remnant from pre-Christian times, going back to pagan gods like Anu and Cernunnos. The cult has been slowly fading away since a last outburst a century ago. Their Aodh is not content to let this happen, he means to force the village to return to the old ways.

A recent development plays right into his hand. A group of Flemish Beguines, a recently established lay-religious order has acquired land near the village and built a beguinage. Their community appears to be thriving despite the difficult times. Hunger and disease seem to pass them by, raising suspicious of witchcraft. The actions of their stern, rather stubborn and sharp-tongued leader, a woman known as Servant Martha, doesn't do much to increase their popularity in the village. When she takes in a villager cast out of the community because he developed leprosy, a head-on collision with the local community seems inevitable.

Part of the inspiration for this novel comes from the author's interest in the Beguine movement, a lay-order that was mostly active in the Low Countries, Germany and France from the thirteenth century on. They never seem to have established themselves in England, although the author mentions in her historical note that there are hints that they did try. It reminded me of one of the major landmarks in the city of Amsterdam, het Begijnenhof. Although I was born in that city I've never actually been there. Considering the events that took place in the low countries during the reformation it is a miracle a community of Beguines survived into the 20th century. A more of less independent community of women, taking care of their own affairs in a time when women generally had little say over their lives. I can see the appeal of such a community.

Life in the Beguine community revolves around religion but the author also stresses the importance of the Catholic church in other parts of the novel. The chapters are named after the day they depict and these are referred to by the name day of a particular saint or martyr or a catholic feast. The reckoning of time and the habits, traditions and customs associated with that day are some of the many historical details of everyday life the author uses to draw the reader into the medieval setting. This focus on the life of ordinary people is also one of the major strength of Company of Liars. Little and not so little acts of faith and superstition drive the story.

Although the church is a dominating force in the community the real fear that permeates the book is caused by the Owlman. A demon summoned by the Owl Masters that has not been seen for over a century. This supernatural force plays an important part in the eventual conclusion to the novel and is also the reason why I didn't particularly like the ending. As one of the characters says in the final chapters, people create their own gods and demons. Given the minor presence of the demon early on in the book, and the horrific acts the people themselves are clearly capable of, the story doesn't need this symbol of fear and superstition to take a physical form. The author makes it quite clear what the power of faith can do to people and it is more than enough to drive the story.

As with Maitland's previous book I loved the historical component of the story, the well researched look into everyday life, the details on taxation by the church and landowners and the speculation about what might have happened to an attempt by the Beguine movement to gain a foothold in England in particular. The supernatural element is the book is used in a bit too literal a fashion I suppose. Do we really need a flesh and blood monster to create a sense of dread in a time that gave rise to some of the strangest cults and where the most absurd acts of faith (I really don't have another word for starving yourself to death to get closer to god) were accepted as truly pious? The Owl Killers could have been a great examination to one of the darker sides of the human psyche but in the final chapters the balance tips to the unbelievable. It was a very interesting read but also something of a missed opportunity.

Book Details
Title: The Owl Killers
Author: Karen Maitland
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 563
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-141-03189-7
First published: 2009

Company of Liars - Karen Maitland

Again it doesn't look like I will manage a second review this week. I'm about halfway through Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds at the moment. I may even finish tonight but even if I do, I won't have time to write the review until Monday. So I dug up an older review again. I intend to read The Owl Killers, mentioned in this review sometime in April. Mind you, the two books are not a series of any kind. I edited this version slightly to weed out the most annoying errors in the original.

It’s been a while since I read any historical fiction. I don’t usually read a lot of it but once in a while the mood grabs me as it did last week. So I picked up a copy of Company of Liars: A Novel of the Plague, a historical mystery by Karen Maitland. As the title suggests it is set during the time of the Great Plague that swept across Europe between 1347 and 1351. I was a bit hesitant to pick it up, there are scores of books on this topic and I have read a number of them already. Despite the subtitle the plague is not one of the main ingredients of the book. Most of it is focussed on the group dynamic in the company. The book has been compared to The Canterbury Tales. Personally it reminded me more of And Then There Were None.

On Midsummer’s day 1348 in a town in the south of England we meet the narrator of the story. He is a Camelot, a man in the business of selling news and articles of dubious origin. Our Camelot mostly sells amulets and relics. He sees it as selling hope himself but nothing of what he sells is genuine of course. Rumours of the plague that has swept across Europe have reached England. Now it seems this punishment of God is headed in their direction too. After witnessing one of the first victims fall to the plague he decides it is time to be on the road again.

He is not the only one, through various meetings and coincidences a company forms around the Camelot. A musician and his apprentice, a conjurer, a midwife, a story-teller, a young couple on the run expecting their first child and a mysterious, rune-casting girl join him. Steadily making their way north and east the company tries to outrun the plague until winter’s chill will end it. Each of the company carries their own secrets and none seem willing to share. However, shared hardships form bonds in this unlikely company and bit by bit the stories of the various characters become clear. So it goes until the company reaches a number of nine and the rune-casting girl pronounces the company complete. Around Christmas the young couple’s child is born and adds tenth member to the company. This is when the deaths start.

As I mentioned in the introduction the plague sets the stage but other than that it is not that important in the books. The author does not feel the need to go into great detail on the horror of the plague. She mentions the effects of course, we get to see bits and pieces as the company travels, but mostly they try to avoid it, and they are reasonably successful in that. The company's main concern is how to survive on their meagre resources in a country where crops are failing and people are not selling what little they do have. Tensions within the company flare often but striking out on their own may be death sentence to any who try.

In the mean time the reader is mostly occupied with trying to puzzle out who is hiding what. As the title suggests all the company's members are liars. They are hiding things from the others and from themselves sometimes. Most of them have done things they are not proud of in the past. One by one their secrets are revealed, usually with painful consequences. It could have made an interesting puzzle but the author makes sure to drop hints well in advance of revealing the secrets. Not all of them are equally subtle so in some cases the reader gets plenty of warning.

The author adds quite a bit of historical detail to the story. Not in the way of who rules what or which major historical development is taking places, but things you’d come across in the every day life of the characters. Everything from customs in the villages they pass though to the religious details that governed society. One thing that struck me in particular are the descriptions of the road fare the company lives on. Medieval cuisine for ordinary people was not known for it’s finesse. A lot of it consists of sticking everything they can gather or kill into a pot and boiling it until they are reasonably sure it is dead. Quite palatable when you are on the brink of starvation no doubt. These details of medieval cooking are used very effectively by the author. The Camelot’s way of recounting it as nothing out of the ordinary makes the reader feel immersed in medieval times.

My feelings on Company of Liars are mixed. I thought the historical component of the book was very well done. The focus of the lives of characters you won’t find in the history books works very well for me. The mystery part of the book falls flat though, especially near the end. I don’t want to give away the ending of the book in this review but the author seems to have no such inhibition. For me the shape of the story was quite clear well before reaching the climax of the book. It didn’t help that the end is quite bitter either. It does leave us with the interesting question of how much of the story is true. The narrator after all, is a liar. So not a complete success but the writing is good, the book intriguing, I would not be at all surprised if Maitland goes on to write some very good historical mysteries. Despite it’s flaws I will most likely be temped to pick up her next book The Owl Killers, scheduled for US release in September 2009.

Book Details
Title: Company of Liars
Author: Karen Maitland
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 559
Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-141-03833-9
First published: 2008