Gatty's Tale

I (as their mum) liked this story - and the narrator tells it beautifully - but my boys (aged 12 and 10) were definitely less impressed than they had been with the other Arthur stories by Kevin Crossley-Holland. But does give a different perspective into the Crusades and the role of women.

Really enjoyed the greatly descriptive writing and the historical setting.Look forward to reading more of this authors books.

It's fashionable nowadays, in both children's and adult fiction, to present the Middle Ages as sordid, brutal and filthy, writing from a cynical viewpoint that has no sympathy with medieval ideas and attributes no transcendant value to anything. A typical recent example is Philip Reeves's 'Here Lies Arthur', so sordid and depressing that it was a dead cert. for the Carnegie Medal.Crossley-Holland has gone all the other way. Without being starry-eyed, he presents medieval people as they saw themselves: pilgrims through a harsh world, with their eyes fixed on a heaven that was utterly real. Nobody can understand the western Middle Ages if they don't have an understanding of, and sympathy with, medieval Christianity, and yet most modern authors are utterly unable to espouse that viewpoint: their little minds shrivel at the prospect of faith. C-H isn't unrealistic about the contradictions of medieval thinking (so unlike our own, ha ha.) There's a wonderful moment, for example, when the heroine and the cook Snout, her companion, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, are offered a saint's toe-bone as a holy relic: 'Snout had a careful look at the relic. "That's not a toe," he said. 'It's part of a trotter. I've cooked hundreds."' Gatty is indignant, but the episode does nothing to dent her awe at being at the place of the Crucifixion. And that's how it must have been.The only reason I don't give this five stars is the way the author presents Gatty herself. She's so unctuously perfect, with her golden hair and her simper and her pretty voice and intelligence and elegantly unconvincing rustic dialect, that I quite frequently wished I could give her a good smack in the mouth. Actually, under the slush she's quite an attractive character, but the author has grossly over-written her. He ought to have left her to recommend herself instead of blurbing her on every other page. On the whole, however, this is a charming book, and gets children's historical fiction out of the realist muck where it has been wallowing for far too long.

I bought this book because I had read two of the Arthur trilogy and was about to buy the third. Although not part of the trilogy (obviously) it's about Gatty, who is a character in the three books, and Arthur's friend. The Arthur trilogy was a good read, and I was expecting Gatty's Tale to be of a similar standard - WRONG - it's so much better it's almost as if it's been written by someone else! It's a fabulous read, a really interesting and exciting story, and the kind of book you want to keep reading and not put down until you get to the end. I won't spoil the story for anyone who is trying to decide whether to buy the book or not, however if you are in any doubt BUY IT - you won't be disappointed. Gatty's Tale

A joyful, tear-jerking book.Incredible! Once more Kevin Crossly-Holland makes a superb creation! This book does not give you time to slump back in your seat, for once it's done with one tantalising moment, it's on to another. Short, snappy sentences are perfect for this type of book. Again Holland is pure genius!In the year 1203 we meet Gatty (servant to Sir John) who has a voice of an untrained angel. One day Sir John hears her singing in the field and contacts his good friend Lady Gwyneth - who states that she is in need of a second chamber maid and Gatty's voice may be just the thing she needs. Lady Gwyneth and some associates are going on a dangerous and daring pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the holy land; but who knows whether they will make it...?This is a story of plain field girl who faces thieves, murderous Saracens and ghastly men. But once she gets through all the tasks that await her there is a glorious prize to be had - one that no-one would ever have dreamt of!It amazes me how much Kevin Crossly's writing can touch someone so much compared to his other creations.Beautifully written, Gatty's Tale deserves a medal for the tenderness but simplicity of story.While reading you totally get to know Gatty and the rest of the characters and begin to feel their worries and woes.All in all I would recommend this book to anyone!Robyn