Nectar from a Stone – Jane Guill
I checked this out from the library well before I bought The Fool’s Tale — but I picked it up right after I read it and was quite surprised to see that it dealt with the same part of the world 150 years later. In fact, many characters in both novels share the same name and the same historical figures are mentioned. Which just proves that synchronicity is alive and well. After all, how often does one encounter names like Maelgwyn in a novel?
But in terms of similarity, that’s it. For one thing, it ends happily. (And why is it that with certain novels you just KNOW they’re going to end happily while others scream doom from page 1?) For another, it’s eminently readable, but not that memorable.
So. Wales after the bubonic plague. Elise, who married a religious fanatic (and who, by the way, is prone to visions) kills her husband in self-defense and escapes with her servant. She meets up with Gwydion, a man seeking revenge against the killer of his family. He’s wounded by the villain; she nurses him. Five days of this, and they’re madly in love but each continues separately. Meanwhile, the psycho husband who has not really been killed, must be dealt with. So must the guy who killed Gwydion’s family and taken over his house and birthright. And they are. And Elise and Gwydion live happily ever after.
The end.