"The Dance Tree" by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.
An interesting historical novel covering many topical themes (including bees).
Cath was alerted to this book on her retirement literature course, and hence read it some time ago, with a note to re-read “properly” at a later date, hence this choice.
Cath felt that she still had not done justice to the novel.
The novel is based on historical facts relating to 1518 in Strasbourg, and speaks to themes of gay relationships, race relations, miscarriage, abuse of women, and climate issues.
A conflict at the heart of the book is the use of power by the church authorities to supress the actions of the people.
The quality of the prose is exceptional, taking the reader into the detail of life in the middle ages, with the heat and dirt, the portentous comet, the difficulty of managing bees, and so on.
The names have been given a medieval flavour, Lisbet must surely be Elizabeth; Magret, Margaret; Agnethe, Agnes, etc.
Mass dancing, possibly leading to “St Vitus Dance” is at the heart of the story,
but the Dance Tree was a private location associated with the protagonist(s),
it provided some of the story arc making a significant appearance at the end.
The character of the women developed well, the baddie, Pater (Peter?) didn’t develop.
The general consensus is that the issues have not gone away.
The best bit was the description of handling the bees, but it is interesting to note that votive wells and trees are still with us, St Anne’s Well near Market Weighton is noted.
The reactions from the book club varied from loved it to hated it and all shades in between.
Doorly score: 3.7
PC. 2024
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