THE PRIEST'S MADONNA

Author: Amy Hassinger ISBN: 0399153179 4/2006 HISTORICAL FICTION Publisher: PUTNAM
Time Period: Victorian/Turn of the Century/Ancient Times

For years, Lady Katherne Lindsay's uncle has denied her noble heritage and treated her like a servant. But the night she foils his lecherous plan to steal her virtue, she becomes a suspected murderess with a bounty on her head. To avoid hanging from the king's gallows, she is forced to take shelter with a dashing actor and play along as his leading lady, despite the constant threat of capture. Jeremy Hughes is notorious both for his performances upon the stage and in the bedchamber. Any wise woman would keep her distance from such an irresistible rogue. But as Lady Katherne blooms into an accomplished actress and a confident woman, she can’t help giving her whole heart to Jeremy and longing to win him for a lifetime of daring love and passionate adventure.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

While I enjoyed THE PRIEST'S MADONNA for its flowing prose and vivid characters, I did feel rather lost at times, mostly when reading passages about Catholic practices and religious rituals. Not being Catholic and being unfamiliar with many of the traditions Catholics observe, put me to somewhat of a disadvantage when reading some of the more ritualistic passages. However, this story of a forbidden love between a young French girl and an older Catholic priest (a fictionalized account based on factual historical people) is so well written, that it didn't take long for me to overlook the religious things I didn't understand and become completely absorbed into the events and characters that populate the village of Rennes-le-Chateau, France, in the late 1800's.

Much like The DaVinci Code and the other books out about the Jesus/Mary/child theory, and somewhat similar to them in ideology, THE PRIEST'S MADONNA has several storylines going at once. Intertwined with the relationship between Marie Dernanaud and Father Berenger are flashbacks to Mary Madelene and Jesus Christ during ancient times, as lovers and the possible creators of a royal bloodline whose living descendent resides within the tiny village. The storyline flips back and forth between these two love affairs, exploring their parallels and connections to one another as well as to the village of Rennes-le-Chateau, where the proof of the child's existence may lie buried. Through the twists, turns and complicated relationships that pervade this intricately woven plot, Hassinger manages to bring everything together quite nicely by the end. She even managed to both repel and attact me to Father Berenger, a priest tormented by guilt over both his affair with Marie, and the greed that drives him to sin for his church.

THE PRIEST'S MADONNA is a very good book and one I enjoyed, but a bit more knowledge of Catholicism and its history on my part would have made some parts of it a much easier read to follow.

Nancy Davis