Sailing to Byzantium.

by Maureen Thorpe

A spellbinding journey through time and cultures... In Sailing to Byzantium two time-travelling wise women from different centuries sail by Viking boat from 10th century Yorkshire to the ancient city of Byzantium to rescue 7-year-old twins. Midwife and fledgling witch, Annie Thornton, and her cat Rosamund, reunite with Annie's Aunt Meg, a hereditary witch last encountered in 15th century Hallamby, England in Tangle of Time, Maureen Thorpe's first mystery in this series. Annie's sweetheart from the deep past reappears to help the women face the challenges of an arduous journey, made more difficult by a sinister Viking queen determined to get her way. Combining vivid historical detail with the imaginative possibilities of magic realism, Sailing to Byzantium is a spellbinding journey through time and cultures seen through the astonished eyes of a contemporary woman who both loses and finds her inner power.

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2020

Reviews

[Elinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Tangle of Time, and gave it five stars. Now I wish I hadn't because this one is even better, but six stars is not an option! The author hits her stride in this second tale of the young witch Annie who is transported from her cozy life in London into the turbulent days when the Vikings ruled. She and her band of merry followers must travel all the way to Constantinople, now Istanbul, to rescue a pair of kidnapped twin girls. The novel was heavy on historical detail and I was fascinated be descriptions of clothing, food, transportation, and social customs. That in itself was almost magical, yet there was also real magic taking place as Annie battled the dark forces with all her powers. I'm looking forward to the upcoming third adventure.

[Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trip of a Lifetime. With Life Itself at Risk. Fabulous Tale!

A heinous and dastardly crime. Two beautiful young Viking twins disappear. Kidnapped. Is time-travelling witchcraft enough to bring them home? Another spellbinding tale of romance and intrigue for a fledgling witch sent from our own time. Annie is once again cast even further into the past to solve a new mystery. Now her dangers will follow her across an entire continent!

Maureen Thorpe casts her magical spell yet again as her characters embark on a perilous journey. Their adventures take them from the north of England to far-away Constantinople. With evil close at hand.

A daring group of voyagers lead us on this historic adventure through rivers, seas and dazzling ancient streets. The time for action is always upon us as we travel with them. Time and again our worst fears unfold. Will Annie save the day or will evil triumph? The past is not so easy to predict as you might imagine.

[Janice Gascoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your average time travel, mystery, witchcraft, romance novel. The first book in the series Tangle of Time was good, very good ...... Sailing to Byzantium is great. It is a fast paced page turning thriller with suspense and explosive action that is worth every minute of your time and attention. Everyone who enjoys getting lost in a good book will appreciate the newest installment. A fine tuned mystery with clever twists and turns along the way blending two good witches, two black cats as their spirit guides and a couple of handsome men. This all comes altogether in a fantastic tale in 10th century Viking times. In the first book I could not wait to turn the pages to find out what was going to happen next to my new found friends. In this book I found myself standing right along side them on the Viking ship sailing the Baltic and Black seas. Standing with them in the Hippodrome, facing the lions and chariot racers. Maureen Thorpe may be new to the writing game but her storytelling abilities are becoming one of the best in the business. I eagerly look forward to the next book in the series.

[Caroline Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A version of this review appeared in BC Bookworld in Spring of 2021. There are three in this series and I am now waiting to pounce on Book #3!

Author Maureen Thorpe was born in Yorkshire, trained as a nurse- and worked on two continents-, travelled the world, keeping fit all the while, and now lives in a log house near Invermere, B.C. She presents talks with slide-shows about medieval life and writes with authority about a time-travelling aunt, a respected witch or wise-woman in 15th century Yorkshire, and her 21st century niece, a trained midwife. Plus their two cats.

Time-travel fans of Diana Gabaldon’s mega-selling Outlander series and historical mystery readers devoted to the perils of the Henry VIII-era lawyer Matthew Shardlake, by C.J. Sansom, will likely enjoy Thorpe’s book set in 15th century Yorkshire en route to the great kingdom known as Byzantium, with its grand city of Constantinople now Istanbul. In fact, the first book in a planned trilogy with the same main characters was released in 2018, Tangle of Time and a third, ‘Coventina’s Well’ set in Roman Britain, will follow the fall 2020 release of Sailing to Byzantium.
On page one of this book, Annie Thornton from present-day Yorkshire, lands in a stinking garbage heap with her cat on her lap. Her (great-great x many greats) aunt Meg is running toward her, apologizing for the odiferous botched landing. She has summoned Annie to help her solve a terrible crime which has just happened in Jorvik. (The Vikings are in charge so York is called by its Norse name.) Twin girls, platinum blonde seven year olds, have been kidnapped while playing right outside the door of their own home.

Their father is a Viking fisherman still out at sea and their English mother and her own mother were inside the house weaving wool cloth at the time of the abduction. The elderly grandfather was outside with the twins but, in one of many deft examples of Thorpe’s storytelling combined with her medical background, he was caught short with what the modern reader can tell is a troublesome prostate and had bolted for the outdoor toilet. All three adults are wracked with grief and guilt at letting the girls out of their sight at exactly the wrong moment and they dread the arrival of the father, who doted on his little girls but whose problem-solving skills were limited to using weapons like the King’s warrior he once was.

Aunt Meg is fully capable of magic, of shapeshifting and time travelling as well as a having a long working knowledge of using herbs and other healing practices of the Middle Ages. She also knows that Annie has inherited her maternal line of ‘witchy’ abilities as well as having modern-day medical training. More training in these inherited abilities and practical foraging for herbs will follow as antibiotics and antiseptics are not exactly handy in the 1400’s. Annie is quickly dressed in appropriate linen and wool clothing and footwear and her T-shirt, jeans and slippers were left behind to baffle the archaeologists of the future.

A useful glossary of Yorkshire dialect and a map of the route the two women, the father of the abducted girls, and other trustworthy companions took to follow the kidnappers is provided in the book. So is a very interesting list of the main characters which pinpoints which ones were actual historical figures, who were invented by the author and who just might be real, as there are traces of those names and identities in Norse sagas and other documents. It’s fascinating stuff. The bereft family, with the two wise-woman (and their cats, who also have certain magical abilities of course) alongside them, petition the local Viking King Eiric BloodAxe and his two wives for help, one of whom proves highly problematic for the rest of the story.

There is a wealth of authentic detail about the rigours of the sea and river voyage which takes the group of would-be rescuers from York, England to Birka, an island near Sweden, with its busy trading town and active slave market. Then the group carried on to cross the Baltic Sea and to head down major rivers in shallow draft lightweight river boats to get to Kiev and finally across the Black Sea to Byzantium. There an eccentric and very wealthy man is rumoured to have bought the exotic blonde twins for his collection. The description of the running of rapids or portaging around them, the constraints of campfire cooking and cautious dealings or bloody skirmishes with other tribes in the lands they are passing through all make for a gripping page-turner.

We now know from going to museums and reading and watching documentaries how archaeologists can identify which grains flatbreads were made from (barley is a favourite in this era) and how people of different ranks were buried with protective weapons and jewellery and symbolic offerings for the next world. This ‘day in the life’ of sheer survival on the dangerous waterway journey is later enriched when we meet Princess Olga who supports their efforts and mentions her wish to bring Christianity to Russia, which she eventually does in ‘real life’. We also go to the great bazaars of Constantinople and practically touch the fabrics and soft leather shoes and smell the spices and delicious foods there. The action ramps up even more as Annie must work a major feat of magic in front of a crowd of thousands and the rulers… and two hungry lions.

So if you’d love to escape the woes of the present day and enjoy historical mysteries and archeological detective work, you’ll have come to the right place-and time- with Sailing to Byzantium.

[Maureen Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

met you briefly this September while I was visiting Invermere. I very much enjoyed our brief conversation. I purchased both your books from you and am so glad I did! I thoroughly enjoyed them. I passed them on to friends with whom I don’t exchange gifts and those I do will be receiving them as gifts. Thank you for all the time you put into researching these novels.

I especially enjoy your characters. I would love to have them as friends. The pictures you paint are incredible. I find myself transported to the times and places in which your characters find themselves. Your descriptions and narration not only convey the physical aspects of the time, place and setting but also the emotional ones.

I am looking forward to the third book in your series!
Susan N.

[Tony Berryman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Wonderful research!

Maureen Thorpe brought me right into the story with a minimum of fuss, and I was pulled along by the interesting characters, and especially the interesting time. Not content with presenting one historical place with accuracy and colour, Thorpe wrote an adventure story that spans much of Viking-era Europe, bringing it to life each step of the way.

The story is written with a light touch, with enough development among the characters to keep things interesting, and a plot that moves things along and provides the excitement. It really picks up after the middle of the book. I enjoyed the read!

[Maureen Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maureen Thorpe is a gifted writer. She can spin a tale that keeps you spellbound (no pun intended.). It has been my pleasure to meet Ms. Thorpe when she was just starting her "Annie and Aunt Meg's" tales. They just keep getting better. Not an easy task. It has been my pleasure to read "Tangle of Time", "Sailing to Byzantium", "Coventina's Well", and "All the World's a Stage" at least 3 times. If you like a good tale with a touch of magic, look no further.
Debbie B.

[Futa Sisters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Futa
Have thoroughly enjoyed my Byzantium expedition! I felt like |I was right there with them - and was little sad when I came to the end. The good news is if I wait a month or two, I can read/"relive" it all again while I await book 3. Thanks Maureen.
Shizu E. M. Futa
The only thing better than finding a good read is finding a read again.

[Paula Martins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I planned to read for about 30 minutes before bed & 1.5 hours later I had to force myself to stop because I get up early in the morning for work. I could not put it down! It is an amazing book...the historic detail is vivid, you feel like you are there with the characters! This storyline is just as great as the 1st novel! Can hardly wait for the 3rd novel to come out!

[Shizu Futa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing better than a good read is a good re-read. Ms. Thorpe has woven a historically accurate tale that is captivating, informative, and entertaining. I read it again before reading Coventina's Well (after re-reading Tangle of Time) as a refresher. Each read brings new details to light.