Judith Koll Healey: The Lost Letters of Aquitaine

Reviewed by GERALDINE WHITEFORD

Readers of historical novels will relish The Lost Letters of Aquitaine, set in the turbulent times of the Plantagenet kings. The central character, Princess Alais Capet, is the daughter of King Louis VII of France and stepdaughter of the magnificent Eleanor of Aquitaine.

After divorcing Louis, Eleanor married the future Henry II of England. Thomas Becket arranged for Alais to marry Henry's son, Richard the Lion-heart. However, after King Henry II made Alais his mistress, the marriage did not take place. Against this extraordinary background, the spirited Alais agrees to Eleanor's request to travel to Canterbury Cathedral to retrieve Eleanor's letters, hidden behind the altar. The letters contain information that King John's enemies could use against him to foment further civil war.

While kneeling at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral, Alais is abducted by King John's knights and imprisoned; her ruby pendant engraved in Arabic is stolen; a complement of friendly knights then rescues her; she learns that her child born to King Henry II is alive and a possible threat to the throne; and she makes it back to France to meet up with Eleanor. There she learns the full story of the lost pendant. And during this adventure she falls in love.

Healey has carefully researched her story. Her characters are suitably garbed in wool, silk and furs, inhabit fire-warmed castles and manor houses, and feast on medieval delicacies. Her story contains suspense and competently weaves together several strands of medieval royal intrigue.

But the novel did not quell my scepticism about historical novels. Reading a story set in 1200 in the language of 2004 was disconcerting. The dialogue is strained, the characters are emotionally remote and awkward in their relationships. Readers who love this genre probably won't care but I found these defects unsatisfying. I would prefer a non-fictionalised account of these rollicking royal times.

HarperCollins $31.99

* Geraldine Whiteford is an Auckland reviewer.