Changeling by Philippa Gregory - Revision history

Sue at 08:58, 18 September 2020

2020-09-18T08:58:05Z

Jill at 21:40, 31 March 2018

2018-03-31T21:40:45Z

Sue at 14:18, 19 January 2015

2015-01-19T14:18:28Z

Sue at 12:07, 20 November 2012

2012-11-20T12:07:01Z

Sue at 09:41, 6 May 2012

2012-05-06T09:41:41Z

Sue at 09:19, 6 May 2012

2012-05-06T09:19:13Z

Sue: Created page with "{{infobox |title=Changeling |author=Philippa Gregory |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=9780857077301 |paperback=0857077325 |hardback=0..."

2012-05-06T09:16:33Z

Created page with "{{infobox |title=Changeling |author=Philippa Gregory |reviewer=Robert James |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=9780857077301 |paperback=0857077325 |hardback=0..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=Changeling
|author=Philippa Gregory
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Teens
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9780857077301
|paperback=0857077325
|hardback=0857077309
|audiobook=1442350237
|ebook=B007WVITWG
|pages=272
|publisher=Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
|date=May 2012
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857077309</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0857077309</amazonus>
|website=www.orderofdarkness.com/
|video=nM_QGJGsIx8
|summary=Fantastic characters and the way adult author Philippa Gregory has captured 15th century Europe so evocatively make her first book for teens a real success.
}}
Luca Vero is expelled from his monastery after being accused of heresy. The seventeen-year-old is recruited to map the End of Days, and his first task is to go to a nunnery where a Lady Abbess of his own age has been accused of witchcraft. Will he find Isolde guilty and condemn her to the pyre, or is there more to the case than meets the eye?

Philippa Gregory is an author who I’ve been meaning to try reading for ages, but never quite got round to, so I was really excited to get my hands on this one. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint me. Gregory brings the Europe of the 15th century thrillingly to life, capturing the time period perfectly, and her writing style is engaging and draws you into the story.

She also gives us a quartet of fantastic main characters. I warmed to Luca straight away, from the brilliant opening scene in which he gets removed from the monastery for pointing out that there are far too many fragments of nails from the true cross for them all to be genuine. His servant Freize irritated me for the first 60 pages or so with his constant self-deprecating humour, won me over by the middle of the book, and by the end had become one of my favourite supporting characters for ages. Completing the quartet are two of the strong female characters who Gregory has become so famous for, Isolde – trapped in a nunnery to stop her from claiming her inheritance – and her servant Ishraq, both of whom are portrayed really well. The constantly changing dynamic between the four is a treat and definitely makes this a book well worth reading.

A minor criticism is that the pacing of the book feels a bit off. I loved the first part, but the last few chapters seemed a bit rushed. It’s not a massive complaint, and part of the problem is that I was so in love with the characters that I didn’t want it to end so would have welcomed an extra hundred pages or so to spin the story out.

I’m certainly looking forward to the next book in the Order of Darkness series, and would highly recommend this one to fans of historical fiction.

One of my favourite historical novels for teens is the wonderful [[The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees]], which, like this one, has some fantastic characters.

{{amazontext|amazon=0857077309}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9164693}}

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← Older revision		Revision as of 08:58, 18 September 2020
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	One of my favourite historical novels for teens is the wonderful [[The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees]], which, like this one, has some fantastic characters.		One of my favourite historical novels for teens is the wonderful [[The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees]], which, like this one, has some fantastic characters.
		+
		+	You can buy this book as part of [[Order of Darkness Vol i - iii by Philippa Gregory\|a bindup]].

	{{amazontext\|amazon=0857077325}}		{{amazontext\|amazon=0857077325}}

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-{{infobox
+{{infobox2
 |title=Changeling
 |author=Philippa Gregory
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
 |date=May 2012
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857077325</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=0857077325
-|amazonus=<amazonus>B007WVITWG</amazonus>
+|aznus=B007WVITWG
 |website=http://www.orderofdarkness.com/
 |video=nM_QGJGsIx8

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 |borrow=Yes
 |isbn=9780857077301
 |pages=272
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
@@ Line 33: / Line 29: @@
 One of my favourite historical novels for teens is the wonderful [[The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees]], which, like this one, has some fantastic characters.
-{{amazontext|amazon=0857077325}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9164693}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0857077325}}
 {{commenthead}}

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857077309</amazonuk>
 |amazonus=<amazonus>B007WVITWG</amazonus>
-|website=www.orderofdarkness.com/
+|website=http://www.orderofdarkness.com/
 |video=nM_QGJGsIx8
 |summary=Fantastic characters and the way adult author Philippa Gregory has captured 15th century Europe so evocatively make her first book for teens a real success.