The Illuminator

Brenda Rickman Vantrease

Paperback, $13.95

St. Martin’s Griffin

December 2005

492 pages

Getting back to my favorite–historical fiction–I enjoyed this book over the Thanksgiving holiday.  For a first novel the writing is pretty good, which is particularly hard to pull off when dealing with historical dialogue.  Though the main plot is not super interesting, the subplot and time period are fascinating, something about which I had no prior knowledge but now want to investigate further.

The main plot: In 14th Century England, the widow Lady Kathryn takes in an illuminator (illustrator) who is working on church texts.  She is losing all her money to greedy priests and rising taxes, and just wants to keep her estate in tact for her children.  Oh, and she really likes this new guy.

The subplot: Finn the Illuminator is not just working on approved church texts; he is creating an illegal English version of the Bible as part of the Lollard movement started by John Wycliffe to oppose papal authority.  The growing struggle between the establishment (i.e. Rome and the King) and the opposition (the Lollards and their protector, John of Gaunt) is riveting–I can’t believe we didn’t study this in school!  The way I learned it, the Protestant Reformation started with Martin Luther and Henry VIII, but the seeds of that movement were actually planted much earlier.

The “true history” contained in this novel makes it well worth a read, though as a protagonist Lady Kathryn alternates between stupid and annoying.  Maybe the author should consider a non-fiction project next time!