The Way

'One of the most ancient names for Christianity is simply "the Way". "About that time", it is said in the acts of the Apostles, "there rose no little stir concerning the Way" (19:23); Felix the Roman governor of Caesarea, had "a rather accurate knowledge of the Way" (24:22). It is a name that emphasizes the practical character of the Christian faith. Christianity is more than a theory about the universe, more than teachings written down on paper; it is a path along which we journey- in the deepest and reichest sense, the way of life.

There is only one means of discovering the true nature of Christianity. We must step out upon this path, commit ourselves to this way of life, and then we shall begin to see for ourselves. So long as we remain outside, we cannot properly understand. Certainly we need to be given directions before we start; we need to be told what sighnpost to look out for; and we need to have companions. Indeed, without guidance from others it is scarcely possible to begin the journey. But directions given by other can never convey to us what the way is actually like; they cannot be a substitute for direct, personal experience. Each is called to verify for himself what he has been taught, each is required to re-live the Tradition he has received. "The Creed", said Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, "does not belong to you unless you have lived it." No one can be an armchair traveller on this all-important journey. No one can be a Christian at second hand. God has children, but he has no grandchildren.'

~The Orthodox Way by Bishop Kallistos Ware

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Lucy Snowe's first time teaching

Could I but have spoken in my own tongue, I felt as if I might have gained a hearing; for, in the first place, though I knew I looked a poor creature, and in many respects actually was so, yet nature had given me a voice that could make itself heard, if lifted in excitement or deepened by emotion. In the second place, while I had not flow, only a hesitanting trickle of language, in ordinary circumstances, yet-under stimulus such as was now rife through the mutinous mass- I could, in English, have rolled out readily phrases stigmatized; and then with some sarcasm, flavoured with contemptuous bitterness, for the ringleaders, and relived with easy banter for the weaker, but less knavish followers, it seemed to me that one might possibly get command over this wild herd and and bring them into training, at least. All I could now do was to walk up to Blanche-Mademoiselle de Melcy, a young baronne- the eldest, tallest, handsomest, and most vicious stand before her desk, take from under her hand her exercise-book, remount the estrade, deliberately read the composition, which I found very stupid, and as deliberately, and in the face of teh whole school, year the blotted page in two.

This action availed to draw attention and check noise. One girl alone, quite in the background, persevered in the riot with undiminished energy. I looked at her attentively. She had a pale undiminished energy. I looked at her attentively. She had a pale face, hair like night, broad stron eyebrows, decided features, and dark, mutinous, sinister eye: I noted that she sat close by a little door; which door; I was well aware, opened into a small closet where books were kepst. She was standing up for the purpose of conducting her clamour with freer energies. I measured her stature and calculated her strength. She seemed both tall and wiry; but so the conflict were brief and the attack unexpected, I thought I might manage her.

Advanced up the room, looking as cool and careless as I possibly could in short, ayant l'air de rien;* I slightly pushed the door and found it was ajar. In an instant, and with sharpness, I had turned on her. In anothe instant she occupied the closet, the door was shut, and the keyin my pocket.

~Villette chapter 8

*Having the air of doing nothing

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Sonnet XXX

XXX

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:

then can I drown and eye, unus'd, to flow,

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh loves's long-since cancell'd woe,

And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight.

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,

Which I new pay, as if not paid before:

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.

*painting by Monet

Arthur meets Amy's father

'I hope,' said Arthur, very doubtful what to say, 'that my respect for your daughter may explain and justify my desire to be presented to you, sir'

'Mr. Clennam,' returned the other, rising, taking his cap off in the flat of his hand, and so holding it, ready to put on again, 'you do me honor. You are welcome, sir.' With a low bow. 'Frederick a chair. Pray sit down, Mr. Clennam.'

He put his black cap on again as he had taken it off, and resumed his own seat. There was a wonderful air of benignity and patronage in his manner. These were the ceremonies with which he received the collegians.

'You are welcome to Marshalsea, sir. I have welcomed many gentlemen to these walls. Perhaps you are aware - my daughter Amy may have mentioned - that I am the Father of this place.'

'I - so I have understood,' said Arthur, dashing at the assertion.

'You know I dare say, that my daughter Amy was borne here. A good girl, sir, a dear girl, and long a comfort and support to me. Amy, my dear, put the dish on; Mr. Clennam will excuse the primitive customs to which we are reduced here. Is it a compliment to ask you if you would do me the honor, sir, to -'

'Thank you,' returned Arthur. 'Not a morsel.'

~ Little Dorrit Chapter VIII

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Book Review: North & South

Title: North & South

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

1st published: 1855

My rating: 5/5 stars!

Cool fact!: Charles Dickens was the editor for this book.

"When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill-workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South Elizabeth Gaskell skilfully fused individual felling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale created one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature." -back of the book

This is one of my favorite books! I love the setting contrast between the north and the south. The characters are wonderful and full of verity. And there is romance, and not trash silly romance either!

The characters are one of my favorite parts. The one that always sticks out to me is Mrs. Thornton. She is a woman who has been through a lot in her life, and is tough. She loves her son and would do anything for him. She is not the hard rock and ice that she seems to the on looker. She has feelings but keeps them to herself. Mr. Thornton is someone who I admire as well. He has worked hard to get where he is at and is smart despite is lack of education. He is polite too, I have never been able to understand what on earth Margaret dislike about him. He changes through the course of the book to, I liked watching his character develop.

Margaret is one who I sometimes think is to proud, and perhaps a little stuck up. She is strong and is not afraid to speak her mind. I admire how she cares for her family. She is strong and that makes her the pillar in her family during hardship. Her father is sweet, kind and polite to everyone not just those in higher positions.

All the other characters are quite enjoyable! I love Higgins and Bessy, Fanny is always good for a laugh too! There are times when I love the characters and other times when I was frustrated with them.

One this that struck me about this book was how much religion is talked about in it. I don't agree with the theology, but is makes me think about what I believe. The times when religion is talked about the most is when Margaret is with Bessy.

One thing that I absolutely love about this book is how you have two different views and how they both have good points, but there needs to be a different solution that what the two different views think. They both have to work together. At least that is how I see it, it makes me think about the different problems going on between the upper class and the lower class, masters and workers. It makes me think and I like that.

The other thing I like is how the book shows the difference between the north and the south at that time. I found it interesting to see how people thought differently in the north than in the south. The way they deal with things is different too. The other think is that I Have not read to many books about the industrial time in England so that made it all the more interesting. I sometimes get confused with the time line.

This is a book I would recommend people to read. It has a wonderful story line, and a timeless story that you will remember for ever. It was a a good enough story that the BBC made a mini series out of it. :)

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Loreena McKennitt- Skellig

I love this song! It makes me think of my own spiritual journey to God, and my journey through life.



Lyrics:

O light the candle, John
The daylight has almost gone
The birds have sung their last
The bells call all to mass


Sit here by my side
For the night is very long
There's something I must tell
Before I pass along

I joined the brotherhood

My books were all to me
I scribed the words of God
And much of history

Many a year was I
Perched out upon the sea
The waves would wash my tears,
The wind, my memory

I'd hear the ocean breathe
Exhale upon the shore
I knew the tempest's blood
Its wrath I would endure

And so the years went by
Within my rocky cell
With only a mouse or bird
My friend; I loved them well

And so it came to pass
I'd come here to Romani
And many a year it took
Till I arrived here with thee

On dusty roads I walked
And over mountains high
Through rivers running deep
Beneath the endless sky

Beneath these jasmine flowers
Amidst these cypress trees
I give you now my books
And all their mysteries

Now take the hourglass
And turn it on its head
For when the sands are still
'Tis then you'll find me dead

O light the candle, John
The daylight is almost gone
The birds have sung their last
The bells call all to mass

question about Wives & daughters

So... I have been watching Wives & Daughters (I have not read the book, and usually I would read the book first) and I am very confused about the fashion. What time period is it in?!?!?!! The cloths look like a weird cross between regency and maybe a little Victorian. But the sleeves are big!

So my question(s) comes down to this... What time is this? Is this before of after Victorian? Why is it different from North & South? (in North & South they dress Victorian if I am not mistaken) Why is there such a fashion difference between the two when they were written by the same person?

If anyone can answer my questions that would be most helpful! I am being driven crazy by it!

Blessings

~Elizabeth

PS. I have only watched episode 1 and 2, and have not finished it yet.

Review: Robin Hood BBC Season 1

Title: Robin Hood Season 1

Producer: BBC

Creators: Foz Allan, Dominic Minghella

Actors: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Keith Allen, Richard Armitage, Gordon Kennedy, Sam Troughton, Joe Armstrong, Harry Lloyd, Anjali Jay,

My rating: 20/5!!!! I love this show!

I have watched the show so many times, and am so familiar with it, I feel very comfortable righting a review. I have wanted to right a review of it for some time but I wanted to get to know the show better. I feel better writing a review of something I am more comfortable with. This also might be a long review so stick with me here.

I don't really think I need to tell you the basic story line of Robin Hood. No matter how different a movie/series may try to be it has to stick to the same story line. Robin Hood robs the rich to feed to poor.

I have also included as many pictures as possible! I love reviews that have lots of pictures so I try to do that when I write review for movies.

I have read some Robin Hood stories and have seen a couple of different Robin Hood versions, so far this is the best! They have changed the little details of the story, but not the basic story line. I was glad that they did because if they had done every thing the same I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. I also think that in the case of Robin Hood there is more room for poetic license, because Robin Hood is more of a legend so the story has changed over the years. Where as a movie that is based on a book there is not quite so much room to change the story. Any way it all comes down to, I am glad that they did something different!

Now the characters. I really like the actor they chose to play Robin. Robin was not the most complicated character in the series but Jonas Armstrong I thing tried to give the character more depth. It is really hard to give a character like Robin depth, but Jonas tried and I applaud him for it. He looks how I would expect Robin to look too. I love the caring spirit that Robin Has for people, and how he gave up his life for them, he would do anything for them. This is what makes his so lovable to the people of Nottingham. He has some weaknesses too which makes him not perfect, I love that! I really don't like perfect heroes in stories, they annoy me. Robin is a little to close to perfect some times, but he is other wise fine. I really like this Robin. I think it has to do with the fact that characters that are perfect don't have a lot of depth, and I love characters that have lots of depth! I still feel that Robin's character was flat though.

Marian was just what I always thought her to be, lady like, but not afraid to give a fight and stand up for what she thinks is right. I really like her in season 1. There were a few things that I was not thrilled with, there was a scene where this guy is about to shoot her I don't like her facial expression in this part because is does not I think express what her words say. She just did not express on her face what I think a person about to be shot and killed would. But I learned she was only 19 or 20 when the show started so I thing for getting such a big part at such a young age she did really really well over all.

I love the gang they are all so great, and Allan a Dale (Jo Armstrong) was always good for a laugh. Little John(Gordon Kennedy) was great he was a big guy with a big heart. Much(Sam Troughton) was funny too, he was one of the more comical character on the show, he had some depth of character that I thought was interesting, but I feel it was not as developed as it could be.

Keith Allan did a brilliant job with the sheriff! He was a power hungry guy who would stop at nothing to get what he wants and does not care about any one around him. He is so crazy that you cannon help but laugh at him at the same time as being upset at how evil he is! I must say that he is probably one of my favorite characters because of how wonderful a job Keith Allan did with him.

Now I come to my favorite character. :) Sir Guy of Gisborne. I love how much depth was put into his character by Richard Armitage, and I am sure the writers helped but Richard Armitage is brilliant at giving all his characters amazing depth! Guy of Gisborne is the perfect bad guy. He is evil and you get that but you cannot help but like him. He has something about him that tells you he really does not want to be bad he would be good, but he wants power; and the only way that he sees to get power is by being the evil. He also is not as easy about the crimes he has done as the Sheriff is. He seems to me to pretend that everything is okay, but really it is not. I think I find his character more easy to relate to because I think that is how most people feel. I have not done the same things he has but I still feel the same kind of remorse. I would love to keep analyzing his character, his being the most interesting in the series, but I will save that for another separate post. :)

I loved Will Scarlet(Harry Lloyd)! I loved his character he is kind, just, talented with wood, and just sweet and kind of innocent character. I totally love him, he was one of my favorite characters! Djaq was one of the characters that I love, she was a tom boy and I am a girly girl but I love her different perspective being a Muslim and the others European Christians. I didn't like though some of the 'white man is evil' hints that are there sometimes. I know white people have been bad, but other nationalities have not exactly been perfect either. I am not racist I love people and different cultures! I am just tired of history and movies telling me that I am bad because I am white. *jumps of soap box*

There is plenty of humor, mostly provided my Allan, Much, and the Sheriff, but other characters have some humorous lines too. Here are some my my favorite quotes!

"Taxes we do not like!" -Little John

Allan:"My cousin definitely saw someone turn into a frog!"

Will: "Didn't you say your cousin was always drunk"

Allan: "He was!" (I think there might have been more to the quote but I don't remember it all:( )

Allan: "we are the poor now!"

"I'm not being funny or anything.." -Allan's favorite way to start a sentence. :)

"A clue no."- the sheriffs favorite phrase.

"Still peddling the same old dribble." -Marian

There are tons more, and my sisters and I are always quoting them!

Probably the only thing I really really don't like about this series is the costumes, actually that is not true. I love the costumes!! I just don't think they are very Medieval. They all have a way to modern look to them, especially Marian's costumes. I like them they just don't fit with the time period! They fit her character, but they need to be more Medieval! *sigh*

I think it is safe for the family too. There is no blood or gore. I was glad about that, but I did find that absolutely not blood was a little annoying some people would be completely run through or something like that and there was not even a drop. I don't want it to be gory of anything, but i find it find it funny

I know my little sister, who is about six mentally, watched it and loves it! There is fighting and what not but other wise it really is family safe, at least by my families standards. I mean nothing can be as kid safe as Disney's animated one with the foxes as Robin and Maid Marian. LOL :) I enjoy that one as well.

The one thing that is funny is that in the first episode the people who are hanging should be dead by the time Robin saves them. I find this funny.

The first episode is very slow, and and may seem cheesy at first, but is gets better! The second episode too can be slow, but these episodes are setting up for all that is to come latter. Here is a link to a trailer for season one. Click here!

Overall I love Robin and his gang. Marian is great, and Guy of Gisborne is amazing!!! :) :) This series is fun and tells a great story! I will say that is is my favorite Robin Hood so far!

Let me know what you think of my review! I love it when I get lots of comments! :)

Blessings

~Elizabeth

PS. This is probably the funnest review I have ever done!! :)

Fun day!

To day was a fun day I got to have a friend (I wanted to have a little something for my birthday so I had my friend over!!!!)over on Sunday. She spent the night and we watched Sense & Sensibility(!!!), and today(Monday) we went and got my ears pierced! We had lots of fun!!!! :) :) :) :)

Blessings

~Elizabeth

King Richard and Prince(King) John

I would have like to put more, but I don't know that much about Richard and John. I hope to rectify this in the future, and do a more detailed post about these to famous rival brother.

Probably one of the most famous kings of England, partly because of the tales of Robin Hood, he was also quite popular with the people. I have never really been sure why he did not do much for his country, and was gone most of the time in the Holy Land.

Richard was the great grandson of William the Conqueror. Richard was the favorite son of Eleanor, his mother, because of this he was given Aquitaine. Despite having been born in England he did not speak a word of English. He lead the third Crusade to the Holy Land, and was gone for quite a while, during his mother(not Prince John as Robin Hood would have us believe) was regent, while he was gone she did many things in his name there by making him very popular with the people. She also kept John of the throne.

Richard had a made a few enemies on his way to the Holy Land, and coming home he was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria, and held there. His mother was the one who worked hardest and eventually got him out of prison. Richard Died in 1199 A.D. Though He married he never had any Children. He left the throne to his brother John

The famous Prince John from Robin Hood's story did eventually become king. But before all that He was known as John Lackland. There is a story behind his name. When each of his sons were born he gave them land, well because John was the youngest, and I must say he probably was unexpected due to the fact that people just did not have that many kids, there was no land left for him to give to John. This is something important because we read in a history book that he was called John Lackland because Richard was king and got all the land. My mother was so mad at the book for getting it wrong(this history book had mad many many mistakes also) she threw it across the room. My mother does not normally throw books. Lackland was the nickname given to him because he had no land. He did not like that name because it reminded him that he did not have some of the things his brothers had.

Henry II tried to help John get land, but conquering Ireland, he planed to make John King of Ireland. John was Henry II favorite son, after Henry. But when Henry(the Young King) rebelled Henry II felt betrayed but his sons, he thought John was the only one who really cared about him, and was loyal to him. On his death bed Henry II found out that his favorite son John had signed a document that was part of a rebellion when Henry II was finally over thrown by his Son Richard. The fact that John was his father favorite, and Richard was his mothers favorite might be part of rivalry between them.

John was not a very good king. The stories about Prince John (minus the regent part) are probably true. He was not a nice person, and because of this the nobles rebelled against him. Out of this rebellion came the Magna Carta, which is a very important document, it set the basis for the British Parliament. This is the most exiting thing really from King John's time as king.

edit: I just remember something that I found interesting! Prince John did get some land, his father was able to mange some how to give him some. His land was.... Nottingham. Perhaps this is why Prince John takes such a prominent role in the Robin Hood tales? Just a thought.

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Our Lady of Vladimir

Our Lady of Vladimir.

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Just for fun! :)

" 'Oh! I hardly know what he is like,' said Margaret, lazily; to tired to tax her powers of description much. And then rousing herself, she said, 'He is a tall broad-shouldered man, about - how old papa?'

'I should guess about thirty'

'About thirty - whith a face that is neither exactly plain, nor yet handsome, nothing remarkable - not quite a gentleman, but that was hardly to be expected.'

~North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Crochet envelope purse

This is an envelope purse that I made. I changed the pattern up a little, and I Really like how it turned out!

This is what it looks like with the flap up.

The back of it.

I gave it to a friend for a birthday present.

Blessings

~Elizabeth

Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine

So I said I would do some posts about the Plantagenets, so I am finally getting around to do it. I thought I would start with the founders of the ruling family; Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The House of Plantagenet was started by Geoffrey V of Anjou (part of France, this will be important latter). I have not read very much in detail but what I could make out from a book was that Henry's mother, Margret, was a member of the ruling family in England. Her brother(the name escapes me) was king of England, but had no heir, so is passed to Henry. That is what it sounded like in the book that I read.

This is just some background info on the Plantagenets. So that you can know where they came from. I was actually surprised by how much French blood was on the English throne. England also had a lot of calms to French land, because Henry II was the son of the Duke of Anjou. He was not only King of England, and Duke of Anjou. It was one of those things that I though interesting.

Henry II is on of my least favorite kings of England. He was particularly fond of women and was not a faithful husband(which for the time period is not surprising). I will say that he was a brilliant king. Our legal system is based on some of the things he did. Here is what he did. He would be the judge in a case he would decided fairly, and write down the details of the case and what decision he came too. If he came across a similar case latter he would refer to other similar cases he had done in the past.

I didn't like how he treated his children. He crowned his son Henry(he is often called Henry the Young King, but does not have a number by his name because he didn't out live his father) while he was still king because he was worried some one would take the throne from Henry(his son) after he died. It might have worked except that Henry II like to be in control, so he gave his son a title with no power which made Henry the Young King very very mad. He also didn't let go of land very easily, once he got it he kept it.


Eleanor of Aquitaine is some one who has a very interesting life. Her father was the Duke of Aquitaine, which was a very very large province in France. When her father died he left the land to her. Because she was so young and had so much land, her father on is death bed arranged for her to marry Louis VII the king of France. In the beginning their marriage was fine. One thing that was big was that Louis went on one the Crusade; she went with his. After the Crusade their marriage fell apart. Eleanor didn't like Louis, because he was not a very good king.*(go to the paragraph with this *) She was not happy and Louis was not happy, so she convinced him that God didn't like their marriage because they were related to each other(this is a pretty common excuse back then for a divorce blessing from the Church). Her reason was that they only had daughters(they had 2) so God was unhappy with their marriage and that was why the didn't have sons. Louis believed her and they were divorced. Little did he know but that she already had her eye on some one and had been planing to marry him after she divorced Louis. she married Henry II. Louis was not please with this because that meant that Henry got Aquitaine along with Anjou.

She was the mother of Henry the Young King(and sympathize with him in is trouble with the throne), and the mother of the famous pair King Richard the Lion Heart and Prince John(he did become King of England after his brother Richard). Her other Children where Alice of Capet, and Maria de Champagne; her daughter by Louis VII of France, and by Henry II of England: William(who died as a baby), Henry the Young King, Richard I the Lion heart, Geoffry duke of Brittany, John "Lackland", her daughters by Henry where Matilda, Eleanor, and Joan.

*Louis was the second son, back then second sons of king where suppose to go into the church so for most of Louis life he was being trained for the Church. But the Louis older brother died, so he was the new heir. Now there is nothing really wrong with being raised for the Church, Louis love the Church, but Louis was a weak king and France needed a strong king. Elinor was very frustrated with him, because he was not what she wanted. This is one of the reasons I am not thrilled with arranged marriages.

Henry and Eleanor didn't have great Marriage, as I said earlier Henry had many affairs(it is good to note that Elanor had her own lovers too). Eleanor was not to much bothered by Henry, it was what kings do and she had her own thing. And Henry did love her and she loved him, she was his queen. What caused the big problem was when Henry met Rosemound, and treated her like she was his queen. That was what made Eleanor mad at him; and my mad I mean really really mad! she did not just have an argument with him about it she went to the nursery and turned her children against their father. Which in the long run was a very effective plan to get back at him(not that she was right to do that).

Eleanor was also upset because Henry was trying to control her land, Aquitaine, when she was suppose to take care of it(the people of Aquitaine didn't like Henry, they loved Eleanor). She caused a rebellion among her sons(Henry, Richard, and Geoffry. John was fathers boy, and he was to young). It didn't work and Henry locked up Eleanor. This made his sons even more mad, especially Richard who was mothers boy. There was a lot of bad feelings between Henry II and his sons because he would not treat them like men, but like children. He would not give them any power. Richard was Duke of Aquitaine, he was really the only one who could stand up to his father and win. Eventually the boys did revolt again and win. Henry died not long after. Henry the Young King died during the rebellion, so Richard became king.

Sorry is this is really long, but there was a lot about Eleanor( Shew as huge political person back then and I am sure you can see why) and Henry. I did try to compress as much as I could but that was not easy. I hope you enjoy this. Eleanor is one of my favorite people to read about in History. I find is most upsetting when some history books don't even mention her!!

Blessings

~Elizabeth

P.S. the last picture is of where Henry and Eleanor are buried at Fontevraud Abbey. She is shown reading the Bible.

Book Review: The Shining Company

Title: The Shining Company

Author: Rosemary Sutcliff

1st published: 1990

My rating: 3/5

"The Shining Company" takes place in the time after King Arthur, and the Romans are gone. It is about a company of soldiers who go to drive the Saxons out of England. It is told from the perspective of a shield bearer.

This book is very much like a lot of Rosemary sutcliff's other books. It is very slow in the beginning and hard to get into, but then got good. I was halfway through the book and I was wondering what the story was really about, or if there was any point to it.

I really enjoyed the time period. I have not read much or learned much about what happened in England after the Roman Empire started to decline and fall. This gave a very good idea of what happened. I am not sure though if King Arthur came after or before the Romans? The book didn't tell me this.

The characters were quiet enjoyable and I liked the perspective. I also enjoyed the little peak it gave into Christianity at that time. The story was good, and though slow it did pick up after a while and was very interesting.

There was one part, I will try not to give anything away, where some one was dying a slow and painful death from a horrible battle would, and he asked some one to kill him so that he would not have to suffer any more. I was very surprised and shocked by this passage, and yet I thing I would have done the same thing. It was something for me to think about.

Over all I like the historical content, the characters were nice but not outstanding. The story is interesting and since it is based on a poem that is probably true I think that makes it all the more interesting.

Blessings

~Elizabeth