THE KNIGHT BY THE POOL : Book One of the Lay Lines Trilogy
Sophie Masson
Bantam New Zealand, 1998 (Available)
ISBN No. 0-7338 0178 1
Review (c) 2001 Lynne Remick
A seemingly mysterious and magical book, The Bestiary of Guillaume le Mage, is one of the few possessions that Marie de France takes with her when she leaves the House of Broceliande behind her. Among the most cherished items received during her life, the book represents a death-bed bequest from her husband, Hoel, a kindly and good man, who parted the world saying "Just do not think too badly of me when I am gone."
Unsure as to the import of what her husband has said, Marie journeys with the ever-faithful Cymeric knight Sir Llew toward com pletion of promises made to her dying husband. Yet, while fulfilling these debts, Marie's own destiny appears before her in many shapes and forms, some bestial and some angelic. None of these creatures leave so lasting an impression upon Marie as the image of a knight who appears to her by a pool under the name of Tyrodel. Before vanishing, Tyrodel admits that Marie's destiny, in part, is entwined with a lion. Not long after, Marie's path crosses that of the magnificent and brave Prince Richard the Lionheart. Marie is sure that Richard's is her heart's fate, but what of the rest of Tyrodel's riddling prophecy?
Soon, the animals of Guilliame de Mage's "Bestiary," as well as the faces of those who play a part in Marie's life will come to take on other forms, and it will be up to Marie to find the path that will free them all.
An enchantress, Sophie Masson holds the wisdom of ages. In KNIGHT BY THE POOL, she weaves a delicately beautiful web of intrigue, murder, deception and romance--so skillfully that we can barely see the fine threads. This is no small task, as Masson has also effectively and pleasingly sewn in the shimmering strands of fables and bestiary excerpts throughout her wonderful fictionalized story of the life of Marie de France, Poetess. I delighted in the fact that there did appear to be two small, obviously intended, loose ends to this delightful tale, as I shall get to sample Masson's wares in yet another place and time.
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