Canadian Writers Abroad

Review of A Flight of Saints by Elizabeth Braithwaite, self-published on Amazon as Pampered Pilgrim Press, 2025.
Reviewed by Darlene Foster.

I had just returned from England, where I visited the Bar Convent in York, and learned that Mary Ward and her fellow nuns had walked across the Alps from France to Rome three times in the 1600s to convince church members and even the Pope to grant them permission to open schools for girls. I was impressed by their fortitude and determination. A few days later, the arrival of A Flight of Saints by Elizabeth Braithwaite, a pseudonym of a Canadian author I admire, seemed timely.

From the first page, I became fascinated by this story of five teenage twelfth-century nuns escaping the confines of an abbey in Northern Italy run by a cruel Mother Superior. As they travel the Alps from Italy to the convent of Abbess Hildegard of Bingen in Germany, they face terrible hardships, with fear and hunger as their constant companions. To make matters worse, the evil Abbess has put out a reward for their capture, and they need to keep one step ahead of the bounty hunters.

The story is told from the point of view of fourteen-year-old Sister Lucia, who has only known cloistered life since being dropped off at the convent by her father as a young child. Without a clear plan, and lacking knowledge of the outside world, Lucia doubts she has the skills and heart to lead this group to their destiny.

I loved all the characters, each with their own story and secrets. Saintly Little Fey, silly Sister Gretchen, slovenly Fat Val-Sister Valentina, and mysterious Sister Mea make up the motley crew. Since they grew up together, sibling rivalry rears its ugly head and conflict arises among the girls. We get to know each character well through their actions and dialogue, as well as flashbacks that explain their backstory. They are all believable, although not all likeable at first, and each plays a vital role in the story. These girls eventually display their ingenuity, resourcefulness, and strength. As they learn more about each other, they learn more about themselves.

It is obvious the author has done considerable research regarding the times, as they are well depicted and realistic.  Wonderful old words and phrases are included that bring the reader into the twelfth century. Words like twaddle, satiate, opprobrium, plenteous, and sibilants. The setting plays an important part in the story, and the terrain they traverse is well described. There is even a map to follow along. I like a book with a map.

We flew across grassy meadows, through woods of slender pines. We stopped for the briefest of moments to catch our breath, then we were off again. We ran alongside streams, through gullies. Over hillocks, across broad fields. The sky was a patch of white and grey clouds, like wild horses, galloping above me. (Page 54)

Ms Braithwaite does a great job of inserting subtle humour into the story. I laughed at Sister Gretchen hinting that she would like to know what it would be like to have sex with a man, at least once.

The reference to the real-life Abbess Hildegard of Bingen adds to the story. The ending didn’t answer all the questions, but ties things up satisfactorily. I closed the book and wanted to start reading it again. Towards the end of the book, Sister Lucia says, “We are all saints, because we have suffered.” These five young women will stay with me for a long time.

I have long been an admirer of Jane Christmas ever since I read her book, What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim, a cleverly written documentation of her Camino de Santiago de Compostela experience. I read it twice and gave numerous copies to friends. She has written five journey memoirs altogether. When I learned she had written a work of fiction under the pseudonym Elizabeth Braithwaite, I was eager to read it. She explains that she didn’t want her novel to be judged through the lens of her previous, non-fiction work, so chose an alternate author name.  

Elizabeth Braithwaite/Jane Christmas has proven she is as capable of writing entertaining fiction as she has been at writing non-fiction. I hope we see more from her.

Elizabeth Braithwaite aka Jane Christmas lives in England. This is Braithwaite’s first novel. Jane Christmas is the author of five memoirs, two of which could also be called travel books: What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim: A Midlife Misadventure on Spain’s Camino de Santiago de Compostela (Greystone Books, 2007) and Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy (Greystone, 2009). Her memoir, And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures in a Cloistered Life (Greystone, 2013) was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2014.

Darlene Foster grew up on a ranch in Alberta, Canada, where her love of reading inspired her to travel the world and write stories. She’s now a published author of children’s travel adventure books and lives in Spain. The latest in her Amanda series is: Amanda in Ireland: the Body in the Bog. The first nine books were published by Central Avenue Publishing and are available through Simon & Schuster. Foster’s last two Amanda books are self-published; for them, check out Darlene Foster and her blog.

Further

• Seven Things About Jane Christmas.
• Journey Woman interview with Jane Christmas.
• Interview with Jane Christmas at Linda’s Book Bag.
• Maria Salvati, “Italy’s New Nun-Mapped Pilgrim Trail,” BBC.