The Falconer's Knot by Mary Hoffman - Revision history

Sue at 09:19, 19 September 2020

2020-09-19T09:19:29Z

Sue at 15:53, 16 April 2018

2018-04-16T15:53:14Z

Sue at 09:54, 26 December 2014

2014-12-26T09:54:10Z

Keith at 10:01, 7 November 2009

2009-11-07T10:01:42Z

Keith: 1 revision

2009-10-24T17:30:26Z

1 revision

Keith at 14:48, 25 December 2008

2008-12-25T14:48:04Z

New review

{{infoboxsort
|title=The Falconer's Knot
|author=Mary Hoffman
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Teens
|summary=Pacy but interesting murder mystery come comedy of manners ideal for any keen readers of ten to mid teens. It's unpretentiously plot driven, but there is also a wealth of accurate and vital historical detail.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|format=Paperback
|pages=304
|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
|date=7 April 2008
|isbn=0747589003
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747589003</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0747589003</amazonus>
|sort=Falconer's Knot
}}

Umbria, 1316.

Silvano has been falsely accused of murdering a merchant; the husband of the woman he admires. While his father attempts to find the true culprit, Silvano is packed off to sanctuary in a Franciscan friary in the guise of a novice monk. Chiara's father has died recently and her brother has no money with which to provide a dowry. So Chiara is packed off to a convent, to become a sister of the Poor Clares. Neither teenager has a religious vocation and both dread the cloistered, suffocating life of a religious.

And no sooner do they arrive, than the murders begin. If Silvano isn't careful, he will take the blame for more than the killing of a love rival.

I am sure the fad for historical crime fiction hasn't passed you by. It's been filtering into the children's market for a little while now, but ''The Falconer's Knot'' has had more publicity than most. It's not surprising. It successfully treads a fairly delicate line between light, plot-driven fiction and an issue-based, educational heavyweight. It doesn't have a great deal of pyschological depth - there's a sweet teenage love story, some loving parents, some greedy male relatives, some kindly priests and nuns and other suchlikes. It's as much a romance as it is a crime novel.

However, the writing is deceptively clever. It's pacy and tense, easy to read, but the style is elegant and precise and a wealth of historical detail is seamlessly woven into the narrative without a trace of exposition. When they've finished reading ''The Falconer's Knot'', they'll have a good grounding in the social milieu of fourteenth century Italy - the class structure and the status of women in particular. They'll also have a good grasp of the importance of art and religion and the connection between them.

Both friary and convent in the book mix pigments for the fresco artists of the day - one of the characters, Simone Martini, was a real artist, who painted the frescoes in the Chapel of St Martin in Assissi - and the scenes in the "colour rooms" are incredibly vivid as the monks and nuns toil painstakingly to make colours with wonderful names - dragon's blood, ultramarine, azurite, king's yellow. Stories behind the frescoes themselves add depth, as do the cameo portraits of the artists.

The book is also a comedy of manners straight out of Shakespeare. Everyone ends up with the right partner at the end. I did enjoy ''The Falconer's Knot''. It's light but intelligent and tremendous fun to read. Recommended for all junior history buffs aged ten to about fourteen.

My thanks to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending the book.

''The Falconer's Knot's'' younger readers might also enjoy [[Orphan of the Sun by Gill Harvey|Orphan of the Sun]] by [[:Category:Gill Harvey|Gill Harvey]], a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt. Anyone interested in the medieval period would love [[:Category:Elizabeth Laird|Elizabeth Laird's]] [[Crusade by Elizabeth Laird|Crusade]].

{{amazontext|amazon=0747589003}}

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[[Category:Confident Readers]]

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 My thanks to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending the book.
-''The Falconer's Knot's'' younger readers might also enjoy [[Orphan of the Sun by Gill Harvey|Orphan of the Sun]] by [[:Category:Gill Harvey|Gill Harvey]], a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt. Anyone interested in the medieval period would love [[:Category:Elizabeth Laird|Elizabeth Laird's]] [[Crusade by Elizabeth Laird|Crusade]].
+''The Falconer's Knot's'' younger readers might also enjoy [[Orphan of the Sun by Gill Harvey|Orphan of the Sun]] by [[:Category:Gill Harvey|Gill Harvey]], a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt. Anyone interested in the medieval period would love [[:Category:Elizabeth Laird|Elizabeth Laird's]] [[Crusade by Elizabeth Laird|Crusade]].  Adult readers looking for something from the same period might appreciate [[Plague Land by SD Sykes]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0747589003}}

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-{{infoboxsort
+{{infobox1
 |title=The Falconer's Knot
 |author=Mary Hoffman
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date=April 2008
 |isbn=0747589003
 |sort=Falconer's Knot
 }}

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 |buy=Yes
 |borrow=Yes
 |pages=304
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
@@ Line 37: / Line 36: @@
 {{amazontext|amazon=0747589003}}
 {{commenthead}}
 [[Category:Confident Readers]]

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