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The First Vial
*Shortlisted for the 2006 White Pine Award
Set against the backdrop of the inescapable horror of the fourteenth-century plague and medieval heroism and chivalry, The First Vial details the morbid reality of a time when the Black Death forced people to take the law into their own hands to survive the wave of chaos that was ushered in.
Katherine, Lady of Crenfeld Castle, pits her wits against the enemies trying to take over her castle. After surviving two attempts on her life by a land-hungry priest, she is forced to leave her castle just as the plague engulfs her village. The villainous priest seizes her lands, convicts the innocent, and burns them at the stake. As the plague rages on, the tension intensifies.
Balanced with intrigue and action, The First Vial builds to a feverish pitch as death saturates the country and Katherine must battle not only for her lands and castle but for her life.
Set against the backdrop of the inescapable horror of the fourteenth-century plague and medieval heroism and chivalry, The First Vial details the morbid reality of a time when the Black Death forced people to take the law into their own hands to survive the wave of chaos that was ushered in.
Katherine, Lady of Crenfeld Castle, pits her wits against the enemies trying to take over her castle. After surviving two attempts on her life by a land-hungry priest, she is forced to leave her castle just as the plague engulfs her village. The villainous priest seizes her lands, convicts the innocent, and burns them at the stake. As the plague rages on, the tension intensifies.
Balanced with intrigue and action, The First Vial builds to a feverish pitch as death saturates the country and Katherine must battle not only for her lands and castle but for her life.
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 25, 2011
To be honest, this story just entertains and wanders all over the place. I have no idea why I was hooked, but I kept reading, easily, and expecting the plot to develop more complexity and tension. Nope. And then, to wrap it up, that's all the writer did-just wrapped it up as though "time's up."
The author certainly did her research. Although the dialogue seems a bit contemporary, the occasional use of old middle english is sprinkled throughout the story. Further, the details of day-to-day living conditions, the role of the Church, not to mention the details of the plague and its victims.
Characters are not especially memorable. The main character, Katherine, is beautiful, demure, courageous, compassionate and able to get through anything that comes her way. The love interest, Victor, is tall and very handsome, with the typical mesmerizing smile and smoldering eyes. The priest, also the villain, is not developed enough to convince me of his motives or his actions.
Overall, I think many of the scenes happen too abruptly without backstory. And the book definitely ended too quickly. The real tension of the story doesn't start to happen until 75 percent through the book, and then in the last chapter major developments ensue and are resolved within a few short and unsatisfying paragraphs.
On the other hand, I enjoyed reading the book. It's entertaining fluff that worked to carry me off to a period I love to read about, and the setting was well done. It just ended too quickly, as though the writer ran out of time. The framework was there, she just didn't fill it in.
The author certainly did her research. Although the dialogue seems a bit contemporary, the occasional use of old middle english is sprinkled throughout the story. Further, the details of day-to-day living conditions, the role of the Church, not to mention the details of the plague and its victims.
Characters are not especially memorable. The main character, Katherine, is beautiful, demure, courageous, compassionate and able to get through anything that comes her way. The love interest, Victor, is tall and very handsome, with the typical mesmerizing smile and smoldering eyes. The priest, also the villain, is not developed enough to convince me of his motives or his actions.
Overall, I think many of the scenes happen too abruptly without backstory. And the book definitely ended too quickly. The real tension of the story doesn't start to happen until 75 percent through the book, and then in the last chapter major developments ensue and are resolved within a few short and unsatisfying paragraphs.
On the other hand, I enjoyed reading the book. It's entertaining fluff that worked to carry me off to a period I love to read about, and the setting was well done. It just ended too quickly, as though the writer ran out of time. The framework was there, she just didn't fill it in.
September 10, 2011
This book would be great if you wanted to read a Regency romance awkwardly transposed into the 14th century. Otherwise... not so much. The main characters are cliches of romantic fiction... independent woman, tall, brooding man? Characters who seem to be significant (neighbouring nobles) disappear without a trace. A murder mystery never seems to get really solved. I feel that the author needed a lot more editing support before this novel got printed. Let's start with some obvious errors- at the beginning, we are told that Katherine married her husband after the death of her parents, at the insistence of her brother. Yet later, she tells Victor that her father gave her her horse as a wedding present, and at the end she says she had no brothers! These are basic problems that should never get to print. 4 hours of my life I'm not getting back.
May 16, 2023
Great book. Accurate to the time, interesting characters, interesting take on romance, plague, and missuse of religion by an evil priest.
January 26, 2023
The First Vial takes place during the plague of the 14th century whilst England and Scotland are at war. Lady Katherine is a young single English woman who has inherited Crenfeld Castle but soon after the wicked town priest, Father Simon, wants to claim the castle as his own. Later, Katherine meets the handsome widower Lord Victor who is set to be married to another woman. Katherine and Victor search together for who is behind the recent tragedies in her town. Throughout their adventures they develop a bond that brings them closer together. Linnea Heinrichs writes a rich and historically accurate story that leaves the reader with a wide range of emotions from the looming fear of the plague to the thrill of battle.
One thing I like about this book was the amount of description there was throughout the book as it helped me paint a more accurate picture in my mind of what was going on. Some things I don’t like are that the book spends most of the time describing everything that they don’t really get to the story until the very end. The story also seems unfinished as I am left wondering if Katherine will ever get her land back. I do believe that this book was historically accurate as nothing seemed out of place. Many little details were accurate according to my research such as the Scottish flag of the time, bloodletting for medical treatment and the mass death of the plague with dead carts to haul away the corpses.
One thing I like about this book was the amount of description there was throughout the book as it helped me paint a more accurate picture in my mind of what was going on. Some things I don’t like are that the book spends most of the time describing everything that they don’t really get to the story until the very end. The story also seems unfinished as I am left wondering if Katherine will ever get her land back. I do believe that this book was historically accurate as nothing seemed out of place. Many little details were accurate according to my research such as the Scottish flag of the time, bloodletting for medical treatment and the mass death of the plague with dead carts to haul away the corpses.
November 12, 2012
Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
Katherine, Lady of Crenfeld Castle, is a very strong female in a male-dominated society.
After being left a widow, she tries to maintain her rule over her castle and the village that surrounds her. She has many problems, such as a diabolical priest, the plague, and her gender, which are the least of her problems.
She has a guardian to help her, who is the Lord Victor, but Katherine is very smart and forward-thinking. My favorite character is the Jewish doctor, Benjamin, who has smuggled a copy of the gospel of John and has become a Christian. Although he is a Christian, he is not the type that was accepted in those days when the church was the real ruler of the world. Having scriptures that you read was not only unacceptable but also punishable by death.
THE FIRST VIAL is well-researched, and I enjoyed reading about the effects that the plague had on the poor as well as the rich. Many images in the book were very scary. The treatment of those who had the plague, as well as their loved ones, was horrific. There is one chapter where the death wagons are described, as well as the common grave where everyone was buried.
This is an exceptional book that I may use while teaching medieval history. Thank you, Ms. Heinrichs.
Katherine, Lady of Crenfeld Castle, is a very strong female in a male-dominated society.
After being left a widow, she tries to maintain her rule over her castle and the village that surrounds her. She has many problems, such as a diabolical priest, the plague, and her gender, which are the least of her problems.
She has a guardian to help her, who is the Lord Victor, but Katherine is very smart and forward-thinking. My favorite character is the Jewish doctor, Benjamin, who has smuggled a copy of the gospel of John and has become a Christian. Although he is a Christian, he is not the type that was accepted in those days when the church was the real ruler of the world. Having scriptures that you read was not only unacceptable but also punishable by death.
THE FIRST VIAL is well-researched, and I enjoyed reading about the effects that the plague had on the poor as well as the rich. Many images in the book were very scary. The treatment of those who had the plague, as well as their loved ones, was horrific. There is one chapter where the death wagons are described, as well as the common grave where everyone was buried.
This is an exceptional book that I may use while teaching medieval history. Thank you, Ms. Heinrichs.
April 10, 2013
When I first started this I was sort of bored with the beginning but it quickly caught my attention as I read into the third chapter. The plot quickly escalated to the point where I didn't want to put down the book. However, towards the end of the book everything started to slow down too much and this carried on to the end. The last chapter basically did a quick, and what seemed like unfinished, summary of the entire book. Katherine and Victor confess their love within 4 pages of finishing the book, and Father Simon dies and it's only evident to the reader. He succumbs to the plague and burns in hell. As much as I wanted that to happen I would have like to have seen more confrontation with Katherine. Then there was the matter of the estate. It's left to the imagination of the reader to wonder if Katherine weds Victor and stays in his castle or returns to fight for her estate. I have more of a speculation that she weds Victor but that completely leaves the estate problem completely unattended and it was one of the main plot points of the book.
The ending was too quick, and left too many unanswered questions, which is a pity because I really did enjoy the middle of the book and it was really well written. It had potential but it was wasted with the ending.
The ending was too quick, and left too many unanswered questions, which is a pity because I really did enjoy the middle of the book and it was really well written. It had potential but it was wasted with the ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2008
Not so much about the time of the Black Death as it seems from the cover and the back cover blurb. The Black Death is there as a back drop. The first chapter or two was over run with adjectives, and the descriptions or everything and anything were over the top, but thankfully, that comes to a stop.
March 22, 2016
I received this novel as a creative writing prize in high school. I remember truly enjoying the novel and it's portrayal of the fourteenth century. I found it to be historically interesting and reliable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews