Gatty's Tale

Superb novel, a sequel of sorts to the Arthur Trilogy, following the adventures of Gatty, Arthur's earthy, spirited field-worker friend as she is taken on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A coming of age tale as she blossoms into maturity, learning to read, write and sing, this is a marvelous story, stirring and sad, full of pageantry and colour, ultimately heart-warming.

Gatty’s Tale is the 13th century story of a scruffy, high spirited serving girl who is first introduced in the Arthur trilogy by the same author. Gatty is to serve Lady Gwyneth as they embark on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Along with Gatty and her Lady are an assortment of characters. This core group travels to France then overland to Venice where they then are able to sail to the Holy Land. Along the way they encounter brigands, have adventures, bicker amongst themselves and struggle to find Christ within each other.

Gatty is a wonderful character. She is included on the pilgrimage mainly because of her voice. She can sing like an angel. She has the ability to make up songs that can express what people are feeling and seeing around show more them. She is earthy, inquisitive, impulsive and charming. Religion played an important role in medieval times. From day to day prayers to the actual visiting of the holy places in and around Jerusalem, praying at various shrines and churches, all this is incorporated easily into the story.

The author never loses sight of the fact that he is writing of the 13th century, and brings these times to life with his vivid descriptions and lyrical writing. Gatty is a heroine that the reader can root for as we read of how she matures into a responsible, mature young woman. Gatty‘s Tale is a great read for any age, it certainly can stand on it’s own, but reading the Arthur trilogy would help to set the background. show less

Another lovely, strong female protagonist who learns and grows throughout her travels. Crossley-Holland is simple in his tale, with plenty of showing not telling; it feels nicely medieval to me, without any apologies to the reader for some of the ugliness of the period. I love his language: he hangs on to some of the flavors of the old Saxon: "seething, thieving London," "the many-tongued sea," "muddy-dark sand."

I loved this book. It's a great historical portrait of a time of great upheaval in the world, as well as a commentary on racism and tolerance. It is told in a very personal way from the perspective of a young woman who is wide eyed but still practical and clear headed. Also the detail about the reality of medieval life was great.

I am hoping this is book one in a series! I really liked the European and religious history. The main character, Gatty, was a joy to read. She was uneducated but very sharp. I enjoyed reading about her adventures.

This story is about a young lady who is on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. She has a lot of growing up to do and through many trials does grow up. Her world expands as she gets closer to her destination. Understanding that pilgrimages during this time took a long time to journey does not mean that the book has to drag along as well. Through parts of the journey it feels that the plot is just dragging on. The fights that the pilgrims have are repetitive to me. Many of the characters are well rounded and well described and readers learn to love or hate certain characters but other characters are very flat. Overall it was an interesting read.

Set in the time of the Crusades, Crossing to Paradise is a great adventure yarn and coming-of-age story. The central character, Gatty, is a young servant to a wealthy aristocrat who brings her along on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Recommended by a Casti student and her mom, who read it together.