Review: Richly detailed, unflinching historical novel.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 1, 2013
Lisa Yarde's series of novels dealing with the Moorish history of Spain continues with her powerful 'Sultana: Two Sisters.' It concerns two women, taken as captives and sold as slaves, who rise to power within the kingdom. Their own personal heritage is complex, a mix of Christian, Jewish and Moorish, which reflects the make-up of historical Spain at that time. Once close, the women become deadly rivals and their life-and-death struggles make up much of this novel. 'Sultana: Two Sisters' examines and reveals the vital role that women and women's choices play within the kingdom and the impact they have on the male rulers.This is much more than a history of battles or the intimate history of people's lives. The characters are well-drawn and vivid. Maryam is implacable and ambitious, and she blames Butayna for the loss of her daughter. (Maryam would blame Butayna for a shadow falling across the sun).  Butayna is the more loving but she too is shown to be corrupted by the court of the harem, where poison and intrigue go hand-in-hand with sophistication and beauty. The two women fear for their children above all and much of what they do is as a result of that ever-present dread. The Sultan, Yusuf, who marries both of them, emerges as a noble, grave ruler, beset by troubles and struggling against both his fellow Moorish rulers and the Christian rulers to the north. It is a time of hardship and cruelty, a time of slavery. Lisa Yarde shows the often complex relationships between the free and unfree, between Moorish, Christian and Jewish cultures and peoples.It is an exciting and sometimes harrowing story, expertly told. The writing is so vivid and tactile that I ate, smelled, saw and heard with Butayna and Maryam as I followed them through their crises, as they endure terrors such as the Black Death and the battle-field.If you want to appreciate and understand the history and culture of Moorish Spain and medieval Europe and its beliefs,  Lisa Yarde's novels will transport you there.