Written on the Dark

A new Guy Gavriel Kay novel is always a cause for excitement in these parts. I love history, and I love the way that Kay makes use of it in constructing not-quite-historical novels. Kay’s last few books have been set in the Mediterranean, originally inspired by a visit to Croatia and learning about that country’s history. The cycle also encompassed the war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, and the condottiere of Renaissance Italy. I will miss Folco d’Acorsi, but there are other stories to be told.

Written on the Dark is set in Ferrieres, Kay’s version of France, in mediaeval times. The central character, Thierry Villar, is a poet well known in the taverns of the capital city of Orane. If he reminds you a little of Jaskier, well, Kay is allowed to watch TV as well, but he is also based on a real-life French poet who had an equally adventurous life.

Villar did not want fame, though he would not have said no to fortune had it fallen in his lap. Indeed, he was not above trying to acquire it by less than honest means. Fame, however, found him first. Loose lips owned by one of his confederates have brought him to the attention of the Provost of Orane – a sort of mediaeval police commissioner – who just happens to have a difficult and deeply political murder to solve. An intelligent lad who is well known in the taverns of the city is just the sort of agent that Robbin de Vaux needs. Which is how Tierry will come to the attention of the King and Queen, and spend much of the rest of his life trying to avoid being murdered on the orders of the Duke of Barratin (Burgundy).

Those of you familiar with the history of mediaeval France will now be wondering which other notable characters from the real world will find their way into Kay’s narrative. There is, for example, a king from a country to the north of Ferrieres, separated from it by a narrow sea. That king, the fifth of his name, won a legendary victory against overwhelming odds.

Then there is the matter of the humble peasant girl who, having seen a vision from God, dons armour and seeks out the French army so that she can lead it against the perfidious English.

Not all of the characters that Kay uses in the book are quite as well known. However, anyone who visited the Mediaeval Women exhibition at the British Library will be expecting one other person to make an appearance. Like Thierry, she is a poet. Of noble birth, following the death of her husband she was able to make a living writing for the Court. Much of her work has strongly feminist themes. I am, of course, talking about Christine de Pizan, or Marina di Seressa. Of course her path and Thierry’s have to cross.

If you are trying to work out actual timelines, you will get into something of a mess. This book, possibly more than anything else Kay has written, plays fast and loose with our world’s history. He has characters he wants to use and, because this is not an historical novel, he doesn’t have to worry about when they actually lived. I’m OK with that. After all, Kay has been very clear that this is his world, not ours.

That, of course, means that other things can and do diverge from what the reader might expect. They do so in quite dramatic ways. The English may be a little upset as a result.

The other thing I should note about this book is that it is rather more literary than genre. What I mean by that is that there isn’t exactly a unifying plot. Yes, the book tells the story of Thierry Villar’s life. Yes, his conflict with Laurent The Bold, Duke of Barratin, bookends the story. But beyond that what we get is a series of vignettes – key moments from Thierry’s life that are not particularly connected except that he lived them, and many of them are important to the history of Ferrieres.

This again did not worry me. Kay writes beautifully and I was more than entertained seeing how he made use of the various human and historical pieces he had chosen to weave his narrative.

I note that Guy sent me a PDF of the book in advance of publication. I will be buying the hardcover as soon as it comes out.

Title: Written on the Dark
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
Publisher: Hodderscape
Purchase links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookshop.org UK
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