The Lady and the Poet by Maeve Haran

John Donne. Anne Donne. Undone.

I remember reading these lines in high school English class and wondered what would induce John Donne to pen such words. These simple words intrigued me far more than any of his poems (maybe I just don't have a poetic soul, but such is the case), but I didn't do anything to find out what he wrote such words. Then a couple of weeks ago, at a library book sale, I picked up this book because I still remembered these words. And now, after having read this book, I want to read his poems.

Spoiler Alert~

Anne Donne (formerly Anne More) came from wealth and privilege. Her unusual grandfather educated her far beyond what would have been acceptable as a young woman, and she had spirit and fire to match her keen intelligence. It was decided that Anne should come to London and stay with her aunt. She was destined to become on of Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting, resulting in an advantageous marriage. At her aunt's house, she meets John Donne; he was her uncle's secretary.

When they first met, she's thirteen years old, but John Donne mistook her for a servant and propositioned her at their first meeting. At a later meeting, she corrected his error and put him in his place. This was the start of their attraction to one another; however, there were several, almost insurmountable obstacles.

Compared to Anne's esteemed background, John was merely a servant in her uncle's household. Anne's highly status conscious father would never want someone like John, who could offer nothing to him, as his son-in-law. When they met, he was a man of 25 who wrote bawdy poems and had a string of women (both high-born and low-born) at his beck-and-call. She was an innocent girl of 13 who was at the cusp of her womanhood. There was a chance he might be thrown into prison. In the time of Bloody Mary and Elizabeth I reign, he was a Catholic, and she was raised Protestant. This alone could have led to great strife. Most importantly, they knew they would most likely be completely ostracized by all those who knew them and might face financial ruin if they act on their love and affection for one another. Even as they faced all these consequences, they married one another in secret when she was 17 years old.

When John Donne revealed their secret marriage to Anne's father a year later, he's thrown in prison, and Anne's father proceeded to dispute the validity of the marriage. However, their marriage was upheld by the courts. Anne's father refused to pay her dowry, and John lost his position. Now, they were forced to live off the charity of Anne's cousin in the country. Though constantly under financial pressures (Anne's father was rather vindictive and slow in paying out her dowry), John and Anne lived happily.

Anne died at the age of 33, after delivering a stillborn child, her 12th child. John never recovered for Anne's death and lived the rest of his life (another 14 years) alone.

This wonderful book brought forth some very interesting points about John and Anne Donne.

John Donne was a worldly man compared to Anne, with bawdy verses, mistresses and what seems like a great appreciation for the good life. So, what induced him to give up all that for Anne? Anne must have been one remarkable young woman, to intrigue, to attract, and to hold his attention for the rest of her life.

Anne's cousin, who supported her and her family for a long time, must be a very generous man who had an understanding wife (is this too modern way of thinking?). It must cost a lot of money to provide housing as well as some level of necessities for the family (especially when Anne and John had many children). Remember, she died after her 12th baby was stillborn? I'm more used to very demanding and judgmental English upper-crust families (from literature) to cut themselves completely off from a wayward family member. Good thing John Donne and Anne Donne weren't completely Undone.

John must have loved Anne dearly. He became a priest after Anne's death. It must have been hellish for him to wake up and know that he must face another day without her (especially in the beginning). Maybe he did find consolation in God.

Very little is known about Anne Donne. I wish there were more of her from historical sources. She would have been a very interesting person, I bet.

Though I had never been interested in John Donne before, I am eager to get my hands on a volume of poetry.

1356 by Bernard Cornwell

I have always loved action adventures. In fact, action adventure books (The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Night, Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis?, Arsene Lupin books, Sherlock Holmes books, etc.) have kept me sane in the first couple of years of immigration when I felt so alone and lost. These books were my friends, and they helped me keep my spirits up. They taught me never to give up and keep on fighting for what I believed in. 

These are some of the most-treasured books I own (especially since they were from a 100 Masterpiece in the World young adult collection in Korean that my parents brought with us when we immigrated to the United States). Some of my favorite modern action adventure writers are Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Daniel Silva, Sharon Kay Penman, etc. And now, I have another to add to the list - Bernard Cornwell.

What I love about these books is that for a short span of time, they take me on a fantastic adventure. I'm so busy keeping my wits about me that I forget to worry about such mundane things as learning English and finishing my Language Arts homework.

Now, on to the review - I love the books I love in this genre for the same reason. They take me to a very exciting place and give me a great roller coaster ride. However, I have yet to write a review about any of the books I love reading on this blog because at the end of the day, they don't linger in my head, making me think about it for a long time, until this book. 

I loved the details of medieval life in this book. I can feel the damp chill in the crypt. I can smell the acrid smoke wafting up to the sky. I can feel the blood pounding in my veins with every sword thrust and axe swing. I can share the profound grief in losing love ones so needlessly. All this is wonderful enough, but in the heart of this story is a man driven by his own moral code in the time when a sense of righteousness and moral authority was hijacked by the nobility and Catholic Church and used for their gain rather than for God's justice and mercy.

~Spoiler Alert~

In the time of relic collecting, when a notable relic not only made or broke the church that housed it, but the whole region, Sword of Saint Peter was one of the most sought after relic. Saint Peter purportedly used the sword to slice one of the soldier's ear when they came to take Jesus away to Pontius Pilate. This sword was believed to have mystical powers, and it supposedly granted certain victory to whoever possessed it. With another war between the English and the French looming ahead, the race was on from all sides to find it at all cost.

As the relic hunters drew close, those who were responsible for keeping it safe were forced to move it, and this movement created more upheaval in times of chaos.In these troubling times, Sir Thomas Hookton is busy sacking a castle for a French Count whose wife ran away with the lord of the castle. Sir Thomas Hookton is a very successful mercenary known as Le Batard, and he leads a troop of archers and men-at-arms to serve whoever pays him the most money. Though he meets his end of the bargain, the Count in question, even after having retrieved his errant wife and exacted gruesome revenge on the lord of the castle, short-changes Le Batard. Before Le Batard could collect his just payment from the Count, he is called back by his British liege lord and sent on an important mission to find the Sword of Saint Peter.
 
Here are some excerpts - 

"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've read, past or present."
- George R. R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones)

"His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as swords, and the action is nonstop."
- Sharon Kay Penman (one of my personal favorites) 

"Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces are literal tours de force."
- Washington Post

Now, on to why I really loved this book.... As I was reading it, everything seemed so unfair. Those who had rank and money could do anything they wanted to do. And the Catholic Church, with its supposed moral righteousness behind it, did everything it wanted to do. A priest's word was all the society needed to find someone guilty of consorting with the devil or some other crime (by the way, how do you fight such a claim? Where can anyone begin?). Then this person would be executed, in very cruel way for that crime. There was very little anyone could do to save a person who had been label thus (especially in places far away from large towns). When I thought about what it would be like to watch my loved one jailed, tortured, then executed for no crime greater than a crime of expediency for the powerful, the impotence of the situation horrified me.

A couple of night ago, I was laying down with my little daughter who called for me in the early morning. Just as I was holding her, a stream of sunshine fingered into her room and illuminated the side of her face where she has a small mole close to her hairline. That mole sent a chill down my spine as I was transported back to the world of 1356. My daughter could have been wrenched away from my arms for that mole alone, jailed and tortured, and maybe even executed for no other reason than someone accused her of a crime. 

How does anyone live with that kind of loss and injustice? 

I gleefully think about Le Batard taking revenge on the culprits for us.

I think about committing acts of sheer foolishness that would cement my death as well. Do I want to live without my precious child?

But I think the worst possible answer could be that I just have to live with it. I have no other choice. I have to wake up the next day and live my life as if nothing had changed since there was nothing I can do to change anything.  Not even for the next victim.

Even though I didn't know it, this book held me under its spell well after I finished the book. My mind made associations I never realized (I'm not sure if there were moles or consorting with the devil actually in the book) and forced me to put myself in the place of these people who lived so long ago. For that alone, I recommend this book.