The Heaven Tree (Heaven Tree #1) by Edith Pargeter

 

Summary (from the publisher): Writing as Ellis Peters, Edith Pargeter has captured the imagination and indeed the love readers on both sides of the Atlantic with her acclaimed, best-selling Brother Cadfael medieval mysteries. But these wonderful, unique whodunits comprise only a small portion of the Peters/Pargeter canon of mysteries, thrillers, novels, and translations. Among this impressive body of writings, Pargeter's crowning achievement, and the work that remains her personal favorite, is her sweeping, historically authentic, and incredibly moving twelfth-century epic, The Heaven Tree Trilogy. 

Set on the volatile, hotly disputed Welsh border, this full-bodied, swift-moving story of deadly politics, clashing armies, and private passions sweeps the readers into its characters' grand quest for justice and vengeance. The trilogy focuses on Harry Talvace, who bears stamped on his face the lineage of Shrewbury's Norman conquerors. Born to aristocratic parents and nursed by a stone mason's wife, he grows up fiercely loyal to his breast-brother, the sunny, irresistibly charming Adam. Harry also discovers that he has a gift - the ability to carve stone with the sure hand of genius. 

In his fifteenth year, Harry's devotion to Adam and his obsession to sculpt set into motion the thrilling tale of Volume One, The Heaven Tree. Rebelling against his father and fleeing England to save Adam, Harry finds his destiny entangled in the affairs of commoners and kings, divided by two women - the courageous dark-haired Gilleis and the beautiful courtesan Benedetta - and pledged to the brooding, mysterious Lord of Parfois, Ralf Isambard, who sponsors Harry's monumental creation of a cathedral. And while Wales and France challenge England's crown, these men and women follow their desires toward jealousy, pitiless revenge, and passion so madly glorious neither time nor a merciless execution can end it. 

Review: Opening in the year 1200, this sweeping novel follows Harry Talvace. The teenager is fiercely loyal, especially to his foster brother Adam. When he finds that the law as applied to those living on his father's estate don't equate with justice, he takes steps to ensure justice is met - and pays for it by having to flee his home. He ends up in France, a gifted sculptor, and eventually is commissioned to return to England to help build a cathedral for Ralf Isambard, to whom he pledges his word to finish the work. Harry finds love along the way and derives great joy from his craft. But his Achilles heel is his steadfast refusal to bend from doing what he believes to be right, even when his happiness and his very life are at stake.  

This was such a grand, romantic story, less in the sense of a love story and more in the sense of an idealized view of reality. The characters love fiercely and earnestly, and Harry is so steadfast to his ideals that it's hard to imagine anyone not admiring and loving him. He is nearly too good to be true! Similarly, once Benedetta pledges her love, nothing will stand in the way of it. It seemed almost implausible that she would persevere in her faith for that love even in the face of it not being returned or that she would feel natural emotions like rejection or jealousy. She's too pure to feel real. 

I did enjoy Harry's story and his loyal friends and loved ones. He leads an admirable life that is also full of exciting exploits. While his story concludes with book one, I'm curious to see where life will take the remaining characters in books two and three. 

Stars: 3.5