This was dripping in historical atmosphere. Goudge is clearly in love with her location and historical characters. And so was I---when Philip Sidney, Elizabeth I, and Walter Raleigh weren't in the picture (I have little connection to them). Joyeuse, Nicolas, Faithful, Diccon, and even Canon Leigh were all people I loved living with for a short time. Particularly touching, I thought, was the way the author takes you through the historical facts regarding the religious upheaval of the time and then, in an instant, you see what it did to the emotions, the beliefs, and the lives of individuals. And, though I personally didn't care for the grand culminating event, it makes sense in the grand arc of what has and is happening within the individuals.

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This is a wonderful work of historical fiction. Set in the 1560's in Oxford, we get a very real and understandable glimpse of life for the townspeople and canons and scholars of Oxford, and England. Coming early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the book describes the upheavals of the religious and political changes made by Henry VIII, then the reign of Bloody Mary, and finally the hopeful and prosperous reign of Elizabeth.

But history can be dry without a good story. This book has a very good story. We meet some of the real people who moved in the court and played across the pages of history. We also come to know and love a family as the father and oldest daughter struggle to replace the mother who died and the children search for their place in the world.

There are gypsies, a changeling, and an evil aunt. Being Oxford, of course there are dashing young men to turn the heads of the older daughters. We meet Walter Raleigh before he was Sir. And we meet Oxford the town and the university.

As with many of Elizabeth Goudge's books, the journey is just as important as the destination. Change and the future is coming, but life in the moment is portrayed so beautifully and peacefully that we appreciate it all. ( )

l'un de la trilogie des cathédrales, avec "la cité des cloches" et "l'héritage de MrPeabody". ( )