2008-03-21 A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED LOVERS...

I first read this book some thirty odd years ago and really enjoyed it. It was also my first introduction to the author, who is a master storyteller and wonderful writer of historical fiction. Seeing this book on my shelf, I decided to read it again. Time has certainly not diminished the capacity of this well-written book to entertain the reader.

This is a tale of star-crossed lovers and reincarnation. It is a story of passion and love that transcends time and is really two stories. One takes place in the twentieth century and the other in sixteenth century Tudor England. Combining history, romance, and suspense, it will keep the reader turning the pages.

When, after a whirlwind courtship, titled Englishman, Richard Marsdon, marries Celia Taylor, a young American heiress, it seems to be a fairytale romance. It had simply been love at first sight. While living in his ancestral home with Celia, however, Richard seems to change, withdrawing from Celia emotionally. Celia finds the change almost incomprehensible, but she, too, is having her own issues with her strange sense of deja vu. All things came to a head when they throw a house party, and something happens that causes Celia to hover between life and death.

As luck would have it, present at the time is a medical doctor and master of mysticism, Dr. Akananda. He senses that Celia must relive her past in order to understand and survive her present. The book then segues into sixteenth century Tudor England, where Celia was a young and beautiful woman, working as a servant in a nobleman's home. It explores her life and the passion that was to dominate her, body and soul.

Of the two stories that emerge, the more interesting one takes place in the past, as the author vividly brings to life the religious tumult, political strife, and jockeying for position and power that characterized Tudor England. Moreover, many of the people that Celia knows in the present have their counterparts in the past, which adds another dimension to this tale of good and evil. Splendidly told, this story of star-crossed lovers will keep the reader turning the pages. Those who enjoy well-written historical fiction with a strong infusion of romance will very much like this book.