664AD has to
be the earliest-set detective story I’ve read so far. Absolution by Murder is set during the Synod of Whitby, where
religious delegates from the rival Christian factions of Rome and Iona met to
decide the future of the kingdom of Northumbria. When a visiting Irish abbess
is discovered in her room with her throat cut, Sister Fidelma, an Irish religieuse
qualified to investigate legal matters in her own country, is asked to find the killer. Alongside a Saxon Brother, Eadulf, she races to
uncover the murderer before rumours between the two factions spark a civil war.
Initially I
found this novel difficult to get into, as the beginning is extremely heavy on
early medieval religious history and politics, and the unfamiliar Saxon names also
made it easy for me to mix up some of the characters. Once the action had really
started, however, it became much more enjoyable.
Sister
Fidelma is a refreshingly strong, forthright female detective, not taking sidekick
position to her male counterpart, and refusing to defer to the expectations of
the men she interacts with. Apparently this sexual equality is historically
accurate, which makes a pleasant change to modern values being copied and pasted onto
historical situations.
Overall,
rather a slow start, but bear with it and it’s definitely worth it – enjoyable
and intriguing reading, with plenty of historical ambiance.
Next up: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
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