The Tapestry

Nancy Bilyeau

Joanna Stafford 3

Joanna Stafford is the daughter of Sir Richard Stafford and related to the late Duke of Buckingham, courtier of Henry VIII and executed for treason. Her mother was lady in waiing to Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first Queen.
In the first novel, The Crown Joanna has joined a nunnery in Dartford and meets Geoffry Scovill who rescues her from a sticky situation in Spittlefields.
In The Tapestry, she is no longer a novice nun but Mistress Stafford, tapestry maker.
She gets involved with the court of Henry the eighth when the king asks for a tapestry. At court she meets some important people including Katherine Howard, who is poised to become Henryès fifth wife; and Hans Holbein, court painter. She is also reaquainted with Bishop Stephen Gardener and Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and Katherine's uncle. Joanna gets embroiled in court intrigue, which leads her into situations that endanger her life.
My favorite part of the book is where Holbein talks about Martin Luther and the Peasant's War while bound for Belgium.
There was really nothing to dislike about the book, but there were a few parts that were a little frustrating, in that it seemed to be pointing to an end that I did not want.
Anyone who likes historical fiction would be entertained by this book, or indeed anyone who is or has been in a convent would also find this a good read.
The author handled setting very well, especially the chapters in London, and brings you into the story through both setting and characters.
The plot was enough to keep me turning pages, mainly to see if Joanna would find her love at the end. So as not to give the ending away, I will just say that it took three books, but I was completely satisfied.
If I were to give the book/series a theme I would have to say it would be “If you wait long enough you will get your heart's desire.” Despite many twists and turns, in the plot, and in Joanna's own mind.
One thing I noticed from the author's note: Nancy Bilyeau says that the 3rd Duke of Buckingham was Henry Stafford. When my research says Henry was the 2nd Duke and father of Edward, the man actually executed by King Henry for treason.

Martha

by Diana Wallis Taylor

Martha was the sister of Mary, and Lazarus. The brother and sisters are mentioned in Luke 10 and John 11
While Claudia, written by the same author, pulls you by the hand through the via of Rome and Palestine on an ever exciting journey, Martha walks beside you through a meadow of soft breezes.
You can smell the bread and date cakes baking in the oven as Martha bakes them, taste the fruit, and feel the heat descending in the middle of the day.
Taylor brings out the differences between the sisters from the beginning. Martha is the excited one, the one that wants to accomplish much, and has much responsibility, while Mary saunters along at her own pace, truly marching to the sound of her own drum.
Early in the story Martha is rejected by a match pursued by her father and afterward fears she will never marry, until she meets Thaddeus, a soldier in the Roman army. But their secret meeting place is discovered and beside that Thaddeus has been ordered to the detail hunting down the murderous Barabbas. It is at this point she loses him.
When Lazarus' engagement is broken off because his betrothed confesses her love for someone else, Martha vows not to marry but will take care of her family. Despite her vow she cannot easily contain her jealousy when Mary falls deeply in love with one of Jesus' disciples and they are wed.
But even in her busyness she has a kind heart and opens her home to Jesus and his companions when they need rest and respite from the crowds demanding signs and wonders and the Pharisees questioning his every move and word.
Nathan, the blacksmith in his late twenties is married to Rhoda who is unwell with a wasting disease from the beginning of the story. He is an imposing muscular figure who at the beginning of the story he is shy and tends to keep to himself which discourages friendships. But he is befriended by Martha's father. He becomes a widower soon after Martha's friend Esther marries Micah. After Rhoda's death he goes to Capernaum to return some of her things to her family and meets Jesus in Bethsaida and becomes a believer. He brings Simon who has been healed by Jesus back to Bethany. At the celebration he joins the men in a dance and Martha realizes there has been a change in him. The shy, taciturn man has gone to be replaced with a laughing, dancing man who is "almost handsome."
I love the way Taylor brings out the part of Jesus that's only hinted at in scripture. Showing his fun side as he relaxes and jokes at Martha's table.
She gives background to how the death of Lazarus may have happened, filling in the blanks for our imaginations and expertly weaves the story of the resurrection through the eyes of those who were there, solidifying their beliefs.
Martha is in for a surprise at the end of the book, one which I admit I didn't see coming either, but Jesus did.

Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate
by Diana Wallis Taylor

Pontius Pilate will ever be known as the man who condemned Jesus to death. That he was married is mentioned in the Biblical narrative only once at Matthew 27:19. But who was this woman?
Diana Taylor names her Claudia Procula, daughter of Julia, granddaughter of Augustus Caesar. According to the apocryphal book of Nicodemus she was a Jewish proselyte. Taylor brings this out as Claudia talks with the Jewish gardener at Pilate's villa.  She hears about a rabbi ( Jesus) who is in Caesarea where the procurators lived and wants to know more about him. She conspires to find him with her servant Hotep, her Egyptian slave who has also been listening to the gardener. They continue to listen to him until Pilate finds out.
The story of Claudia begins in exile in Reggio, where she lived with her mother and grandmother Scribonia after her mother was moved there from her exile on Pandataria for adultery. When her mother is forced into starvation at the hands of Tiberius she and Scribonia are taken to Rome where Claudia will be raised by the emperor. When she is 16 a marriage is arranged for her with Pilate.
Lucius Pontius Pilate is in his 30's when he and Claudia are betrothed. (I can't find any sources, in my quick research that have  Lucius as his first name) and it's love at first sight. Pilate is under the patronage of Sejanus, head of the Praetorian Guard, and, possibly from him, has developed a hatred of the Jews. Sejanus has not forgotten the first encounter with Claudia, which did not go well and arranges for Pilate to leave for Caesarea in Judea one hour after his wedding, and without Claudia. It is a while before she is given permission to join him.
I love the way Claudia submits to and helps her husband by her encouragement and building him up. And I also love the way Taylor has portrayed Pilate as something other than the Judean Procurator we see in the Bible. She makes him a whole person with likes and dislikes, fears, problems, and a heart, as well as a man frustrated and angry with the position Sejanus has placed him in.
There is more to Claudia's story after the crucifixion of Jesus, but I'm not going to share that with you. You'll have to read the book for yourself 😊