Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. EliotMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Poetry, prose, and play, woven together by Eliot. What a tremendous rendering of one of the most famous medieval martyrdoms, no less fashioned as a bit of a medieval morality play (particularly with the personified "tempters" with whom Thomas Becket converses prior to his death. The language is beautiful, with Eliot wielding alliteration more elegantly than his knights wield their swords bent on murder. The drunken knights get their own drinking song, with a couplet refrain "Come down Daniel to the lions' den,/Come down Daniel for the mark of the beast." Allusions abound.
I read this as a followup to Alison Weir's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine, which in large part ,was more about Henry II. What a creative, engaging, and intelligent look back at history.
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Challenges on Storygraph (@rebcamuse):
2026 Reading Goals 5/60
#192030 Challenge: 1935
Tackle your Physical TBR 2026: no. 4
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