The Serpent Garden by Judith Merkle Riley
Oct. 27th, 2009 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreThe daughter of a deceased Flemish painter in Tudor England, Susanna Dallet is left pregnant, penniless, and bed-less (and pot-less, table-less, and almost clothes-less) after her husband is killed by his lover’s jealous husband, and his debtors swoop in for the kill. Left with only her father’s techniques, her husband’s tools, a faithful maid and an enterprising boarder, she soon embarks on a scheme that results in her painted miniatures coming to the attention of Bishop Thomas Wolsey.
There’s lots of cunning and scheming and politicking, a nice-if sometimes irritating due to his willingness to believe the worst-romance with one of Wolsey’s men, Robert Ashton, and an odd yet somehow fitting subplot involving angels and demons.
My favorite part is the first plotline, with Susanna, Nan and Mistress Hull scheming to stay off the streets as Susanna tries to figure out how to paint raunchy-and bad paintings for Mistress Hull to sell. I got a bit lost in the early part of her service to Wolsey, but it picked up again once she was more directly involved in court intrigues, though I think those threatened to take over her narrative at times.
I found Susanna’s voice a bit jarring at first, but it grew on me pretty quickly. She’s innocent and a bit prone to reflecting on her woes, but she’s also clever, funny, and has no qualms about being devious if it keeps her off the streets. And those are some very well deserved woes.
There’s lots of cunning and scheming and politicking, a nice-if sometimes irritating due to his willingness to believe the worst-romance with one of Wolsey’s men, Robert Ashton, and an odd yet somehow fitting subplot involving angels and demons.
My favorite part is the first plotline, with Susanna, Nan and Mistress Hull scheming to stay off the streets as Susanna tries to figure out how to paint raunchy-and bad paintings for Mistress Hull to sell. I got a bit lost in the early part of her service to Wolsey, but it picked up again once she was more directly involved in court intrigues, though I think those threatened to take over her narrative at times.
I found Susanna’s voice a bit jarring at first, but it grew on me pretty quickly. She’s innocent and a bit prone to reflecting on her woes, but she’s also clever, funny, and has no qualms about being devious if it keeps her off the streets. And those are some very well deserved woes.