Review of 'The Fire & The Rose' by Robyn Cadwallader
Review of 'The Fire & The Rose' by Robyn Cadwallader
Release date: May 3rd, 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins AU - 4th Estate
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Quote (Taken from The Fire and The Rose):
We walls travel through centuries holding close a memory
the countless stones of our walls here in Lincoln town
our thousands of stellae in other cities other times
we all remember, keep alive a memory
now
into the future
🔥 + 🌹
REVIEW
This is a historical literary feast – exquisite poetic writing that will challenge your imagination and move you to deep thought. It will also, at times, tighten your throat and make you clench your fists as you walk through the battles of the innocent from 1276-1290. It is a magnificent work of art in its approach and delivery. I truly do not know where to begin to praise The Fire and the Rose as it is in a league of its own.
Robyn’s profound wisdom, stellar command of words and vivid and crisp descriptions are a writer’s dream. You can picture every movement, every event between nature and human, smell every scent and feel every tender and exasperating moment. But for all its beauty and wonder, I must warn you, this is a not an easy novel to read because of the naked painful truth from history it uncovers. It lays open injustice like a deep gash in your skin and lets it bleed onto the page and into your heart. It forces you to ponder the magnitude of the sins of humanity—the vile acts that happen between humans. The poison and power of hate and its ruthless destruction. This novel showcases prejudice and the horror of events that follow. Prejudice that causes innocent people to be burned at the stake just because they share a different belief. This inequality sees many locked up, slowly tortured and drained of hope. They become objects of blame and ridicule. All the ugly traits of humans are fleshed out. But there’s more. Under the coverlet of some religious figures is greed. Money, pride, desire for recognition. And once the damage has been done? ‘Silence drops into the noise like a stone in a pond.’
Each character stands out for a different reason. Each one raising a different emotion in me. But I will focus on three. Those that represent the victims. Eleanor with a port wine blemish on her face, is forced from her home village and moves to Lincoln. Although she faces great challenges, she is a strong determined woman. Tired of men telling her what to do and controlling her life, she seeks her own path of independence. She wants to make it on her own, even after she finds herself in a difficult situation. She has been taught to read and write and wants to be a scribe. Although such a position is not open to women, and she is told often by men she cannot have such a job, she persists until the opportunity arises.
With all the roadblocks and struggles she faces, there is initially one shining spark in Eleanor’s life. Her visits to the spicer. She is mesmerised by this man and, yes, falls in love with him. They share great passion and a love of books and words. But their relationship is forbidden. Asher is not only a merchant spicer but a Jew. Once meeting Eleanor, he falls deeply for her, too. Their time together is precious but it must be behind closed doors as a Catholic woman must not be in a relationship with a Jew. They are both devoted to their faith and their faith dictates their limitations with each other but the outside ruling world is even worse. Asher is very oppressed dealing with the ongoing battles as he is always at the mercy of the harsh hands of the law.
Marchota is a Jewess. She is a gifted woman in business but also a lover of the natural world, faery stories and forests. The lines on her face tell a story. And her passion for wearing green comes from the nature she loves. But, of course, she is criticised for wearing this colour and labelled a faerie or witch. This woman becomes a pillar of strength for Eleanor, her closest friend and even a mother figure from the Jewish community, while a statue of Mary (mother of Jesus) is Eleanor’s comfort on the Catholic side.
Marchota’s back garden that Eleanor has worked in to restore is a haven. But it often exhibits the changing times. During the great trials, the plants wither reflecting the hopes of its inhabitants. But at one point in the story Eleanor and Asher go there for reprieve. There is comfort in plants – healing in garden work ‘…better than talking: gathering warmth from the afternoon sun.’ A feeling of rightness where ‘no pope or bishop or king or sheriff (is) telling them they are wrong.’ Eleanor ponders the ‘ridiculous tale… the Statutes, the laws and threats, the differing beliefs about the Messiah, the stupidity of dividing people.’ People like Asher have physical scars: because they are made to carry the hatred of their oppressors.
The question rises: ‘does the king think he can beat these people into submission?’ The war inside Lincoln takes its toll for it is left with a ‘remnant of the community, tattered and torn in soul and body.’ When Eleanor is drawn into the workings of the Catholic church and discovers a truth more piercing than a sword, her heart is pulled in so many directions as to what to do next. Then when the king issues an edict expelling all Jews from England, the pain and decisions become a cross almost too heavy to bear.
But in this wasteland of despair, love also blooms like a rose. The stubborn strength of love shared between Eleanor and Asher (a Catholic and a Jew) brings moments of joy and momentary freedom behind closed doors. The sadness is in the fact, that due to society and the cultures of each faith, they cannot become husband and wife. Or are even free to be seen in the public together. Their solitary glimpses of joy come with a price—the anguish they must later endure.
There is a mystery at the heart of this story: a boy has died. Was it a murder or an accident? Those in power want to use this event for their evil ends. It is quite a story and certainly exposes some pretty rotten activity. A sad truth arises: ‘No one is looking for justice – rather payment.’
At the beginning of many chapters, there is a poem that sums up the emotion and events that follow. These are utterings of The Wall that Speaks (a sample above). As writers we often think about ancient stones in buildings and walls that have housed history. We say if these walls could speak what would they say of what they have seen and heard. Much I would expect. These stones are a powerful symbol throughout the novel. They represent a way to hang on to the stories of history and to carry them into the future. To remind us, to remember so that we can learn from the past and try not to repeat it. They also offer judgement.
The weight of grief in this novel is overwhelming at times. We are soaked in Eleanor’s sadness and feel the suffering of the people she loves, her Jewish friends. But out this horrid chaos, a strange paradox looms. She realises after she is endowed with a fair bit of scribe work, that it would not have been possible without the coin clipping arrests and deaths. It makes her shudder to know that out of someone’s misfortune, another may gain—including herself.
I could fill a book of all I saw in this novel but space does not allow and I will just encourage those who have the courage to delve into this story, to do so, with an open mind and an appreciative heart. You will become emersed in the setting and characters. It is such a detailed comprehensive portrayal of injustice where there are no fair trials, just accusations. But out of the despair springs hope. Amidst the horror is a lasting love: a rose in the desert that refuses to die.
A strong message in this novel is seen in the thoughts of Eleanor. “How unsafe the world can be…not only famine and freeze but belief and choices.’ Eleanor’s own thoughts from the beginning when she is ‘wary of Jews and their strange ways’ are quite different by the end. The fiery trials have changed her.
At the start, Robyn quotes a brilliant Bible passage from Habakkuk (Old Testament) of which I am familiar. She uses it to tell her story. As mentioned, the stones are important symbols in this novel. For the stone will cry out from the wall, And the beam from the timbers will answer it. The materials used for ill gain (stones and timber) will cry out from the wall of the oppressed against the oppressors. (Such as in the evil ones who take advantage of the boy’s death to gain recognition and wealth.) But fear not. Those who judge will be judged. The accusations from these innate objects will be deafening. The stories of the wounded will be heard from generation to generation through such timeless novels as The Fire and The Rose. 5 Perfect Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to HarperCollins Au (4th Estate) for my review copy.
Also, check out this song Fire in My Sky with my lyrics written with Greek singer Tatiana Manolidou that goes well with Eleanor & Asher’s romance.
