A Vision of Light: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel Judith Merkle Riley. Delacorte Press. New York,
New York. 1985.
Book review by Tracey
I discovered this author quite by accident in the book section of my local
Goodwill store. The book, titled A Vision of Light: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, was one of
a handful that struck my fancy. I brought it home, and began to read.
I could not put it down. I absolutely adored it! Unfortunately, near the
end of the story I realized that the dust cover was hiding a tremendous
amount of mold growing on the back cover. It devastated me to throw it
away, but that action began a search for any other book written by Ms.
Riley. Luckily, I was able to obtain several other titles, including the
sequel, In Pursuit of the Green Lion: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel (Margaret of Ashbury Trilogy) , that I would otherwise
have known nothing about!
To get back to the review, though, I found A Vision of Light: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel
to be a delightful account of a young woman's travails during the Medieval
period in England. The main character, Margaret, is so human that my imagination
could almost see her in three dimensions. I felt as if I were at her side,
rejoicing and despairing with her. I noticed that Ms. Riley certainly
has a knack for weaving modern thoughts into an ancient time period, and
I felt that quality was one of the reasons it was so easy to identify
with the characters. Many different events befall our heroine, and along
the way she develops several excellent support characters. All of the
characters in the book have their own quirks, endearments, and even downfalls.
In other words, they were human. Yet throughout the story, the real focus
remains on Margaret, and what will happen to her next.
I would have to put this book down as one of my all time favorite reads.
It took me completely away to another place and time. I wanted to BE Margaret!
She led a very interesting life. I highly recommend it, although it may
be a little difficult to obtain. No bookstores in my area could order
it for me, but I found all of Ms. Riley's titles through Amazon.com.
Tracey.
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