Now on to the very excellent At The Crossing Places.  This is a  continuation of the story of Arthur formerly of Caldicot now of Holt, in  the early twelve hundreds.  Now aged 15, Arthur is a squire and has  learned that his parentage is not as he long believed.  He has a real  father who is a murderer and a real mother he wants to find.   Arthur's   desire is to be a knight and to build a life for himself, almost his  own little kingdom.  He is realistic about things around him and has a  sense of justice beyond any of the other characters in the book.  What  Holland does so well is depict the times with more information than  you'll find anywhere else about the way people lived in England at this  point of history.  It covers their life styles, beliefs, and their  environment better than any such I have read before.  Holland has done  his research.  His characterizations are excellent and far ahead of the  society in the "seeing stone".