A Mortal Glamour
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Juno Books
Reviewed by Karen Morse
Dark historical fiction set in fourteenth century France, A
Mortal Glamour tells the tale of one turbulent
year in the life of a convent. Although A Mortal Glamour was originally
published in 1985, this new edition--published by Juno Books with
wonderful new
cover art--includes over twenty-five thousand words cut from the first
edition.
Young, headstrong Seur Aungelique (nobly born into the d'Ybert
family) enters la Tres Saunte Annunciacion convent rather than marry
the man
chosen by her father. Stifled by the
Rule of Order, Aungelique becomes increasingly frustrated with convent
life after
the introduction of a strict young superior.
Fleeing under cover of night, she takes refuge with Comtesse
Orienne,
the most accomplished courtesan in France. Though openly admitting her desire to receive
tutelage from the Comtesse, Aungelique also seems to have an ulterior
motive: to meet her true love Pierre
Fornault (Duc de
Parcignonne), who she knows to be a patron of Comtesse Orienne. Though she is returned to the convent before
she has the chance to commit any real sins of the flesh, Aungelique's
appetite
for lust has been whetted, an appetite that soon becomes irrepressible.
After her return to the convent, Aungelique begins to
experience nightly visitations accompanied by loud moans of pleasure
and pain from
her cell. No penance, it seems, can
relieve her of these visitations: neither
performing vigils nor fasting helps and, indeed, scourging seems to
exacerbate
the problem. Whether demonic or no, the
visitations are contagious and soon other sisters, a priest, and even a
soldier
stationed at the convent are affected. As
the convent falls prey to otherworldly chaos, it is left to languish
and
questions begin to multiply.
The novel’s backdrop is one of desperate, turbulent
times. Europe is
still cowed with fear of the Black Death.
France
and England
are
embroiled in what would later be known as the Hundred Years’ War. And, with Pope Urban VI reigning in Rome
and Pope Clement VII reigning in Avignon,
the Church is divided and distrust is rampant.
Tied to what seems to be the author’s intended commentary
about women’s status (or lack thereof) at that time, what is most
horrific
about the story is the lack of action by the Church in Avignon. As Père Guibert, the priest tasked with
shepherding the convent’s inhabitants, explains the situation most
succinctly:
I pray that it
is only the perfidy of
women that must be corrected and not the incursion of Hell. The Pope has recently warned that the forces
of Rome are growing
stronger and
seek to undermine the proper authority of Avignon
and the French throne. To have demons
present would weaken his assertion that it is Avignon
that is the right. It might be thought
that these nuns were acting on behalf of Roman interests, that the
women
entertain Roman lovers and for that seek to cast doubt upon the
sanctity of Avignon.
(212)
The Church, it seems, would rather lose dozens of
innocent
souls than risk a loss of power.
A Mortal Glamour
is a compelling read. Though set in a
different era, it is similar to Joanne Harris' Holy Fools
and will appeal to readers who enjoyed that novel.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is best known as creator of the vampire
Count Saint-Germain. She’s written
twenty Saint-Germain books and a total of sixty-three novels in her
long career.