The fourth book in Franklin's "Mistress in the Art of Death" series finds medieval pathologist Adelia Aguilar enjoying a quiet domestic life in a small village in England, surrounded by her daughter, her lover, Rowley, the Archbishop of Albon, her friend Mansur, a Moor, and various others she has picked up on the way. Her domesticity is shattered when Henry II, who originally requested her services from Palermo and now refuses to give her a passport to leave England, asks, or rather commands, her to accompany his ten year old daughter Joanna to Sicily for her wedding with William II. Adelia is thrilled to be going back home until Henry informs her that he will be "safekeeping" her daughter with his queen consort Eleanor, currently under house arrest (albeit quite a splendid house). Henry, you see, does not want to lose his female pathologist. Adelia reluctantly sets out on the journey, accompanied by Rowley, who wants Adelia out of England because someone, unknown to her, has been trying to kill her. The journey turns perilous for all involved when Adelia's would-be killer joins the large traveling party and people start to die.
Franklin is a master at weaving historical fact into her narratives, and includes a section of author's notes at the end explaining the historical context of the novel. Palermo in the twelfth century did accept females as students, and it was famous for its work in anatomy and pathology. Similarly, other events and people scattered throughout the book are based in historical fact and woven into the fabric of the novel. I would suggest that if you haven't read the other novels in the series that you do not start with this one, but rather with the first, Mistress of the Art of Death. Franklin leaves us this time on a cliffhanger, so here's hoping the next book comes soon!
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