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Anchoress Of Shere
Paul Moorcraft Book Review

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Plot Summary of Anchoress Of Shere
"

Poisoned Pen, May 2002, 24.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 15905801117

    In 1392 in what is now the quaint town of Shere in Surrey, England Christine Carpenter willing locked herself away from the rest of the world in an attempt to reach a state of oneness with God while still living on the mortal plane. Almost six hundred years later, fanatical Catholic Priest Michael Duval became fascinated with what Christine and other Anchoresses like her tried to do and decided to flesh out her story in a novel.

    However, Michael's muse has deserted him so he is going to do what he has tried to do five times before. He is going to kidnap a young woman and incarcerate her in a specially created cell in his basement. He is then going to teach her about religion so that she can become “his” modern day Christine and he will able to finish his book. He successfully kidnaps Marda Stewart who, unlike her predecessors, intends to live to tell the tale about the killer priest.

    Paul Moorcraft captures the atmosphere of fourteenth century England to perfection while telling Christine's “story”. He also shows the mindset of a serial killer through his actions and thoughts. Though six centuries separate the two stories, they are held together by an intriguing plot that will keep the reader turning the pages until they finish this very unusual but nonetheless fascinating tale.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Anchoress Of Shere
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones? Yes
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - escape/rescue from kidnappers
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - religious figure
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental: Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric - obsessed - deluded
How much violence does he/she use? - a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 5-7
Unusual forms of death - hanging
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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