Enchanting Cold Blood
by Petya Lehmann
If you were born in 1560 in Ireland, what would you have witnessed if you were to live for 80 years?
This book is the first of the second series of historical novels of very fine quality - two novels in every book - about the time between 1560 and 1640 in different parts of the world, giving a panoramic view of society and human life. We continue with Ireland …
“Maelcho” by Emily Lawless (1895; revised and abridged.)
The great and famous Irish bard and storyteller Maelcho is at the same time the nursing-maid for the children of the noble household of Sir James Fitzmaurice, the head of the Desmond rebellion. Maelcho is endowed by Nature with a powerful imagination, which helps him to foresee the future and protect those belonging to him. He is resourceful and unconquerable in any thinkable situation, as long as he has somebody to love and protect. The English orphan boy Hugh Gaynard is forced by circumstances to live some years amidst the Irish clans. Hugh is placed against his will in an Irish village and for a time completely cut off from the outside world. He is of a sound mind, sensible but not creative, sober and pragmatical. Hugh dreams of escape from the Irish and of a career in the English army. Both men must go trough the horrors of the Desmond rebellion and live with its consequences.
“The Charming of Estercel” by Grace Little Rhys (1913; revised and abridged.)
“Two old spells almost opposite in kind, one of love, the other of love and hate, are woven into this tale. According to the first, if a ring is put into a bird's nest in the spring-time and removed only when the young are ready to fly, it will be so impregnated with the spirit of love as to cast a charm on whoever wears it. According to the other, if a young girl uses the mirror of a wanton, she inherits the spirit of guile left behind there.” (Grace L. Rhys)
During the Nine Years War, Estercel of the O'Neills – a very handsome Irish young man – rides to Dublin as a messenger of the Irish forces of the north to the Earl Lieutenant of Ireland, Essex, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. Estercel is a peace-bearer, and his message is very welcome to Essex, but Essex has many enemies in his own circle. Those high-born schemers trap Estercel on his way back and put him into the torture chamber of Dublin, where he must give away to them his message for Essex or die, if no one interferes … But then, Estercel is loved by two young and energetic women …
This book is the first of the second series of historical novels of very fine quality - two novels in every book - about the time between 1560 and 1640 in different parts of the world, giving a panoramic view of society and human life. We continue with Ireland …
“Maelcho” by Emily Lawless (1895; revised and abridged.)
The great and famous Irish bard and storyteller Maelcho is at the same time the nursing-maid for the children of the noble household of Sir James Fitzmaurice, the head of the Desmond rebellion. Maelcho is endowed by Nature with a powerful imagination, which helps him to foresee the future and protect those belonging to him. He is resourceful and unconquerable in any thinkable situation, as long as he has somebody to love and protect. The English orphan boy Hugh Gaynard is forced by circumstances to live some years amidst the Irish clans. Hugh is placed against his will in an Irish village and for a time completely cut off from the outside world. He is of a sound mind, sensible but not creative, sober and pragmatical. Hugh dreams of escape from the Irish and of a career in the English army. Both men must go trough the horrors of the Desmond rebellion and live with its consequences.
“The Charming of Estercel” by Grace Little Rhys (1913; revised and abridged.)
“Two old spells almost opposite in kind, one of love, the other of love and hate, are woven into this tale. According to the first, if a ring is put into a bird's nest in the spring-time and removed only when the young are ready to fly, it will be so impregnated with the spirit of love as to cast a charm on whoever wears it. According to the other, if a young girl uses the mirror of a wanton, she inherits the spirit of guile left behind there.” (Grace L. Rhys)
During the Nine Years War, Estercel of the O'Neills – a very handsome Irish young man – rides to Dublin as a messenger of the Irish forces of the north to the Earl Lieutenant of Ireland, Essex, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth I. Estercel is a peace-bearer, and his message is very welcome to Essex, but Essex has many enemies in his own circle. Those high-born schemers trap Estercel on his way back and put him into the torture chamber of Dublin, where he must give away to them his message for Essex or die, if no one interferes … But then, Estercel is loved by two young and energetic women …