BS: Irish medieval thriller

Subject: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 13 May 07 - 03:54 AM

Anyone who likes Ellis Peters sort of mysteries might like My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison.

Review here.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 May 07 - 04:07 AM

Sounds interesting although the review writer seems to have been using a book of stock phrases. I might give it a go should I find it in paperback somewhere.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 13 May 07 - 04:15 AM

It's newly published, so you're unlikely to find it in paperback - somewhere or anywhere - LizThe.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 May 07 - 04:20 AM

~It'll go on my book list - I don't buy hardbacks as they play havoc with my RSI.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 13 May 07 - 08:58 AM

There are also reviews of Joseph O'Connor's new book, Redemption Falls, Tenderwire by Claire Kilroy, The Secret of My Face by Karen Ardiff, Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, and more or less every bestseller of the last year, by the way.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 07 - 10:55 AM

Well, it'll have to be really good to measure up to Sister Fidelma, but I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 13 May 07 - 06:44 PM

Looked up Sister F and they sound like good fun. The Cora Harrison one's set about 1,000 years later, in 16th-century Ireland, but still under the Brehon legal system, which is very like the Scandinavian system, with compensation paid for killings except a secret murder, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,Cora Harrison
Date: 15 May 07 - 06:11 AM

I wrote the book because of my fascination with Brehon law and my amazement that it was still functioning at a time when, in Tudor England, such savage and merciless punishments were being used.
I was really interested to hear that it is like the Scandinavian system. I hadn't known that.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 15 May 07 - 08:38 AM

Congratulations, Cora - surprise to see you posting here!!!

Yes, if you read any of the Scandinavian sagas you find people paying an eric for a death, you find the same prohibition against secret killing, you find that divorce is correct if it's announced at the marriage bed using a specific formula, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 16 May 07 - 04:03 AM

Here's a link to the Laxdaela Saga, thought to have been written by a woman. It's a bit fiddly the way the page is set up with links to the separate chapters, but it'll give you a taste of the style:

http://omacl.org/Laxdaela/

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST
Date: 16 May 07 - 09:25 AM

Many thanks, I'll check it out. You might like to look at my site: www.coraharrison.com It gives the first few chapters of My Lady Judge and quite a bit about Brehon law. I hope this book will arouse interest, not only in Brehon law but in the very beautiful Burren landscape.
C.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 16 May 07 - 10:05 AM

Yes, the Burren is extraordinary, like a moonscape; it must have been even more so in the heavily forested Ireland of the 16th century.

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 May 07 - 10:23 AM

After all of these years I still love Mudcat so much! Here we have the very author coming in to share with us. Welcome Cora and thanks for sharing!

Re' Sister Fidelma, if you click on the GUIDE/FAQS on this page, there is quite a lot about the ancient law system, etc. from the seventh century. It is interesting to hear Brehon law was still functioning so many centuries later.

Thanks, JTT and Cora,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 07 - 12:50 PM

this was what fascinated me because, like most Irish school children I learned Brehon law as something that was around in the time of St Patrick, 5th century, but when I came to live here near the Burren and I saw the ruined remains of Cahermacnaghten law school and realised that this law school was not only functioning in the mid-sixteenth century, but also becoming an important repository of the ancient Brehon laws - this amazed me. It was said that even the English/Anglo Normans of the east of Ireland used Brehon law 'as and when it doth benefit them.'

Subject: RE: BS: Irish medieval thriller
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 19 May 07 - 06:10 AM

The Irish cottage on Cora's website is verra nice indeed! Not what I've found when mooching desirously on daft.ie in clare.