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In this compelling historical novel, set in Languedoc at the end of the 13th century, Francois de Beaufort is a knight, a Cathar by birth and ultimately by conviction, despite the unrelenting efforts of the Inquisition to stamp out this heresy. When he is sentenced to a pilgrimage of penance to Compostela, he ends up in the Cathar village of Montaillou. And then the Inquisition strikes again.

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How a world was lost.

In this compelling historical novel, set in the Languedoc at the end of the 13th century, Fran‡ois de Beaufort, a knight and a Cathar, loves three women - Blanche, Sybille and Beatrice. He is Cathar by birth, and ultimately by conviction, despite the unrelenting efforts of the Inquisition to stamp out this heresy through war, torture and the stake.

After surviving two sieges Fran‡ois is sentenced to a pilgrimage of penance to Compostela, and ends up in the Cathar village of Montaillou. And then the Inquisition strikes again.

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´Bland skilfully blends history with the engrossing story ... The novel is rich in meticulous historical detail and background but it never interferes with the emotional pull of the story ... This is one of the very best historical novels I´ve read this year´ For Winters Nights.

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Bland, Christopher
Christopher Bland is a former Chairman of the BBC, BT and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is Anglo-Irish and married with a son and four stepchildren. This is his first novel.

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