Pilgrimage

Jean Bellimont #1

by Trevor Whitton

France, 1295. Jean Bellimont leads a quiet, contented life as scribe to the Bishop of Troyes and husband to his wife, Marguerite. Suddenly his world is turned upside down when he is accosted by a small beggar woman on his way home from work one evening. He retaliates by knocking her to the ground – then watches appalled as her lifeblood ebbs away before his eyes. Looking up, he meets the gaze of the woman’s young daughter watching from the shadow of a nearby doorway. He flees the scene in a blind panic, but is later overcome with remorse. His guilt becomes so overwhelming that he eventually realises there is only one path to redemption – to undertake a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella.

Thus the little scribe is forced to leave his wife and children to undertake a life-changing journey. On the way he is charged with retrieving a stolen relic, becomes involved in deadly disputes between the Church and heresy, and befriends a nun, a former crusader, a heretic, and a hunchbacked dwarf.

With parts of the novel based on historical fact (including details of the pilgrimage route to Compostella, Cathar heretics, and the second Crusade), the novel draws a convincing picture of a 13th century pilgrimage, wrapped within a compelling story of true drama lasting right up to the final page.

ebook

First published January 19, 2012

Reviews

[Bluejay44 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a compelling read, I was drawn right into the book and transported back to a totally different age.

"Pilgrimage tells the story of one man's search for redemption. Jean Bellimont - scribe to the Bishop of Troyes - journeys to Santiago de Compostella to seek absolution for murdering a beggarwoman. On the way, he is charged with retrieving a stolen relic, becomes involved in deadly disputes between the Church and heresy, and befriends a nun, a former crusader, a heretic, and a hunchbacked dwarf. Set in 13th Century France and the first of a trilogy, the novel draws a convincing picture of a medieval pilgrimage wrapped within a compelling story of true drama that lasts until the last page."

Read more: http://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/Pilg...

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did like it, though I had to get used to the descriptions of how the characters react to one another in their dialogue. The reactions tended to be a bit wordy. A really good thing I liked about this book was the scenery and descriptions of it as the characters were traveling through France and Spain. As to the plot, I also liked the inner struggle of Jean as he tried to deal with his crime while traveling to fine repentance. The main conflict was an inner conflict, one that centered in all of the characters not just Jean. These were revealed in the side stories other characters told Jean, and these tales I thought really helped develop the story more. Although this book was a little slow in parts, I would recommend this as a really good read, not fantastic, but still engaging.

[Karon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed in this book. The descriptions were good but it seemed to be a case of Jean went on a pilgrimage and he came back, with a few adventures along the way which were glossed over.
The ending had me think "What! - have I missed a few chapters".