An Earthly Knight

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Set in 1162, this novel for young adults tells the story of 16-year-old
Lady Jeanette, the half-Norman, half-Scottish daughter of a minor
nobleman living in Scotland. To further her father’s ambition she is
engaged, sight unseen, to the King of Scotland’s brutish brother and
heir. How she escapes her fate and marries her true love forms the main
plot.

Part fiction and part historical novel (many of the principal
characters are authentic), the book blends the two genres beautifully.
McNaughton also adds a dash of the supernatural (the ancient Scottish
ballad of Tam Lin and the fairies is worked into the plot). It is a
testament to her excellent writing that this inclusion of a fairy story
works.

Also believable are the characters. Each is distinct and possessed of
his or her own voice. All are credible products of their background,
class, and historical period (it was no easy decision for Jeanette’s
sister to risk eloping, and the stigma and punishment imposed by her
culture and the church, combined with the lasting effect on her life,
constitutes an important subplot). Finally, each character develops and
grows. For example, we trace Jeanette’s evolution from a willing tool
of her father’s ambition and her own star-struck dream to be a queen;
through her realization that wealth and power rarely equate with
kindliness and decency; to her transition into a mature, giving,
courageous woman.

An Earthly Knight is a historical novel that immerses the reader in the
daily life in mediaeval Scotland. Romance and a bit of magic add to the
attraction. Highly recommended.