Secrets of the Labyrinth

by Greg Mosse

Imagine a land that has seen empires rise and fall. A place where people have killed for power and for religion, and a place where people have died to keep those secrets and beliefs. This is the Languedoc, and this is the book that will share the secrets of this incredible land with you. LABYRINTH told the story of Carcassonne and the search, across centuries, for the grail that people have long rumoured was taken to this place by the Templars fleeing the holy land. Building on Kate Mosse's meticulous research for her bestselling novel, Greg Mosse now shows how the region was home to the Cathars, who clung to this dramatic mountain landscape in stone fortresses and battled against siege, inquisition and massacre to keep their faith, and keep some much older secrets. An astonishing journey through history and across continents, SECRETS OF THE LABYRINTH will take you from the mountains of the Pyrenees, behind the fortified walls of Carcassonne and Montsegur, into the sacred cathedrals of Chartres and St Nazaire, and further out into the Holy Land and the ancient civilzations of Egypt. About The Author: Greg Mosse is a writer, translator and creative writing teacher. With his wife, Kate Mosse, he is also co-director of the Chichester writing festival.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published May 31, 2007

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, I recommend you read Secrets of the Labyrinth by her husband, Greg. His book gives you the historical facts and shows pictures from the places where Kate's novel takes place.
I love history and since this book is from my favorite place in the world and also explains the history behind one of my favorite historical novels, I give this book 5 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I saw this book in the bookshop I was really excited. Having read all the books in the genre on the Rennes Le Chateau mystery, plus stuff on the Templars and Cathars, this book had so much potential. After reading it I was so disappointed. I still don't even know what "secrets" the title refers to. The Labyrinth is a book written by his wife, Kate Moss, but after reading this, I don't think I will bother with that one. Basically, the book ends up as a monologue on the Albigensian Crusade, a very boring historical acount of the campaigns of the Crusaders in the Langeudo'c region ending up with the siege of Montsegur. A lot of this stuff has been covered time and time again, and this book adds nothing to the genre.

[Val Wineyard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Mosse, the husband of Kate Mosse, wrote a book to explain the history behind his wife's best-selling novel, Labyrinth. As I live myself not far from Carcassonne, I loved the style and lay-out of the book as well as the very clear text and the snippets of history that were particularly fascinating, many new to me (yes, even me!)
The sub-title of the book says it all - "Uncover the mysteries of the Languedoc behind the best-selling novel."

[Dippy Longstocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly research. Very informative and interesting

[Svit647 · Rating 1 out of 5]

weak