Scarlet Seed (Heaven Tree Trilogy)

Rating:
Summary: "...a spark of that communicable fire..."
Review: The Scarlet Seed concludes the trilogy begun with The Heaven Tree and The Green Branch. The quote above comes near the end of the book, where young Harry broods over the destruction of his father's church, then sees how the stones from it are not only being used to rebuilt war-ravaged homes but are inspiring new artists.

After being Isambard's prisoner for two years, Harry begins to see his captor's political position weakening; but Harry has begun to understand that his imprisonment has taught him to face an enemy without fear and honed his sense of honor. He realizes that he owes something to Isambard, and when an enemy blinds him, he helps Isambard conceal it as long as possible as his brother William tries to usurp Parfois. But when Isambard's former mistress Benedetta arrives at Parfois to try to negotiate Harry's release, William takes Isambard and Benedetta prisoner. Harry escapes and persuades Llewelyn of Wales to attack Parfois. In the beseiged fortess plague is suspected, and Benedetta and Isambard are locked in the church Harry's father built to die. The church is destroyed during the battle.

After the tragedy and catharsis of these events, Pargeter's meditation on the eternal nature of art is easy to skim over, but should be read carefully; here she ties together her themes and shows how creation is never wasted -- "Eyes that have once seen it see all things differently thereafter, having learned the measure of wholeness."