Series review: Black Death duology by Minette Walters

Reading timeline: 11 June 2024 – 26 June 2024
Overall rating: 4.25/5

A two-part series, the Black Death duology by Minette Walters explores human behaviour, social hierarchy, gender stereotypes and religion in the face of a terrible sickness: the plague (aka. the black death, hence the series name).

Set in England during the 14th century, this is a series that begins with the choices and actions of the people of Develish as they try to survive the early stages of the plague, and finishes up with them charging forward into the future in a changed landscape for themselves—socially and healthily.

I have tried to limit spoilers in this series wrap up. However, there is every chance a spoiler or two may slip through the cracks as part of this review. Proceed with caution if you have yet to read this series.

Want to read the individual book reviews? You can find them below:

• The Last Hours
• The Turn of Midnight

The Last Hours
We begin this journey with The Last Hours. And, let me tell you, it is crazy to read this book a few years after the global pandemic.

This book was first published in 2017. While I understand the plague ran through England way-back-when and we’ve learned a great deal about sickness and preventing diseases over the many years since then, it is freaky to read about the characters in this book isolating themselves for 14 days after potentially being exposed to the plague before returning to the rest of the group to prevent the spread of the disease.

Honestly, Minette Walters… are you psychic?

When I first began reading this book, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the writing style and direction. But, the second I started to see the plague showing up and how people were reacting to it in the book, I was sucked in.

There is just something so interesting to me when it comes to human behaviour and people’s reactions in the face of a disaster.

On top of that, this book also dives deep into societal expectations on rank, gender and religion. Considering this, and the fact the ‘leader’ of this group of people in Develish is Lady Anne (a woman!) we get to see an incredible story built up that challenges these expectations to ensure the safety and health of the people of the demesne.

This book is a fantastic set up and first half of the series, highlighting the ‘survive now’ frame of mind all while interweaving the cultural environment and expectations back in the 14th century. All while introducing us to brilliant and complex characters, including Thaddeus Thurkell, Eleanor, the serf boys, and a whole lot more, all building a rich story to sink right into.

So, all in all, I gave this book a 4/5.

The Turn of Midnight
We then head on over to the second and final book, The Turn of Midnight, and let me tell you, this was a fantastic closer for the series.

This book starts immediately where we leave The Last Hours where there is conflict as the outside world tries to get in on the successes that Develish is reaping due to taking progressive steps in keeping the plague away from their people.

It’s after the conflict the reader sees the flip on the direction of the book. It’s no longer about surviving right now, but about securing the future.

The characters are framed slightly differently in this change of direction.

Lady Anne’s leadership becomes a whole lot more strategic as she continues to step further into the role of leading this demesne for good. Eleanor… well, it’s tragic, but an important perspective on political threats when it comes to a world where privilege and merit only exist due to birthright.

Which, contrastingly, we see Thaddeus embody that merit can come without birthright as he continues to step into leadership while mentoring the serf boys to build a new generation of serfs in the demesne.

This book finishes the series brilliantly, and received a well-deserved 4.5/5 from me.

Series review summary
The Black Death duology by Minette Walter provides a great experience through a deep and thoughtful story about a group of people in the face of a deadly plague, and humanity’s reaction to this catastrophe.

The depth and complexities of each character are so interesting. After experiencing the global pandemic, the reactions in the books from each character should not have been that surprising. And, really, they weren’t.

It is just hard for my brain to comprehend that a story set in 14th century England about a plague can showcase both the best and worst in humanity, which is something we still see now in the face of terrible events. Reading this series emphasises the “strength in community” vs “individual needs” conflict we see in how people react and act in the face of an emergency and crisis.

And, ultimately, it showcases which mindset usually comes out on top in those situations.

This is only highlighted more by the fact that some of the actions and reactions of the characters in the books actually made me so frustrated, there were times I wanted to just close the books and not continue reading them.

Now, this isn’t really a negative—it’s an example of good writing. However, don’t get me wrong, there’s only so many times I want to feel like that when reading a book, and this series did push me a few times too far in that direction!

Ultimately, as mentioned earlier, I give this whole series a 4.25/5. A really solid rating, and a series I would totally recommend anyone to read.

However, if the global pandemic is still too fresh in your mind and you don’t want to be reminded about it, maybe give this a skip until you’re ready. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a bit creepy how similar some of the scenes in this series are compared to what we actually saw and experienced globally.

So, keep that in mind when picking up this book! I wonder if anyone will write a series like this duology about COVID-19…
​
What did you think of this duology? Did you enjoy it as much as me? Were there elements that maybe didn’t gel with you? Were you as freaked out about its similarities to the COVID-19 experience? Let me know in the comments!