A spell-binding drama set against the sprawling canvas of the medieval age - a bestselling historical masterpiece
Ildefonso Falcones' first novel, Cathedral of the Sea became a publishing legend with over a million copies sold in Spain alone. It has since been published in over forty countries, becoming a European bestseller. In The Hand of Fatima, Falcones marked the four hundredth anniversary of the expulsion of the Moors from 17th Century Spain. His latest novel THE BAREFOOT QUEEN has already sold over a million copies in Spain. It tells of the tumultuous birth of Flamenco in Spain. Falcones is a practising lawyer in Barcelona where he lives with his wife and four sons.
"Sculpted and fluid...the international bestseller appears now in
an impressively graceful translation which captures beautifully the
archaic and lyrical tone of the narrative...Its beauty lies in its
vivd exposition of the complexities of a bygone society"
*Independent on Sunday*
"Falcones's intricately plotted novel rests on meticulous
research...the ambitious yarn binds you into its thrall - a bold
work of imagination, which pays homage to lives gone by as well as
to the great church itself"
*Daily Express*
"Turns on legal and financial manoeuvres rarely found in a
historical novel. Passionate in explaning 14th century Barcelona,
[Falcones] draws convincing pictures of its architecture and
culture, right down to the basics such as the sewage stream...an
exciting, very readable adventure novel, enriched by realistic
descriptions of medieval life, work, finance and politics"
*Independent*
"A powerful historical saga set in 14th century Barcelona that
spans slavery, serfdom and anti-Semitism, friendship and thwarted
love"
*Choice (Book of the Month)*
Medieval Spain's caste system can't keep a good man down in this absorbing epic, a Spanish-language bestseller. Arnau Estanyol, son of a fugitive peasant, starts out in 14th-century Barcelona as a lowly porter who carries stone blocks to a cathedral construction site and ends up a rich moneylender who saves the city from pillaging and frees the serfs of a barony he acquires by marriage. Alas, his dizzying social assent and defiance of the feudal order provoke enraged aristocrats--his status-obsessed wife included--into siccing the Inquisition on him. Arnau is a kindhearted, somewhat passive figure who combines piety, industry and cosmopolitanism to challenge a corrupt, dogmatic church and a parasitic nobility. The plot features thwarted romance, war, plague, immolations and self-immolations, set in a Machiavellian world ruled by privilege, cronyism and brute force. The melodrama is sometimes laid on thick, but Falcones's rich portrait of medieval society is fascinating. (Apr.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"Sculpted and fluid...the international bestseller appears now in
an impressively graceful translation which captures beautifully the
archaic and lyrical tone of the narrative...Its beauty lies in its
vivd exposition of the complexities of a bygone society" *
Independent on Sunday *
"Falcones's intricately plotted novel rests on meticulous
research...the ambitious yarn binds you into its thrall - a bold
work of imagination, which pays homage to lives gone by as well as
to the great church itself" * Daily Express *
"Turns on legal and financial manoeuvres rarely found in a
historical novel. Passionate in explaning 14th century Barcelona,
[Falcones] draws convincing pictures of its architecture and
culture, right down to the basics such as the sewage stream...an
exciting, very readable adventure novel, enriched by realistic
descriptions of medieval life, work, finance and politics" *
Independent *
"A powerful historical saga set in 14th century Barcelona that
spans slavery, serfdom and anti-Semitism, friendship and thwarted
love" * Choice (Book of the Month) *
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