Coats, J. Anderson. The Wicked and the
Just. Houghton
Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace 344p $16.99 978-0-547-68837-4 2012 hs/adult VG-BN Historical fiction
Cecily’s
family is lured to medieval Wales by the promise of cheap land and the duty of
all Englishmen to subdue the “vicious” Welshman. Her new Welsh servant, Gwenhwyfar, enlightens
Cecily on the natives’ view of the English conquerers.
Cecily’s
life is a series of disappointments. Her
uncle returns from the Crusades and her family must leave the estate her father
managed for his brother her entire life.
They move in with another uncle, temporarily, but the crowded conditions
encourage her father to move to Wales, where land is cheap and a fine burgage
awaits him. Cecily deplores her family’s
eroding lifestyle.
With ill grace, Cecily takes up residence in occupied Wales. Cecily is critical of the town, the residents, her new home, and her father’s new life and job. She resents the native staff, who speak poor English and the barbaric dialect of Wales. Civil unrest restricts Cecily to the house, and short funds further restrict her entertainment options. She amuses herself by picking on the hired boy and taking classes in deportment from a snobbish local lady.
Cecily is unaware that Gwenhwyfar, her maidservant, once dreamed of being the lady of the house that Cecily now occupies. The English destroyed the lives of everyone Gwen knew. She resents Cecily’s airs and spoiled, ungrateful behavior, especially as she and her brother are eking out only a marginal existence – and, although Cecily does not know it, the boy Cecily enjoys picking on is Gwenhyfar’s younger brother.
Tensions are rising, both within the house and outside the city walls. When the breaking point is breached, Cecily finds herself reversing roles with Gwenhyfar, who becomes a vindictive mistress.
With ill grace, Cecily takes up residence in occupied Wales. Cecily is critical of the town, the residents, her new home, and her father’s new life and job. She resents the native staff, who speak poor English and the barbaric dialect of Wales. Civil unrest restricts Cecily to the house, and short funds further restrict her entertainment options. She amuses herself by picking on the hired boy and taking classes in deportment from a snobbish local lady.
Cecily is unaware that Gwenhwyfar, her maidservant, once dreamed of being the lady of the house that Cecily now occupies. The English destroyed the lives of everyone Gwen knew. She resents Cecily’s airs and spoiled, ungrateful behavior, especially as she and her brother are eking out only a marginal existence – and, although Cecily does not know it, the boy Cecily enjoys picking on is Gwenhyfar’s younger brother.
Tensions are rising, both within the house and outside the city walls. When the breaking point is breached, Cecily finds herself reversing roles with Gwenhyfar, who becomes a vindictive mistress.
Despite the nastiness, Coats is careful not to take sides with either the English or the Welsh. Instead, the author provides two fully realized characters against an authentic background rich in details (especially in respect to language, dress, and social class). The reader is permitted to draw his or her own conclusions about the characters and the volatile circumstances that have made them mortal enemies. The last fifty pages are vivid, riveting, and violent. Long after the last page is read and the cover is closed, this story will linger in the reader’s memory.
Wales-History-1063-1536-Fiction, Middle Ages-Fiction -–Hilary Welliver
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