I think historical fiction is my favorite genre because a good writer can take you to a different time and place in his or her writing. Ideally, you'll learn something interesting enough to send you off on a different exploration of non-fiction sources to learn more about a particular person, place, period or culture. Iris Anthony is such a writer with her novel The Ruins of Lace (#440).
The threads that tie this plot together are lace smuggling in seventeenth century France. King Louis XIII had passed strict sumptuary laws, forbidding the wearing or importing of lace, principally from Flanders. The object was to keep the money in France, and the people in their God-ordained roles. Since almost everyone flouted the law, smuggling of lace became a thriving business. This novel tells the story of one piece of lace from seven different vantage points, including one of the thousands of dogs employed to carry the contraband undetected across the border. As beautiful as the finished product was, the corruption that ruined peoples' lives was ugly and evil. The characters in this book are so different, and so unique in their relationship to one particular length of lace that they view it either as their salvation or their ruin. The plot ran faster and faster towards its climax so that I literally could not put it down towards the end.
I could not help but think after reading this book that it would make perfect grand opera with its dramatic ending. (Of course, there is no fat lady to sing at the end.) It does make you ponder, though; do we make the right choices in our own lives? Several of the characters were left with distressing consequences and that moral ambiguity. A fast and interesting read, but one that can also make you stop and think. Can you ask for anything more?
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