Green Darkness (Rediscovered Classics)
by Anya Seton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anya SetonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-01
ISBN: 1556525761
Number of pages: 608
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Book Reviews of Green Darkness (Rediscovered Classics)
Book Review: Incredible -- beautiful and tragic historical/paranormal!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having read Katherine, I wanted to get my hands on another Anya Seton novel. Her words are beautiful and her accurate historical references in the Medieval and Renaissance eras are breathtaking. People recommended Green Darkness because of its timeless romance, historical feel and paranormal aspects centered on past lives and reincarnation. So I gave Green Darkness a whirl. This enormous book (a big trade paperback with over six-hundred pages) enthralled me from beginning to end and I wish it had been longer, that the magic hadn't ended. Despite its rather large size and intricate story, the novel ended too soon for me. (I like big books, but you have to make sure that you will enjoy the whole thing when getting a large volume.) I finished this gem in three sittings. The novel's setting begins in the late 1960s (around the year this was first published). Richard Mardson takes his beloved wife, the American heiress Celia Taylor, to his estate in Sussex, England. There he shows her around the ancient castle that had belonged to his noble family for centuries and introduces her to his friends and peers, all respectable noblemen and women like Richard. But something strange begins to happen between them. Celia is experiencing deja vu, as though she'd been there before. This happens the second she enters the castle. At the same time, Richard becomes restless and moody. Celia is bewildered by his abrupt change from the once loving man to someone who isolates himself and avoids her. Their lives and their marriage could be in shambles, and Celia has to go back to her previous life during Tudor England to figure out what had gone wrong in order to salvage their happiness at present time. Her past life is a woman named Celia Bohun who falls for a handsome monk named Stephen (Richard) Mardson. Their forbidden love is timeless and the things they go through are staggering. There are many twists throughout the novel.
I have read few novels that had made me go through as many emotions as this one had done. Celia and Stephen's love for one another was something truly beautiful and tragic at the same time. This novel brought me to tears by the time I finished. The building of tension between the protagonists is almost palpable. Celia is a very complex heroine. She is proud and innocent, but also could be quite the vixen when she sets her mind to it, especially when Stephen is involved. Stephen is a tall, dark and gorgeous hero who has taken a vow of chastity for his religion, but his attraction to Celia is undeniable and it is something that torments him. This part of his personality makes him a tortured soul and he is very appealing as a result. The part in which Celia looks after him when he falls ill is one of the sexiest scenes in the novel. It has a mixture of eroticism and innocence, for it is the first time Celia sees Stephen's nude body. The romance is indeed wonderful, but the historical references make this novel all the richer and more palatable. We experience all of the things that occurred during Tudor England, from Henry VIII's reign passing on to Queen Mary and onto Queen Elizabeth I. I have been reading quite a lot of historical/biographical novels and finding this book was like finding hidden treasure. You feel the time period and the events that took place in those times. The most insightful things for me were those centered on Queen Mary's persecution of Protestants and all the historical things that occur while time passes after the scandal centered on Celia's love for Stephen. The ending is one of the best endings I have read. Green Darkness is a true treasure that all historical enthusiasts should own. The story is quite intricate, not an easy read by a long shot (I find that most novels that center on reincarnation are very complex), but the overall development of the story is extremely well woven and beautifully executed. There are numerous characters in this novel, but I never felt like I had to keep up with them in order to remember them. Each character serves his or her purpose and I loved them (or hated them if they were villains). The one thing that puzzled me was the emphasis on Mabel's weight. I thought plump women were considered prettier in those times. And Celia (the twentieth century one) sounds a little too British for an American who'd set foot in England for the first time. Other than those negligible details, Green Darkness is perfect. Anya Seton was a great author, one of the best in her time. I think I like this novel more than Katherine. I wonder if Anya Seton and this novel inspired Jude Deveraux to write Remembrance (which I read at the same time as this one), which is another romance centered on soul mates and past lives partly set in the sixteenth century. Anyway, Green Darkness is one of the best historical/paranormal novels out there and I cannot recommend this memorable gem enough!
Summary of Green Darkness (Rediscovered Classics)
This unforgettable story of undying love combines mysticism, suspense, mystery, and romance into a web of good and evil that stretches from 16th-century England to the present day. Richard Marsdon marries a young American woman named Celia, brings her to live at his English estate, and all seems to be going well. But now Richard has become withdrawn, and Celia is constantly haunted by a vague dread. When she suffers a breakdown and wavers between life and death, a wise doctor realizes that only by forcing Celia to relive her past can he enable her to escape her illness. Celia travels back 400 years in time to her past life as a beautiful but doomed servant. Through her eyes, we see the England of the Tudors, torn by religious strife, and experience all the pageantry, lustiness, and cruelty of the age. As in other historical romance titles by this author, the past comes alive in this flamboyant classic novel.
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