Book 88: The Serpent's Tale

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin is a work of historical fiction. Judging by the very defensive post-script by the author, apparently some of her historical assertions are debatable. I just read it as fiction, so I didn't care.

Here's what it is. It's the second book about The Mistress of the Art of Death, Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar. She just goes by "Adelia." It's the 1150s, and Adelia was born into circumstances which allowed her to be raised without much religious influence and with all available education. She is known for solving murders by performing autopsies, but she has to pretend that her male friend is the doctor and she is his translator.

King Henry insists that she help solve the mystery of his girlfriend, Rosamund. Others want her to prove that King Henry's wife didn't kill his girlfriend so that the country won't have to endure another civil war. The political stuff is actually pretty much just background when you're reading; it's more about Adelia.

Adelia is a fun character. She's very self-interested, and must be forced to help others. She is extremely frustrated that the state of society forces her to hide her intelligence. Also, Adelia is often involved with hyper-religious folks who object to autopsies (and sometimes object to all scientific inquiry), hindering her murder-solving.

It's a pretty good novel, with interesting characters and settings. If you're an English history buff, you might dislike some arguable inaccuracies, but if you just read it as a story, it's very enjoyable.