Tuesday, March 25, 2014

BLOOD ROYAL : A TRUE TALE OF CRIME AND DETECTION IN MEDIEVAL PARIS
by Eric Jager

During the Middle Ages, you certainly did not want to be seen out at night for no undue reason. It wasn't allowed because there was a curfew. Homes and businesses had to be in total darkness. If you were to venture outside, though, you had to make sure that you were well-armed and in the company of others for unseen dangers could arise at any time.
One night, Louis, the Duke of Orleans was returning home after seeing the Queen and was viciously attacked. He had guards but they could not protect him as Louis only brought a few of them with him. It was an extremely bloody death that stunned Paris and all of France. Provost Guillaume de Tignonville (the chief of police) had to figure out who was behind this heinous crime. The more he investigated, the more shocking evidence he found. It was quite a conspiracy that would eventually turn the tide of relations between France and England into a civil war.
Who would have thought that a book about medieval times could be so fascinating? In lesser hands, it probably would have been quite boring. Eric Jager is a professor of medieval studies at UCLA and has written other books pertaining to this genre. He is a great storyteller and draws the reader in immediately. This is a great, historical tale of true crime.
Highly recommended.