Mistress of the Art of Death Books In Order

Publication Order of Mistress of the Art of Death Books

Born Mary Diana, Franklin Ariana was brought up in London before relocating to Devon with her entire family. At the age of 15 years, Mary Diana left school, however with journalism in her family and her exceedingly hardy intelligence, the lack of formal education did not prove to be a barrier. By the age of 17, Mary Diana was working for a local newspaper in London. When she turned 20 years, Diana Norman was head hunted by the Herald. She eventually became the youngest reporter in London covering the royal visits, putting on camouflage as she went to training with the Marines and even missed her 21st birthday as she was covering a murder mystery in the East End. In the year 1957, Diana Norman a.k.a Franklin Ariana got married to Barry Norman, a film critic by profession.

Barry and Norman settled in Hertfordshire, where they were blessed with two daughters. After her second daughter was born, Norman began penning down fiction. Fitempress’s Law, Norman’s debut novel was selected by one Frank Delaney who works for BBC Radio 4 as the best historical novel of the year. Currently, Frank Delaney is a freelance journalist and an author of historical novels and biographies as well. Norman passed away in the year 2011 at the age of 77. Diana Norman is best known for her crime novels, which feature Adelia Aguilar, which she penned down using her pen name, Franklin Ariana. Mistress of the Art of Death is the first book in the series, which immediately became critical acclaimed after publication. The book also won the Ellis Peters Dagger Award in the United Kingdom as well as several prizes in Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Mistress of the Art of Death

A brilliantly researched and crafted book, Mistress of the Art of Death transports the readers to the spell of Geoffrey Chaucer. The author, Franklin Ariana introduces the main characters, who are travelling in group by road while seeking refuge. Amongst the group of travellers, we meet with one Adelia, also known as the Mistress of the Art of Death. Adelia has been asked by the King of Sicily to go the city of Cambridge as a child had been savagely murdered and the entire town’s population is blaming the killing on the Jewish residents. The Jewish not only hold the wealth but they also pay the most tax, thus King of Sicily is worried that all the revenue that his government will disappear. He therefore asks for Adelia and an Arab, Simon of Naples. Despite the fact that it was a masculine world back then, Adelia, a fully trained doctor, had to pretend that she was the Arab’s assistant; however, it was the Arab, who was Adelia’s assistant.

Once Adelia and Simon arrive at Cambridge, Adelia spends a lot of time attending to the general population, while at the same time getting to know about the natives as well. The local population despise the Jews because of their religious bigotry. As more and more children continue to die, the population continues to become inflamed. While interacting with the locals, Adelia is able to make a lot of friends and even is able to form a romantic relationship as well. However, when an exceedingly young boy that she manages to befriend goes missing, Adelia fears for his life and while in a frenzied search with the boy, Adelia comes face to face with the killer who is not only mad but is also preparing for another kill. Apart from the mystery that the author presents, the author goes to a greater extent to explain the art of medicine during the 12th Century.

The Serpent’s Tale is the second book in the Mistress of the Art of Death book series by Franklin Ariana. This is an exceedingly fun book, where we meet with the protagonist Adelia once more. Aidelia is a character who has no history, thus she managed to invest herself as a fish out of the water. Unlike most people, Aidelia is simply not anyone but herself. Aidelia’s new borbn daughter is at the centre of everything bad that happens in this story including the sad events. The birth of her daughter has changed her daughter in ways that she has never perceived. Thus, she is forced on several occasions to modify her actions so as to protect her child. The father of the daughter is one Rowley Picot is now a bishop working for King Henry. Picot Changes in numerous ways, and thus the former lovers are in turn left to negotiate. Henry whom we had also met on the first instalment, is in this instalment with Alienor of Aquitane.

The queen has been portrayed in a manner that is quite different from how she was portrayed before; as a self-absorbed woman. From time to time, she is portrayed as a self-absorbing politician, a siren from hell and a vengeful fury. Henry of the other hand is given the position of a betrayed man, who is left to twist by those he not only trusted but loved as well. Other people did not see what Henry saw, thus they only did what was beneficial to them and what their lusts and greed prompted them to do. Henry was thus, left to himself to trust, an exceedingly awful position for any person to be in. The Archbishop Thomas, whom we had met in the first book is not seen in this book. With that said, if you are a fan of historical fiction or a mystery fan, then The Serpent’s Tale is a must read.

Grave Goods is the third instalment in the Mistress of the Art of Death book series. The book has been set in England 1176. The exceedingly beautiful and tranquil Abbey, which happens to be one of England’s holiest sites, and also believed to be King Arthur’s sacred Isle, has just been burned to the ground. Despite the fact that the perpetrators remain at large, the fire has just uncovered something that is absolutely shocking; two skeletons, that of a woman and a man. The sketeons send a shock of wave throughout England, as people are more than curious to establish whether the skeletons belonged to Guinevere and Author.