Medieval Wife’s Tale! A pleasure!
The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks
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How could I not want to pursue this title? I love Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and the Wife of Bath was a particular favorite. Dare I say a post modern look at the Wife? Probably not, but this raucous tale hits all the right notes, exploring the roles and expectations of and for women in the Middle Ages, and giving us an alternative story that fills in the “who” of the Wife of Bath. The Good Wife, Mistress Eleanor Cornfed is the protagonist. We see her story from her perspective, complete with five husbands. A keen wit keeps the novel moving along. Randomness and playfulness present opportunities.
I kept thinking about previous novels I’ve read where women at these times have similar struggles and stories. I remember well Brooks’ The Lady Brewer of London. If you liked that, you will also like this. Yes, this is bawdy and the language is earthy, but the Anglo Saxon language has always had short four letter words. The Anglo Saxons ate fish, the French Normans poisson. So different! And this follows through to other regularly used words that are frowned upon today. Brooks has once again given us a realistic slice of a medieval woman’s life—The Good Wife of Bath. Her Author’s Notes are definitely worth perusing.
To hear tell it’s the Poet who’s shielded Eleonor “from the consequences of my darker deeds by distracting those who would call me to account. For, while folk are titillated and shocked by his portrait, they don’t see me.” Now Eleanor declares, “it’s time for me to wrest my tale back and tell it in my own way.” And she does! A solid read that raised my eyebrows quite a few times. I enjoyed this immensely. Brooks has done justice for Eleanor.
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