This book reminded me of the Lord of the Flies, another novel filled with unsympathetic characters. This is a dark book, and our protagonist Alys is selfish and cruel, a hard person to root for.
Alys is only sixteen for most of the story, and some of her sense of survival is understandable. I turned the pages like I was reading a horror novel, afraid of what mad scheme Aly would embark on next to save her skin.
The novel, set in the Henry VIII Tudor period, highlights how little power women had in those times, pitting them against one another to win the favor of the lord of the castle. It was a difficult time to be a Wise Woman.
Anna Bushi 