"beautifully developed relationship and personal growth of characters"
Elizabeth (Beth) Neill Kincaid is a 21st Century woman with
a penchant for brass rubbings. Her husband, Kevin, is not
happy about her hobby when she pursues it with a vengeance
across southern England, leaving him stuck in the local pub
for hours on end during their vacation. When Beth insists
on doing one last rubbing of the brass image of a young
woman who died in the 15th Century, he blusters and fumes
and stomps off. She isn't happy about upsetting her
husband, but this rubbing is simply calling to her to be
done. The image is that of Olivia Elizabeth Avelyng, once
the wife of William Avelyng, a local noble. But while she
creates the rubbing, something odd happens. It is as if she
is transported across time to become Olivia, called
Elizabeth by those near and dear to her. Through this Beth
sees what Elizabeth sees, knows what she knows. And feel
what she feels; that night, back in the current day, Beth
finds bruises, the marks of William's hand on her upper
arm. The earlier Elizabeth was caught in a terrible situation.
Married to a man who valued his pride more than his wife,
who wouldn't even share a marriage bed with her, she had
fallen in love with another man, Charles. Pregnant with her
lover's child, she tried to get William to release her to
leave with Charles. All of this is revealed to Beth through
visions of the past. When Beth discovers she herself is
with child, her joy is tempered by the question of just how
and why Elizabeth is communicating all this to her. What is
Elizabeth's purpose? Sometimes she takes possession of
Elizabeth and sometimes she appears as a presence, a ghost
in Elizabeth's home. The ghost dislikes Kevin, who
professing love for his wife, is domineering and
unsupportive. But, while at first he scoffs at Beth's
visions, he must take them seriously when the ghost turns
her attention on him. Fortunately, all of this is beautifully dealt with in the
course of the book. In many ways, this story is like a time-
travel in that we get solid glimpses into the past, the
story of Elizabeth, Charles, and William. But most of the
book takes place in the modern day, with Beth taking
control of her life from her domineering husband, and Kevin
learning that he doesn't need to possess his wife to love
her. For this story alone this book is well worth reading.
The writing is strong and the characterization very well
done. Beth is a wonderful person and Kevin, while
dislikable at first, grows on you. You can see why Beth
would have married him in the first place. This time
represents a turning point in their marriage and it is nice
to see both of them grow beyond it. All in all, FLIGHT OF ANGELS is a fine read and very hard
to put down. PNR Reviews © Copyright April 2002
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Posted May 11, 2002
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