Shortlisted for
Book of the Month
Bographical Fiction
12th/13th
Century
England / Holy
Land
“England,
1219
Lying on his deathbed, William Marshal,
England's greatest knight, sends a trusted servant to bring to him the silk
Templar burial shrouds that returned with him from the Holy Land thirty years
ago. It is time to fulfil his vow to the Templars and become a monk of their
order for eternity. As he waits for the shrouds' return, he looks back upon his
long-ago pilgrimage with his brother Ancel, and the sacred mission entrusted to
them - to bear the cloak of their dead young lord to Jerusalem and lay it on
Christ's tomb in the church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Jerusalem, 1183
In the holiest of all cities, the brothers
become embroiled in the deadly politics, devious scheming and lusts of the
powerful men and women who rule the kingdom. Entangled with the dangerous,
mercurial Paschia de Riveri, concubine of the highest churchman in the land,
William sets on a path so perilous that there seems no way back for him, or for
his brother. Both will pay a terrible price and their only chance to see home
again will be dependent on the Templar shrouds.”
In this final
chapter in the life of William Marshall, as William’s end is approaching, he
sends for a possession kept for over 30 years which will enable him to take his
final Templar vows and ensure his peaceful passing.
As he makes
preparations he relives his personal crusade to Jerusalem, supported by the
Templars, to fulfil his promise to lay the Young King’s cloak upon the altar in
the Holy City to make atonement for the sin of sacrilege they committed at
Rocamadour and his own failure to keep his Young King from harm.
He remembers
the journey with his band of loyal men and the life changing events of their
stay in the Holy City. Through his eyes
we are drawn in to the places and people and the struggles and politics of
those troublesome times and the fighting he undertook to help sustain the dying
King of Jerusalem and the memories of his own passionate affair with the high
ranking concubine of the powerful Patriarch.
Once again
Elizabeth Chadwick recreates for us another time and place and makes it all
come alive as we share with William his life and experience.
As with any
Elizabeth Chadwick – Very Highly Recommended
© Sheila Swale
(Guest
Reviewer)
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