Rope Dancer

A non-typical historical romance novel. Telor the minstrel, Deri the dwarf and Carys the rope dancer are the main characters in this story, which I found interesting and very, very different from many other historical romance novels I've read. This is also the first book by Roberta Gellis I've read.I enjoyed how these characters are not the typical heros one reads about in books like these. Carys and Telor are defined as not being classically beautiful, and they are of the lower class. But this does not make the story duller than a typical story of gorgeous nobles. It's quite the opposite. This book has action and suspense in it that, honestly, I found more interesting than the inevitable romance that ensues. The descriptions of the characters' performances are also really fun to read.This book can be rather dark, which I appreciated, focusing more on the struggles and hardships, both emotional and physical, that characters in this time and of this class would endure.Carys is a non-typical heroine. I liked the fact that she was not as "inexperienced" as most romantic heroines are in this genre. I liked her confidence and her ability to survive independently and defend herself.Highly recommended. Definitely not a typical "glittering, begowned lady and her muscled, tanned knight" story, and all the better for it.

The time is the twelfth century in England. Carys is a rope dancer who had once been part of a successful troupe of traveling players. While they were welcomed because of the entertainment they provided, they are also outcasts because they do not have a master. When the story opens the troupe has been disbanded. Carys' latest protecter has just been killed. Carys herself is threatened with rape and murder by the men at arms of the lord in whose hall she was dancing and she is forced to use all of her wits to escape. Alone and destitute, she is found by two men traveling together-- Telor, a minstrel, and Deri, a dwarf. As a minstrel who entertains in lordly halls, Tedor, the son of a respectable burgher, is of higher social status than Carys or Deri although Deri was once a respectable settled man himself before misfortune reft him of wife and home. Tedor is on his way to visit his old teacher, the Welsh bard Eunion. But events of this turbulent time have overtaken the manor where Eunion was living under the protection of an amiable lord, and Telor, Carys and Deri become involved in a lively adventure where their lives are at stake.Gellis does her usual excellent job of drawing the reader into her medieval world. The afterword is definitely worth reading because she lays out there some of her philosophy about writing historical novels. This book is one of her best. The unusual characters and lively action mean that there is nothing in the least dull about this book.

It has been a couple of years since I read this book. But I remember it well, that is how well it was written. Unlike most books, it wasn't written about the nobles, but the the poor souls who tried to make a living from that era. Roberta writes so well that you can imagine the story in your mind, rather than just words on paper. I recommend any all her books, as the same magic is in all of them

The main persons are for a change simple people like you and me. Time period: King Stephen, setting: England. The hero is a minstrel, the heroine the ropedancer of the title. A very important figure is the supporting 'hero', a dwarf. I had this book for ages and reread it at least once a year. After lending it to a friend, it is now making the rounds and I just hope I will get it back sometime. This is one book I really miss.