A story of reincarnation. Things in the present have to be rectified in the past, so we're transported back to the time of Edward/Lady Grey/Queen Mary (Bloody) and Elizabeth I, which is a time of religious upheaval. It's a story about a wrong being made right and it coming full circle. The tale from the past is fascinating and engaging and it's fun to find the parallels with the modern day time period. ( )

Highly unusual. The ending left me flabergasted. Extremely recommended. Loved how the story of an ancient monk and his true love gets tied into the 1960s. The best book I've read in a long time. I'll never forget it. When the title mentions darkness it is not kidding. ( )

A very good novel combining historical fiction with the supernatural, and a rather sinister undertone. Perhaps a little too long and the fact that every heterosexual Tudor male falls madly in love with Celia gets a little wearing, but a very satisfying read. ( )

The ratings don't go high enough here to rate this awesome novel. ( )

I read this book back in the seventies and was delighted to find it again. Seton is an amazing historian and is able to recount stories in great detail and from different angles. Reincarnation historical romances remind us that there is nothing new under the sun. There is heartbreak, betrayal, and just plain old bad timing in every age. In Green Darkness, religious intolerance was the catalyst for most political intrigues and both Protestant and Catholic used their "one true faith" to gain control and power over the masses. A person's religion saturated everything in their lives for good or ill.
The love story of Celia and Brother Stephen was an interesting way to show the contrast between the sacred and the secular. Like religion in that time, there was ultimately no way to bring the two together in any meaningful way and it ended up destroying them both. It was quite brilliantly done and has many valid lessons for our time. ( )