Linen and Rooks - Tragic Tale Set Deep Within the Medieval Walls

Linens and Rooks was for me a wonderful read that had me eager to turn the pages to find out what happened next. With each chapter, the pace picks up. By the time I reached the halfway point in the book I couldn’t put it down. The exquisite deliverance of the English Language was a joy to behold on every page. Sharon Tyers use of descriptive imagery was second to none. The telling three women’s stories was cleverly done. I particularly liked the use of using a different font for Martha, Florrie and the narrator/writer as it helped to quickly place the reader in the right time frame. That said, on the question of time the lives intertwined effortlessly, and the author was able to give each woman a strong voice through the present day protagonist. Voices which may otherwise have gone unheard. And what of our present day protagonist? Well, I felt she had felt unsupported at times, unheard even but gained strength through bringing the women that had lived in her house before her to life. She was able to draw on the similarity between Martha’s Rebecca and her Isabel. By giving them a voice, she was at last finding her own voice. They may not have had their voices heard when they were alive, but their voices would now be heard through the corridors of time. Finding Martha’s blue book was instrumental in bringing their stories to life.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in British social history; anyone who has a passion for the English language and to see how things should be written and to anyone who has the courage to read about the tragic circumstances in which some women/people lived in the past. It may be a tragic tale but along with the violence, the poverty, the domestic abuse and inequality, there runs through the story the themes of love, friendship and courage in the face of adversity. There is also magic that weaves its way through the linen fabric of this beautifully descriptive tale. The author’s grandmother was Florrie and including her own grandmother reminded me of the significance we should place on our narratives of origin not for the sake of nostalgia but to learn about how our forebears lived and what their lives were like. So, yes, I highly recommend this book which gave me an insight into the lives of some truly remarkable women and men. It receives a well deserved five stars from me. Full review can be seen at www.liolalee.com