Cursed in the Blood

Catherine LeVendeur #5

by Sharan Newman

The fifth in Sharan Newman's highly authentic and richly praised series, Cursed in the Blood finds Catherine LeVendeur venturing to the cold and tumultuous homeland of her husband - only to realize that vast differences between Edgar's family and her own. After making the pilgrimage to Compostela and giving birth to a son, Catherine LeVendeur is looking forward to an idyllic life at home in Paris. Yet her contentment is shattered when she and Edgar receive news from his family: Edgar's two oldest brothers have been ambushed and murdered, and he must return to Scotland to help avenge their deaths. At first, Edgar refuses to go, knowing what may await them in his war torn homeland. But Catherine believes in family loyalty and insists upon accompanying him with their baby.

Once in Scotland, Catherine is surprised to learn that Edger's family is not what she imagined: His father, Waldeve, is a cold tyrant, and his remaining siblings are distant and secretive. Separated from Edgar during their efforts to uncover the truth, Catherine is expelled from his family's care. She becomes a stranger in a strange land, searching for refuge in a country ravaged by civil war at the same time she searches for her husband. Yet she knows that any haven she finds will only be temporary until she answers this question: Who among Waldeve's enemies hates his passionately enough to destroy his whole family - including, she fears, his infant grandson?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Medieval, France

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Sharan Newman is a medieval historian and author. She took her Master’s degree in Medieval Literature at Michigan State University and then did her doctoral work at the University of California at Santa Barbara in Medieval Studies, specializing in twelfth-century France. She is a member of the Medieval Academy and the Medieval Association of the Pacific.

Rather than teach, Newman chose to use her education to write novels set in the Middle Ages, including three Arthurian fantasies and ten mysteries set in twelfth-century France, featuring Catherine LeVendeur a one-time student of Heloise at the Paraclete, her husband, Edgar, an Anglo-Scot and Solomon, a Jewish merchant of Paris. The books focus on the life of the bourgeoisie and minor nobility and also the uneasy relations between Christians and Jews at that time. They also incorporate events of the twelfth-century such as the Second Crusade and the rise of the Cathars.

For these books, Newman has done research at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France Méridionale et Espagne at the University of Toulouse and the Institute for Jewish History at the University of Trier, as well as many departmental archives.

The Catherine Levendeur mysteries have been nominated for many awards. Sharan won the Macavity Award for best first mystery for Death Comes As Epiphany and the Herodotus Award for best historical mystery of 1998 for Cursed in the Blood. The most recent book in the series The Witch in the Well won the Bruce Alexander award for best Historical mystery of 2004.

Just for a change, her next mystery, The Shanghai Tunnel is set in Portland in 1868.

The Shanghai Tunnel allowed Sharan Newman to explore the history of the city she grew up in. She found that the history she had been taught in school had been seriously whitewashed. Doing research in the city archives as well as the collections at Reed College and the Oregon Historical society was exciting and eye-opening. Many of the “founding fathers” of Portland turn out to have been unscrupulous financiers. Chinese workers were subject to discrimination and there was an active red light district.

On the other hand, Portland in the post-Civil War period also saw some amazingly liberal movements. Women’s rights were an important issue as was religious toleration. Even at that early date, preserving the natural environment was hotly debated.

This is the world in which Emily Stratton, the widow of a Portland merchant and the daughter of missionaries to China, finds herself.

Newman has written a non-fiction book, The Real History Behind the Da Vince Code Berkley 2005. It is in encyclopedia format and gives information on various topics mentioned in Dan Brown’s novel. Following on that she has just completed the Real History Behind the Templars published by Berkley in September of 2007.

She lives on a mountainside in Oregon.

(Text taken from: http://www.sharannewman.com/bio.html )

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newman bases her plots around what was happening at the time and place where she sets her story, not the other way around. Her novelcraft is growing better with each installment; the plot in this book was really complex and made all the side characters worth it. She writes with honor for her medieval setting, neither shoving in modern ideas nor belittling medieval people for their ways of life and thinking. I enjoyed the visits Catherine and crew made to southern Scotland (south of Edinburgh), Lindisfarne, and a few other places in England. There was a cameo from Godric of Finchale, and Aelred of Rievaulx was a side character (Newman's interpretation depended on Brian Patrick McGuire's).

Content warnings: the medieval violence was pretty bad in this one mentions of medieval torture and execution methods; a mute boy kept locked in a dungeon is rescued; the plot hinges on how bad Waldeve is as a lord, including raping and pillaging for sport; the inciting murders are due to the murdered folks hunting humans for sport; more than one character is brutally murdered on-page; some open-door moments

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very enjoyable work of historical fiction, set (for the most part) in Northumbria--which I am visiting at present. It is 1143, and there is civil war in England between Mathilde and Stephan of Blois. One family in southern Scotland--dominated by a brutal and irreligious local lord (Waldeve)--finds that his first two sons in line to succeed have been murdered with their hands cut off. Yet no one of Waldeve's many enemies steps forward to claim responsibility. The book recounts how Waldeve's family, including the distant son from Paris wed to a Christian convert from a Jewish family, deals with the mystery and the revenge sought by Waldeve and others of his family. But first they have to find out against whom to take such revenge. Filled with what appears to be accurate historical detail about Durham and the fight between a usurper bishop and the "real" one, Hexham, Rievaulx and Berwick, the book is an entertaining way to understand Cuthert, Bede and early England. My three stars instead of 4 is due to what I believe are somewhat two dimensional characters and a somewhat less than realistic and inconsistent picture of the harsh and angry pater familias. Still, well worth reading if you plan on being in Northumbria any time soon.

[Zandra is now on StoryGraph · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pace is so fast that I didn’t recognize the plot holes until it was done. On further reflection, the actions of the characters follow the same pattern as previous books: Solomon falls in love with the wrong woman, Edgar and Catherine get separated, there is danger, somebody is traumatized, and it’s suddenly gory. The solution doesn’t make sense, and the motivations of the possible villains don’t hold up. There’s just no ebb and flow in the pacing, and no comfort or relief. I don’t think I’ll pick up the next one.

[Krystina Schuler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off a bit slow, but eventually picks up. I did find myself wondering how the two main characters were going to get back to one another and who was causing all the problems for Edgar's family. Not as fast as some books, but entertaining nonetheless.

[John Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great one. In Scotland now and more history that I just knew bits and pieces of. Great characters and great details throughout.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first 4 in the series, I found the ending to be too unbelievable.

[Katrin V · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great,historically accurate, novel. 12th century Europe in this form is so much more interesting to learn about.

[Kathy Nouri · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice reading for new orleans history.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an avid fan of the Catherine LeVendeur mystery series and have been for years, but I only recently picked it up again with this 5th book of the series. The reason is that some years ago, I had peeked at the last few pages of this book (I know, but I can't help myself), saw the sad outcome, and decided I didn't need that type of ending in my reading.
That was several years ago and while I still am not happy about the ending, I am extremely glad that I picked the series up again. I had forgotten how well the author writes, how compelling her storylines are, and how impeccably researched her history is. Together, the three produce a product that is difficult to put down.
What is particularly well done in this series is the author's depiction of how Jews were treated in the Middle Ages. This is obviously not showing humanity at its finest, but it is a topic that is rarely handled by medieval novelists. The author makes no judgments (medieval anti-Semitism does not translate well to the 21st century) but handles the issue with a factual approach that in no way detracts from the tragedies that ensued. As always with this series, the characters come alive off the page.
If you are a fan of medieval mysteries, I highly recommend this series. They are best read in order so that you get the full depth and nuance of the characters.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes! Her best yet. Newman has such a sure hand at the period. I love the way everyone frequently thinks in terms of religious images and whether God or some saint is paying attention, etc. I've often felt this involvement with religion was missing from many books set in the period. Also the physical hardships are well portrayed. And the characters - several really good new ones here: Robert and Aetheraed and Margaret and Adalisa... Great stuff.

[Samira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am continuing to enjoy this series and am getting better at reading 11th/12th century English and French. That said, I think I may take a bit of a break from them for now, to keep myself from getting tired of the characters. (I find that the problem with reading a series that already in print is that you can barrel through the whole thing, when in fact, it would be more enjoyable if you had to wait a bit.)

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, especially the characters of Catherine and Edgar, but this book was so dark and horrifying that at times I had to set it aside because I just couldn't read any more. We learn a lot about Edgar's family and understand why he was able to leave them to marry Catherine, so for that reason I was glad that I finished the book.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again the same Sharan Newman series I enjoyed. This time, instead of France or Europe, the characters are in Scotland. Again, a whole different part of history I knew little about. Interesting to compare progress in the different countries in that time period - 12th Century.

[Pam Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifth book in the Catherine LeVendeur series of medieval history stories, the characters are good, the history accurate, and the plot intriguing. If you enjoy medieval history and strong female characters, give this series a try.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book slightly less than the previous only because it has less time spent with the wonderful Hubert, Johanna, and Eliazar. Still wonderful.

[Chriss · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was good, but the setting was grimer than I wanted. And I found I didn't really care much about any of the characters withing the first few chapters. So I stopped reading.

[Rachel Bhattacharyya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gives such a wonderful perspective of the Medieval period. It brings it to life.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series. Enjoy the charaters but also a good mystery.

[Rosalind Hoenig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother. They don't get better.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the others but still a decent read. Scotland, war and maiming.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series just gets more and more dramatic, in my mind, not in a good way.

[Gary Raines]

I have enjoyed all of Sharan's books in this series.