Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark

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50. – 513.) Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark – In 1382 Abbess Hildegard sets forth from her abbey in Yorkshire to deliver a secret missive to the archbishop at York. It is a time of great intrigue. There are competiting popes in Avignon and Rome. King Richard is uneasily on the throne with the country still unsettled over the brutal suppression of Wat Tyler and his peasant supporters. Hildegard, the widow of English knight, is well aware of the politics of the time but her ambition is more modest - to establish a small Cistercian abbey of 7 nuns using the inheritance she has received. Abbott Hubert of Meaux is unenthusiastic. She moves on to her childhood home at Castle Hutton to discuss a location with Sir Rodger. On the way she finds 5 young men executed by hanging and a 6^th slain by the sword. Rodger’s steward, Ulf, is her childhood friend. At a massive banquet Rodger is felled by poison. Hildegard sets out to identify the poisoner. She is uniquely worldly and spiritual. In a savage and violent era she skillfully makes her investigation. It is a good book but it never grabbed me. The story is well told and Hildegard is a very interesting character. Her relationships with Hubert and Ulf hint at worldly depth but remain proper. The mysteries Adelia, Mistress of Death, a century earlier grabbed me. Hildegard and Adelia are fiercely independent women in a time where women had little public role. I am not sure if I would buy another in the series. Paperback. (Dec. 27/09)

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