The Angel of Blythe Hall

May 30, 2011
Angelic visions mix uncomfortably with 15th-century Scottish politics in a historical tale with a substantial paranormal streak. The Blythe family has long been scattered; obsessed by angels after a vision of his dead wife, Angelica, the laird succumbed to madness, while son Julius was charged with treason and daughter Isabeau was sent to the court of James IV. Courted by the roguish Sir George Douglas, Isabeau returns to Blythe Hall only to find that Julius has quietly returned as well. And when James himselfâcaptivated by Isabeau's friend, Marion Boydâsecretly follows, Isabeau is swept into a whirlwind of border warfare threaded with gothic mystery. While those around her maneuver for power, Isabeau is haunted by dreams of a golden being and the possibility that the guardian angel of Blythe Hall may be less fantasy than fact. Hannah (The Exile of Sara Stevenson) delivers a colorful depiction of Scottish border life and the intrigue surrounding the youthful James that combines oddly with her detours into the mystical for an uneasy and somewhat forced mixture that will raise eyebrows among readers of historical fiction while failing to fully satisfy paranormal diehards.