Thornapple

by Chris Hunt

A renegade monk, a scheming lady of the manor, a mysterious old woman, and a beautiful boy guarding magical secrets. These are just some of the intriguing characters encountered by a young pedlar as he journeys through the east of England in 1204. Their stories intertwine to form a fast-moving tale of romance, murder and witchcraft, taking us from Norman castle to Saxon hovel, from the studios of Paris scholars to the dens of London thieves.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Gay

324 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

Reviews

[ALEARDO ZANGHELLINI · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought a bunch of Chris Hunt’s novels after reading the excellent ’Gaveston’. They’ve been sitting in my library for several years and I finally turned to this, my second read from this author’s production. Hunt is a talented writer and some passages in Thornapple are exceedingly good, not least the concluding paragraphs. On the whole, however, this book didn’t do it for me. The first 100 pages or so are lacklustre. The main narrative voice is less compelling than all the minor ones. The main plot is diluted by far too many minor and not particularly engaging incidents that have nothing to do with it, and which stretch the book’s length well beyond the natural extent of its plot line. So, on the whole I was disappointed and found myself skimming through rather than reading properly— something I very rarely do, as I generally prefer to give up on a book altogether than not read it fully until the end. Here’s hoping the other two or three books I have from this author are less like Thornapple and more like Gaveston!

[Sam New · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book!