"strong fifteenth century romance"

In 1483, merchant Sir Dudley Ballaster forces his oldest daughter Heloise and Sir Miles Rushden to marry at sword point. Not long after exchanging vows, Miles flees for Wales with plans to annul the marriage.

Dudley informs his daughter that she must find refuge with her new spouse as he no longer will take care of her. Heloise follows Miles to his residence amidst the Duke of Buckingham's estate. Under disguise, Heloise gets inside and soon charms everyone who comes into contact with her, including her runaway husband. Miles wonders what happened to him as he loves his wife and wants her by his side forever.

On the surface, MOONLIGHT AND SHADOW is a typical fifteenth century romance. However, adding depth to the strong romance are historical personages and events from the real world in which a fragile peace ending the War of the Roses needs very little to break back into civil war. It is the effortless ability to interweave real people and occurrences into her story lines, as she has done with this wonderful novel, that makes Isolde Martyn highly regarded and her books so appreciated by more than just sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted August 18, 2002