Belle's Song

Taking the pilgrimage about which Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales as a starting point, K M Grant has written a gentle tale centred on young pilgrim Belle, a wilful girl who cannot help but become entangled in the politics of the day as she journeys to the tomb of St Thomas to pray for her crippled father.

In fact Belle is the achievement of this book. A well drawn, fully rounded character, she is feisty yet vulnerable, impetuous yet hindered by superstition. Grant’s choice to make her full of human flaws and frailty only makes us like Belle even more, as she muddles along making the same mistakes we all do.

It is Belle’s relationship with the other characters that propels the story forward, in particular her rivalling friendships with Chaucer’s young scribe Luke and a knight’s son, Walter, as well as the mutually respectful relationship she develops with Chaucer himself, who is embroiled in a plot to save young King Richard’s throne. In a 14th century world of political instability, bawdiness, roguish ruffians and wanton manipulation, Belle proves herself a feminist heroine in fighting against these challenges in order to save her friends.

Grant’s tale is vividly written, even if it takes a while to get into its stride. In throwing a couple of unexpected twists into the plot, she adds a thought-provoking new dimension to what is at heart a simple love story.