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In 1321, the English town of Ulewic teeters between survival and destruction, faith and doubt, God and demons. Against this intense backdrop, a group of women have formed a beguinage, a self-sustaining community of women. Led by the strong-willed Servant Martha, these women are committed to a code of celibacy and prayer, hard work and charity that is unsanctioned by the all-powerful church. Still, the villagers have come to rely on this remarkable group of women for their very lives. And seeking shelter among them now is the youngest daughter of Ulewic’s lord, a man who holds power over them all.
But when a series of natural calamities strikes, the beguinage’s enemies make their move, stirring the superstitious villagers with dark rumors of unspeakable depravities and unleashing upon the defiant all-female community the full force of their vengeance in the terrifying form of the Owl Killers. Men cloaked in masks and secrecy, ruling with violence and intimidation—the Owl Killers draw battle lines. In this village ravaged by flood and disease, the women of the beguinage must draw upon their deepest strength if they are to overcome the raging storm of long-held secrets and shattering lies.
- Sales Rank: #880298 in Books
- Brand: Maitland, Karen
- Published on: 2010-07-27
- Released on: 2010-07-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x 1.05" w x 5.20" l, .85 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 528 pages
From Publishers Weekly
In the tiny English village of Ulewic in 1321, a struggle brews between the Owl Masters, who want to bring back pagan worship, and a group of pious Christian women, called beguines, who merely wish to be left in peace. Having suffered from floods and famine, the town takes bitter notice of the Christian women, who are continually spared. As suspicion grows, the Owl Masters find aid from an unlikely source, the village priest, who's determined to pursue the criminal women in order to hide his own sins. U.K. novelist Maitland's jumpy narrative is, unfortunately, a poor showcase for the fascinating conflict, and she never seems to decide whether the Owlman is demon or myth, and other loose threads are left to dangle. Still, she produces an interesting examination of an unfamiliar time and place, finding effective lures in lessons on sexism and xenophobia. (Oct.)
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Review
“Maitland is a marvellous storyteller. . . . The Owl Killers is absolutely her best so far.” —Globe and Mail
“This powerful, enthralling story of treachery and magic is multilayered, atmospheric, and complex.”—Tucson Citizen
“Highly recommended . . . taut, compelling.”—Historical Novel Society
“Gripping . . . a real page-turner.” —Library Journal
About the Author
Karen Maitland has a doctorate in psycholinguistics. She has traveled and worked in many parts of the world, from the Arctic Circle to Africa, before finally settling in the medieval city of Lincoln in England. Her British debut novel, The White Room, was short-listed for the Authors’ Club of Great Britain Best First Novel Award. The acclaimed author of Company of Liars, she is at work on her next novel.
From the Hardcover edition.
Most helpful customer reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful.
Very, very good (4.5 stars)
By Ellis Bell
Set in the English village of Ulewic (fictional, but placed somewhere near Norwich) in 1321-22, The Owl Killers is the story of a village fighting against forces both known and unknown. At the story's center is the town's beguinage, a community of women originally from Bruges who came to England to lead lives independent of marriage or the convent. When the town suffers from flood and plague, and the women are unaffected, the people in the town start to suspect them of harboring a holy relic. Meanwhile, the village is controlled by a group of men called the Owl Masters and haunted by the specter of the Owlman, who delivers nothing but death and destructionto the places and people he visits.
The story is narrated by a number of characters, including the beguinage's leader, Servant Martha; the angry and bitter beguine named Beatrice; the town's self-righteous priest, Father Ulfrid; Osmanna, daughter of the lord of the manor who is sheltered by the beguines; and one of the village children. The novel contains a curious and intriguing combination of pagan belief and Christianity, witchcraft and superstition.
I don't normally read books with supernatural themes, but The Owl Killers grabbed me from page one and refused to let me go. One of my favorite things about this book is the characters; each narrator has their own strong, unique voice (my favorite was the sensible, practical Servant Martha). Maitland shows the middle ages as they really were, and she does so perfectly. Maitland delivers the symbolism a little heavy-handedly (of the "a candle blows out and someone dies" variety), but I nevertheless enjoyed this novel. Read it, and you'll never feel the same way about owls or men in masks again.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Be Prepared To Stay Up Late
By annie
Maitland's second novel has a healthy dose of all the things that make a book worth your time. Folklore, mystery, history, all combine to bring the rigid, oppressive, superstitious-steeped time period to glorious life. It's never easy to 'buck the system' and in Medieval times it could be down-right deadly, as the Beguines learned. The many interesting, complex characters will elicit sympathy, disgust, anger, or compassion and you'll remember them long after you finish the final page. I hope Karen Maitland is hard at work on her third novel; I'm patiently waiting.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Atmospheric medieval tale
By Ladyslott
The Owl Killers is a story set in 1300's England where both Christianity and paganism are fighting for a foothold in the tiny village of Ulwich. The village is torn between the Church's demanding of their share of their meager earnings, the payments to the lord of the manor and the Owl Masters who use terror and superstition to try bring the people back to ancient pagan ways. Into this mix comes a group of Christian women who live in their own beguinage, a community where they live without men as celibates but without taking the veil. When the village is struck by disaster after disaster both the Church and The Owl Masters seek to blame the women for all the bad luck coming their way, this despite the fact that this self sufficient group has shared their food, cared for the ill and sheltered those in need. The tension slowly ratchets up until the dramatic conclusion.
Maitland is quite adept at rich details that make you see and feel the desperation of this small village and the conflict between different factions that takes no heed of those in desperate need. The story is told in alternating voices, those of the women of the beguinage; Father Ulfrid- the inept village priest; the young daughter of the manor; one of the poor children of the village; an embittered member of the beguinage; each provides a distinct point of view of the village and the events occurring around them.
My one complaint is that the story sometimes weaves between brutal reality and witchcraft blended with the supernatural; I would have liked a clearer point of view. What I really appreciated where both the glossary of medieval terminology and the author's notes that provided a wonderful explanation of the climate changes that occurred at that time as well as the background into the formation of the beguinage- which existed in many parts of Europe right through 1927. Well researched, well written and very atmospheric. Definitely worth the read if you enjoy medieval historical fiction.
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