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The Saracen Blade
HERETIC... CRUSADER... LOVER
Pietro di Donati, son of a 13th-century Sicilian peasant, who was born at almost the exact same moment as the Emperor Frederick. Their stories are linked and backdrop of the Children’s and Albigensian Crusades. Pietro slashed his way across across the teeming, violent world and carved out his destiny with the fury of a man possessed - by God or Satan, none knew which. He was a man of many enemies and many loves, a man born to battle who mocked at death, a man for whom no danger was too great if it brought him nearer the power he craved or the women he lusted for....
Pietro di Donati, son of a 13th-century Sicilian peasant, who was born at almost the exact same moment as the Emperor Frederick. Their stories are linked and backdrop of the Children’s and Albigensian Crusades. Pietro slashed his way across across the teeming, violent world and carved out his destiny with the fury of a man possessed - by God or Satan, none knew which. He was a man of many enemies and many loves, a man born to battle who mocked at death, a man for whom no danger was too great if it brought him nearer the power he craved or the women he lusted for....
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
About the author
Frank Yerby
130 books119 followersBorn in Augusta, Georgia to Rufus Garvin Yerby, an African American, and Wilhelmina Smythe, who was caucasian. He graduated from Haines Normal Institute in Augusta and graduated from Paine College in 1937. Thereafter, Yerby enrolled in Fisk University where he received his Master's degree in 1938. In 1939, Yerby entered the University of Chicago to work toward his doctorate but later left the university. Yerby taught briefly at Florida A&M University and at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
Frank Yerby rose to fame as a writer of popular fiction tinged with a distinctive southern flavor. In 1946 he became the first African-American to publish a best-seller with The Foxes of Harrow. That same year he also became the first African-American to have a book purchased for screen adaptation by a Hollywood studio, when 20th Century Fox optioned Foxes. Ultimately the book became a 1947 Oscar-nominated film starring Rex Harrison and Maureen O'Hara. Yerby was originally noted for writing romance novels set in the Antebellum South. In mid-century he embarked on a series of best-selling novels ranging from the Athens of Pericles to Europe in the Dark Ages. Yerby took considerable pains in research, and often footnoted his historical novels. In all he wrote 33 novels.
Frank Yerby rose to fame as a writer of popular fiction tinged with a distinctive southern flavor. In 1946 he became the first African-American to publish a best-seller with The Foxes of Harrow. That same year he also became the first African-American to have a book purchased for screen adaptation by a Hollywood studio, when 20th Century Fox optioned Foxes. Ultimately the book became a 1947 Oscar-nominated film starring Rex Harrison and Maureen O'Hara. Yerby was originally noted for writing romance novels set in the Antebellum South. In mid-century he embarked on a series of best-selling novels ranging from the Athens of Pericles to Europe in the Dark Ages. Yerby took considerable pains in research, and often footnoted his historical novels. In all he wrote 33 novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 14, 2017
This is one of those books one discovers collecting dust on a parent's or grandparent's bookshelf, perhaps fallen behind the shelf or propping up a table. At least that's how it was with me, when I found this book at the age of ten or so. The dust jacket had long since gone; only a faded crimson hardback with the title in yellow ochre ink that may have been gold, once. I haven't read it again in the nearly three decades since then. I can't think of a single friend or acquaintance who has ever mentioned reading this. I personally remember not only reading it, but the joy I had while doing so, all these years later. That counts for five stars, I would say.
April 23, 2026
From the back cover: Frank Yerby, called the modern Dumas by critics, is probably America's most widely read novelist.
Have we come so far that this 1952 novel has, at this date, only 404 ratings? Is this how novels fall to the wayside, no matter how widely read they used to be? Or is this like the modern "For fans of RR Martin", or other similar, thrown on every book and not representive of the truth, but more of an oversell?
I saw the skillset the more I read. There are women troubles aplenty, friendship and ties with an emperor, battles; the mc is seldom stationary but sees the world and tries to treat it fairly. Maybe a slight case of dumb mc to enact the plot. Good stuff though.
ETA: The writing itself had what I thought was a modern spin to it and less the compounded sentences that would go on and on until you'd have to go back six commas to make sure you read it right. Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.
There was a pattern in the destiny of man. A pendulum swing. A balance. The secret is, Pietro told himself, to want the right things, to discover what is needful for the soul's health, the spirit's growth, and seek after those things. But therein lies the problem. The things I've needed have never been the simple things, the obvious things, that the world flaunts before a man's eyes each hour of his life.
Have we come so far that this 1952 novel has, at this date, only 404 ratings? Is this how novels fall to the wayside, no matter how widely read they used to be? Or is this like the modern "For fans of RR Martin", or other similar, thrown on every book and not representive of the truth, but more of an oversell?
I saw the skillset the more I read. There are women troubles aplenty, friendship and ties with an emperor, battles; the mc is seldom stationary but sees the world and tries to treat it fairly. Maybe a slight case of dumb mc to enact the plot. Good stuff though.
ETA: The writing itself had what I thought was a modern spin to it and less the compounded sentences that would go on and on until you'd have to go back six commas to make sure you read it right. Wouldn't be the first time I was wrong.
There was a pattern in the destiny of man. A pendulum swing. A balance. The secret is, Pietro told himself, to want the right things, to discover what is needful for the soul's health, the spirit's growth, and seek after those things. But therein lies the problem. The things I've needed have never been the simple things, the obvious things, that the world flaunts before a man's eyes each hour of his life.
November 27, 2014
Pierto di Donati is born on the same day as the legendary Frederick II. Although Pierto is born to a relatively humble station in life, his early days are pretty good thanks not to his blacksmith father but to the kind Isaac the Jew. Alas, a peasant uprising doesn't go too well for the peasants, and Pierto loses everyone he loves.
Thanks to the luck of the Irish (of which he's not), the young orphan is quickly taken under the wing by Baron Rudolph, the man who had at one time planned to sexually molest Pierto's mother, but that's all water under the bridge. As squier to one of the baron's sons, Pierto learns the ways of knighthood and warfare. He also sort of, kinda, almost falls in love with Rudolph's daughter, Iolanthe. The two young lovers attempt to run away together. After a few rough and tumbles to get rid of that pesky virginity, Io's brothers catch up to the pair and retrieve their sister. She's made to marry a man whose family is responsible for the deaths of Pierto's father and guardian.
Pierto could have been killed by the vengeful brothers, but thanks to the luck of the Irish (of which he's not), the adolescent is rescued by the truly chilvalrous knight, Gautier. Pierto helps Gautier to locate his younger sister, Antoinette, who had been convinced to join in with the doomed Children's Crusade. By the time they find the young girl, she'd already been sold into sexual slavery and was pregnant with who knows who's child. Thinking of how much he owed to Gautier (and yes, also thinking this was a way to get a step up on the class ladder), Pierto offers to marry Antoinette and save the family from shame.
The marriage doesn’t last long and Pierto tries to make off with Io again. Oddly enough, her husband doesn’t quite cotton to the idea and throws our hero into the dungeon. Don’t worry, with the luck of the Irish (of which he’s not), Pierto manages to escape. He goes on to win accolades and riches, but no Io. Instead he’s pressured by the superstitious emperor into marrying a rather bipolar woman. (“I hate you!” “I love you!” “I hate you!” “I love you!” You know, the usual kind of Yerby female character.) Since this marriage isn’t going so well, Pierto does what any man would do and runs off to join the Crusades.
He's captured by the enemy and made a slave. A very well treated slave who is allowed to travel all the way to China, but a slave all the same. When his masters plan to turn him into an Assassin and kill Frederick, Pierto outwits them all and saves his old friend. After being away for years, Pierto finally makes it back to his bipolar wife, who tries to kill him. Again, a typical Yerby female character.
Finally, while he's away with the king, his lifelong enemies attack his villa. Pierto rides back to lay siege to their stronghold, which is in truth falling apart and not that hard to take over. Pierto finally gets his Io (who is a little long in the tooth by this time) and learns that the son he thought was his enemy's is actually his.
While I'm still giving the book 2 stars, this was a bit of a disappointment to me. The story wasn't served with that delicious Yerby crazysauce I've come to know and love. There was plenty of historical data. Perhaps too much, as at times I felt overwhelmed with all the information. Frederick II is little more than a minor character who makes an appearance once in a while. Because Pierto was a slight-framed man he had to rely more on his wits than his brawn, and I appreciate a hero who uses his brain. Still, there was something weak about Pierto. I couldn't make myself like him very much.
Thanks to the luck of the Irish (of which he's not), the young orphan is quickly taken under the wing by Baron Rudolph, the man who had at one time planned to sexually molest Pierto's mother, but that's all water under the bridge. As squier to one of the baron's sons, Pierto learns the ways of knighthood and warfare. He also sort of, kinda, almost falls in love with Rudolph's daughter, Iolanthe. The two young lovers attempt to run away together. After a few rough and tumbles to get rid of that pesky virginity, Io's brothers catch up to the pair and retrieve their sister. She's made to marry a man whose family is responsible for the deaths of Pierto's father and guardian.
Pierto could have been killed by the vengeful brothers, but thanks to the luck of the Irish (of which he's not), the adolescent is rescued by the truly chilvalrous knight, Gautier. Pierto helps Gautier to locate his younger sister, Antoinette, who had been convinced to join in with the doomed Children's Crusade. By the time they find the young girl, she'd already been sold into sexual slavery and was pregnant with who knows who's child. Thinking of how much he owed to Gautier (and yes, also thinking this was a way to get a step up on the class ladder), Pierto offers to marry Antoinette and save the family from shame.
The marriage doesn’t last long and Pierto tries to make off with Io again. Oddly enough, her husband doesn’t quite cotton to the idea and throws our hero into the dungeon. Don’t worry, with the luck of the Irish (of which he’s not), Pierto manages to escape. He goes on to win accolades and riches, but no Io. Instead he’s pressured by the superstitious emperor into marrying a rather bipolar woman. (“I hate you!” “I love you!” “I hate you!” “I love you!” You know, the usual kind of Yerby female character.) Since this marriage isn’t going so well, Pierto does what any man would do and runs off to join the Crusades.
He's captured by the enemy and made a slave. A very well treated slave who is allowed to travel all the way to China, but a slave all the same. When his masters plan to turn him into an Assassin and kill Frederick, Pierto outwits them all and saves his old friend. After being away for years, Pierto finally makes it back to his bipolar wife, who tries to kill him. Again, a typical Yerby female character.
Finally, while he's away with the king, his lifelong enemies attack his villa. Pierto rides back to lay siege to their stronghold, which is in truth falling apart and not that hard to take over. Pierto finally gets his Io (who is a little long in the tooth by this time) and learns that the son he thought was his enemy's is actually his.
While I'm still giving the book 2 stars, this was a bit of a disappointment to me. The story wasn't served with that delicious Yerby crazysauce I've come to know and love. There was plenty of historical data. Perhaps too much, as at times I felt overwhelmed with all the information. Frederick II is little more than a minor character who makes an appearance once in a while. Because Pierto was a slight-framed man he had to rely more on his wits than his brawn, and I appreciate a hero who uses his brain. Still, there was something weak about Pierto. I couldn't make myself like him very much.
July 21, 2017
I'm not a newbie to Frank Yerby, as prior to this novel, I've read four of his works. From what I've read, I realized that he wrote in order to exorcise his racial demons. Unlike James Baldwin, however, he wrote adventure stories that dealt with courageous and masculine heroes. Whereas Baldwin dealt with racial issues head-on, Yerby dealt with them peripherally by developing characters who were considered racially inferior, but were still intelligent and competent, occasionally even more so than the heroes themselves.
I also believe that Yerby knew his own limits with regard to writing, as while he was an able storyteller, the continuity of his plots were wanting, and his character development (in the different novels of his that I've read) left a lot to be desired. Among his five novels I've read, my favorite is The Old Gods Laugh. It's also the most modern among those books I've read, and I believe I like it because of Peter Reynolds's decisiveness and agency: while certain women will decry his treatment of his women, it's undeniable that his violence worked in those exigent circumstances. Reynolds is the hero who decided to face his own fate head-on, and it worked for him in the novel.
I think this is precisely my problem with this novel, The Saracen Blade. Born of a warrior, and instructed in the best scholarship during his time, Pietro di Donati doesn't even seem half as impressive primarily because he allows fate to drag him and circumstances to dictate his own life. It's a bit tiring to read a hero who, despite all of his knowledge and skill with languages and weaponry, is ultimately a loser in the worst sense of the word: Pietro is a victim of circumstance.
A lot of people read books by Norman Vincent Peale, or Stephen Covey, in order to prevent themselves from stumbling into such pitfalls of personality. I have read a couple of self-help books myself. It's hard for me to root for a hero who runs away from every problem by going into war, and it's hard for me to root for a person who, in the guise of chivalry, practices a sort of cowardice with regard to the important women of his life.
And Pietro is, despite his willingness to fight for his beliefs and religion, precisely a coward. The book, honestly, would have ended a lot earlier if he just manned up and took Iolanthe for himself. Out of a misguided sense of chivalry, however, he had to toy with Elaine, whom he never really loved, but simply considered beautiful. Later on, he was the reason for Zenobia's disfigurement: simply because despite the fact that he loved her, he was afraid of courting the Sheikh's ire.
He destroyed a lot of lives because of his indecision - and Yerby made Pietro his central character. I honestly wished Pietro would just die in order for the novel to end because he made things more difficult for everyone else. That's the primary reason why I abhor this book: Yerby did his research into the Crusades and expounded a lot regarding the Church's dark ages. I have no qualms with his effort to write a believable tale; the tragedy lies in the fact that he wrote such an emasculated hero who paled in comparison to the other protagonists he wrote.
I also believe that Yerby knew his own limits with regard to writing, as while he was an able storyteller, the continuity of his plots were wanting, and his character development (in the different novels of his that I've read) left a lot to be desired. Among his five novels I've read, my favorite is The Old Gods Laugh. It's also the most modern among those books I've read, and I believe I like it because of Peter Reynolds's decisiveness and agency: while certain women will decry his treatment of his women, it's undeniable that his violence worked in those exigent circumstances. Reynolds is the hero who decided to face his own fate head-on, and it worked for him in the novel.
I think this is precisely my problem with this novel, The Saracen Blade. Born of a warrior, and instructed in the best scholarship during his time, Pietro di Donati doesn't even seem half as impressive primarily because he allows fate to drag him and circumstances to dictate his own life. It's a bit tiring to read a hero who, despite all of his knowledge and skill with languages and weaponry, is ultimately a loser in the worst sense of the word: Pietro is a victim of circumstance.
A lot of people read books by Norman Vincent Peale, or Stephen Covey, in order to prevent themselves from stumbling into such pitfalls of personality. I have read a couple of self-help books myself. It's hard for me to root for a hero who runs away from every problem by going into war, and it's hard for me to root for a person who, in the guise of chivalry, practices a sort of cowardice with regard to the important women of his life.
And Pietro is, despite his willingness to fight for his beliefs and religion, precisely a coward. The book, honestly, would have ended a lot earlier if he just manned up and took Iolanthe for himself. Out of a misguided sense of chivalry, however, he had to toy with Elaine, whom he never really loved, but simply considered beautiful. Later on, he was the reason for Zenobia's disfigurement: simply because despite the fact that he loved her, he was afraid of courting the Sheikh's ire.
He destroyed a lot of lives because of his indecision - and Yerby made Pietro his central character. I honestly wished Pietro would just die in order for the novel to end because he made things more difficult for everyone else. That's the primary reason why I abhor this book: Yerby did his research into the Crusades and expounded a lot regarding the Church's dark ages. I have no qualms with his effort to write a believable tale; the tragedy lies in the fact that he wrote such an emasculated hero who paled in comparison to the other protagonists he wrote.
February 18, 2024
I first read this when I was in my early teens, and loved it. I mentioned the author to my mother. She said, “I think he’s black.”
I replied “No way!”. In my experience, black authors did not write novels about 13th-century Sicily.
But she was right — or half-right, anyway: he was (so I read) the child of a black father and a white mother. But he left the United States in 1955 in protest against racial discrimination, moving to Spain where he remained for the rest of his life. He wrote many historical novels, extensively researched and often endnoted (as here).
Taken together, there is a certain repetitiveness in them. The protagonist always rises from poverty to great eminence and wealth; and there are always two women in his life: the true love who is good for him, and the beautiful enchantress who is bad for him. The present work certainly follows this formula.
But for my money, The Saracen Blade is easily the best of the bunch. Mr. Yerby may not be the world’s greatest stylist, but he’s a first-rate story-teller; and it’s this that leads me to give the book five stars instead of four, despite one or two passages of rather purple prose. The historical detail adds wonderful colour. The characters, too, are brought vividly to life — particularly the enigmatic emperor Frederick II (the grandson of Barbarossa), who was in so many ways ahead of his time, yet almost comically superstitious.
I thoroughly recommend this book to all lovers of historical adventure.
Update 2019
For those who may be interested, The 1954 film version (which I finally succeeded in finding, though it seems to be unavailable on Amazon) is pretty much what one would expect from Hollywood: considerably abridged (e.g. no Gautier), time-scale reduced (by about an order of magnitude), dumbed down, and all grisly scenes of torture and Christians Behaving Badly (such as the massacre of the Albigensians) removed.
Within these limitations it does a fairly good job as a kiddie’s thriller, on about the same level as its contemporaries Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe. A young Ricardo Montalbán makes a passable Pietro, Iolanthe is beautiful and Elaine is suitably disdainful. And it does more or less adhere to the basic outline of the story, which one should be able to take for granted, but often can’t.
3 stars.
I replied “No way!”. In my experience, black authors did not write novels about 13th-century Sicily.
But she was right — or half-right, anyway: he was (so I read) the child of a black father and a white mother. But he left the United States in 1955 in protest against racial discrimination, moving to Spain where he remained for the rest of his life. He wrote many historical novels, extensively researched and often endnoted (as here).
Taken together, there is a certain repetitiveness in them. The protagonist always rises from poverty to great eminence and wealth; and there are always two women in his life: the true love who is good for him, and the beautiful enchantress who is bad for him. The present work certainly follows this formula.
But for my money, The Saracen Blade is easily the best of the bunch. Mr. Yerby may not be the world’s greatest stylist, but he’s a first-rate story-teller; and it’s this that leads me to give the book five stars instead of four, despite one or two passages of rather purple prose. The historical detail adds wonderful colour. The characters, too, are brought vividly to life — particularly the enigmatic emperor Frederick II (the grandson of Barbarossa), who was in so many ways ahead of his time, yet almost comically superstitious.
I thoroughly recommend this book to all lovers of historical adventure.
Update 2019
For those who may be interested, The 1954 film version (which I finally succeeded in finding, though it seems to be unavailable on Amazon) is pretty much what one would expect from Hollywood: considerably abridged (e.g. no Gautier), time-scale reduced (by about an order of magnitude), dumbed down, and all grisly scenes of torture and Christians Behaving Badly (such as the massacre of the Albigensians) removed.
Within these limitations it does a fairly good job as a kiddie’s thriller, on about the same level as its contemporaries Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe. A young Ricardo Montalbán makes a passable Pietro, Iolanthe is beautiful and Elaine is suitably disdainful. And it does more or less adhere to the basic outline of the story, which one should be able to take for granted, but often can’t.
3 stars.
March 8, 2011
This book follows the life of the Italian Pietro from his birth to his mid-40s during the middle ages. Pietro, a commoner, was born the same day and time in the same town as the Emperor Frederick II, and their lives are linked through various events.
I liked the historical setting of this novel and the mixing of both people and traits within people. Not all Christians are good; not all Muslims are bad, and for the most part, everyone is a mixture of both good and bad. What drove me crazy was Pietro, who himself was quite nuts. He's portrayed as being highly intelligent yet runs off with a noble's daughter to sleep with her (uh, they had access to each other in the castle where they both lived, I failed to see why they had to draw attention to themselves by running away). On the plus side, she is as crazy as he is, and they both make decisions that constantly put Pietro in danger. On the down side, Pietro rarely considers the feelings of the women he encounters, including those of the love of his life: he willing chooses to leave her with a horrible husband she hates, all because he thinks she had a son by her husband, while never even once considering the timing of the child's birth or the fact that when he is first told about the child he is told that she is very happy, singing all day. He chooses not to take on a beautiful woman as a concubine when she is offered to him because he doesn't want to cheat on his wife, which is good, but he could have accepted her and then kept her under his protection instead of sending her back to the harem where she was. He marries a woman because she is very beautiful and, after failing to successfully manipulate her into at least tolerating him, doesn't understand why she hates him.
Someone less easily annoyed with people would probably enjoy this more than me (I haven't read Mockingjay, for example, because Katniss drives me up a wall).
I liked the historical setting of this novel and the mixing of both people and traits within people. Not all Christians are good; not all Muslims are bad, and for the most part, everyone is a mixture of both good and bad. What drove me crazy was Pietro, who himself was quite nuts. He's portrayed as being highly intelligent yet runs off with a noble's daughter to sleep with her (uh, they had access to each other in the castle where they both lived, I failed to see why they had to draw attention to themselves by running away). On the plus side, she is as crazy as he is, and they both make decisions that constantly put Pietro in danger. On the down side, Pietro rarely considers the feelings of the women he encounters, including those of the love of his life: he willing chooses to leave her with a horrible husband she hates, all because he thinks she had a son by her husband, while never even once considering the timing of the child's birth or the fact that when he is first told about the child he is told that she is very happy, singing all day. He chooses not to take on a beautiful woman as a concubine when she is offered to him because he doesn't want to cheat on his wife, which is good, but he could have accepted her and then kept her under his protection instead of sending her back to the harem where she was. He marries a woman because she is very beautiful and, after failing to successfully manipulate her into at least tolerating him, doesn't understand why she hates him.
Someone less easily annoyed with people would probably enjoy this more than me (I haven't read Mockingjay, for example, because Katniss drives me up a wall).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2019
A completely new author to me.
Frank Yerby turned up in my feed. Several friends had added his books. I became interested and read a little more about him and added several of his books too.
A couple of weeks go by, I have forgotten all about Frank Yerby, until I discover about ten titles on the bottom shelf of my local used bookstore. All ten titles have been there for YEARS. All ten titles came home for well under $5. Stoked!
The Saracen Blade took awhile to grow on me. Pierto is our protagonist. He has some incredible luck but also lives with some incredible tragedy too. With the ladies he always seems star-crossed. He abhors killing, which he comes to regret a time or two. Not to mention Emperor Frederick II is a good friend.
The cover seems to be eye candy more than an illustration of the story. And as for the blurb, 'the exciting, adventure-packed story of the crusades,' the adventure didn't seem very exciting. And only a small part of the story is actually about the crusades.
Frank Yerby has peppered the narrative with footnotes. These footnotes are all in the back of the book. Yerby give loads of sources and info for the curious. One in particular stood out, because I own it, The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints.
Well worth a read, Recommended!
Frank Yerby turned up in my feed. Several friends had added his books. I became interested and read a little more about him and added several of his books too.
A couple of weeks go by, I have forgotten all about Frank Yerby, until I discover about ten titles on the bottom shelf of my local used bookstore. All ten titles have been there for YEARS. All ten titles came home for well under $5. Stoked!
The Saracen Blade took awhile to grow on me. Pierto is our protagonist. He has some incredible luck but also lives with some incredible tragedy too. With the ladies he always seems star-crossed. He abhors killing, which he comes to regret a time or two. Not to mention Emperor Frederick II is a good friend.
The cover seems to be eye candy more than an illustration of the story. And as for the blurb, 'the exciting, adventure-packed story of the crusades,' the adventure didn't seem very exciting. And only a small part of the story is actually about the crusades.
Frank Yerby has peppered the narrative with footnotes. These footnotes are all in the back of the book. Yerby give loads of sources and info for the curious. One in particular stood out, because I own it, The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints.
Well worth a read, Recommended!
April 2, 2014
When Yerby gets it right, his books are a delicious orgy of historical fiction. However, when he gets it wrong… it’s like getting soap in your eyes while biting into something a heck of a lot more spicy then you anticipated.
The “plot” here wanders all over the known places and events of the 13th century. The alliances, betrayals, fights, works, and progresses of kings, popes, emperors, sultans, queens, slaves, peasants, merchants, scientists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, saints, sinners, craftsmen, beggars, assassins – the whole motley crew.
And our main character, lacking any real plot himself, gets sucked into everyone else’s.
He also has a distressing tendency to fall for women who are so not interested, and then he gets surprised when, after pursuing them, they laugh at him, or yell at him, or try to shank him in church.
July 13, 2013
This is the first of Frank Yerby's books the I read. It made me continue on to read all of his books. All the characters in his books are well defined, fascinating and ultimately very human. Their lives are filled with joy, horror and angst. All his books are worth reading and only a few are not reading more than once.
March 9, 2018
It is my favorite book dealing with Middle Ages. It introduced me to a unknown geographic area.
Sicily, the Normands' Kingdom of Sicily was a multicultural place where different cultures lived next to each other and embraced their life.
The author writes in a direct language, most of the times you can see clearly in your mind what the author tries to convey. Superbe.
Sicily, the Normands' Kingdom of Sicily was a multicultural place where different cultures lived next to each other and embraced their life.
The author writes in a direct language, most of the times you can see clearly in your mind what the author tries to convey. Superbe.
January 29, 2021
Ignore the trashy cover-art, I learned more about the high middle ages and how the Holy Roman Empire worked from this book than any textbook, and I was always engaged. Part of that was because the narrative was sometimes rushed or forced, especially the ending, but it was always enjoyable.
August 10, 2016
Read this back in the 70's along with several other Yerby novels. I always thought this one was one of his best!
May 16, 2023
Good book, but too much happens. It's very fast-paced, sometimes a little too much so. Interesting characters and accurate to the time period.
March 28, 2024
The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was born in Jesi, Italy in 1194. But another child was born on that day in that place. Pietro, son of Donati the armorer and his lovely wife Maria, was delivered by one of the same midwives as she’d gone into labor just as the Empress was delivered of her son in the public square. Sadly, Maria died of childbed fever a few days later. The two men were perhaps entwined by fate.
Donati was at the time an employee of Isaac the Jew, a wealthy merchant. But the feudal lord of the area demanded that Donati serve him in his need for armor as he disputed with neighbors and Isaac had to allow this, so became Pietro’s foster father from a young age. With no son of his own, Isaac had Pietro educated in not just Catholic lore, but that of the Jewish scholars and Saracens who lived in Sicily.
In his early teens, after meeting and bonding with the young Frederick, Pietro learns that his father is leading a peasant rebellion against the cruel head of the Siniscola family, the very noble who’d drafted him. He briefly reconnects with Donati but is unable to get him to escape before the Count’s forces overwhelm the town. Donati and Isaac (who’d hoped to bribe the Count into mercy) are tortured to death and Pietro is forced to take refuge with a friend of Isaac’s.
While there, he runs into the children of Baron Rogliano, the youngest, Iolanthe, takes a shine to him. He becomes squire to her brother Hans, and falls in love with Iolanthe. Bad news–her father wants her to marry Enzio Siniscola, one of the sons of Count Siniscola. The baseborn Pietro is not even in the running. His friendship with Frederick is not a help, as the boy king is essentially out of office.
Things come to a head, and Iolanthe comes up with a plan for them to elope. Foolishly, she decides they’ve gone far enough for a consummation break. Her brothers show up, give Pietro a beating, and carry Iolanthe off to her wedding. Pietro is saved from death by a passing French knight, Gautier. The two young men bond, and Pietro becomes Gautier’s squire.
As it happens, Gautier is in Sicily to convey a message from the French king, who supports Frederick in his bid for the Holy Roman Empire’s throne. That message delivered, the men head back to France.
In France, Gautier and his squire are pressed into service against the Albigensian heretics, who include Gautier’s uncle and possibly his sister. It’s more butchery than a war, and Pietro is sickened by it. After the death of the uncle, it’s discovered that Gautier’s sister Antoinette wasn’t there, but had run off to join the Children’s Crusade.
By the time they find her, Toinette has been sold to a brothel, where she’s been ill-used and is with child. She’s suicidal and this would normally be a great scandal for the family, but Pietro volunteers to marry Gautier’s sister so they can fudge the dates and make the child look legitimate.
At this point, the French king needs assistance with his own battle against the English, which is a “cleaner” fight than against the pacifistic heretics. Pietro saves the king’s life and is knighted at last.
Unfortunately, Antoinette never recovered from her trauma and their marriage is quietly annulled so she can become a nun. Pietro goes to Germany, as Frederick has now become Emperor. He’s knighted again, and sent to Sicily to act as the Emperor’s representative until Frederick can get back there to arrange things, including finally releasing Pietro’s large inheritance from Isaac.
Pietro checks in with the astoundingly beautiful but ill-tempered Elaine, who married the only decent member of the Siniscola family, only to have that man promptly die during the visit.
He then has an assignation with Iolanthe, which promptly gets discovered by Enzio. The angry husband imprisons Pietro, but then has to do feudal obligation stuff for a couple of months, allowing Pietro and Iolanthe to get it on in the dungeon. When Enzio returns, he will spare Io’s life if she stops using birth control, but is going to execute Pietro, so that person has to make a daring escape.
A couple of years later, Iolanthe has given birth to a child, (spoiler: it’s actually Pietro’s) so Pietro is trying to move on when Frederick finally shows up in Sicily again. He needs Pietro to help him subjugate the rebellious lords, and our protagonist primarily concentrates on the Siniscolas. Enzio is forced out of his castle but spared (and given a house for himself and his immediate family) while all but one of the remaining male Siniscolas are defeated and slain by Pietro in chivalric combat. He rubs it in by being especially gracious in victory.
Frederick wants Pietro to get married and have sons, and basically orders him to wed Elaine. Despite her many grievances against Pietro, he’s almost won Elaine when she learns this isn’t a voluntary arrangement. She marries Pietro, but swings wildly between anger at him and being hot for his body.
Needing a break from this relationship, Pietro volunteers to join the Sixth Crusade that Emperor Frederick is supposed to be a part of. As so often with the Crusades, the people leading it have lost the plot and are currently trying to conquer Cairo. Pietro and the other knights can see this is a doomed expedition, but the bishop in charge is convinced God will send a few miracles to make it work.
It doesn’t, but Pietro, who you will recall was trained by Saracen scholars, saves himself by feigning a conversion to Islam. He’s still enslaved, but in a superior managerial position. Also picked up by Shaikh al-Muqtafi is the beautiful but headstrong slave girl Zenobia, who he marries immediately to spite the Caliph. This leads to a scene similar to the one on the cover, where Pietro saves Zenobia from being whipped to death for refusing the Shaikh’s loathsome son.
A few years later, the Shaikh is pressured into using Pietro as a brainwashed assassin (as in the people we get the word from) to take out Emperor Frederick, who has finally arrived in the Holy Land, and the Caliph. Pietro cleverly avoids being actually brainwashed, and winds up saving Frederick’s life again.
Back in Sicily, it turns out Elaine’s been having an affair with Andrea Siniscola, one of the two remaining Siniscola brothers. Given he wasn’t exactly faithful while in Egypt, Pietro forgives her easily and the two reconcile. For a while. Until he learns that she never actually stopped boinking Andrea. In the ensuing mess, both Andrea and Elaine die.
Pietro throws himself into his work supporting the Emperor for another few years, until he learns that Enzio attacked his home, razing it, killing a bunch of his servants, and kidnapping Zenobia. This leads to a final battle. Zenobia takes her own life to avoid being raped, and Enzio is killed by his own abused peasants. Pietro and Iolanthe are finally able to be together, along with their son (who’s known the truth for years.)
That is a *lot* of novel. The author, Frank Yerby, was mixed-race but identified as African-American. He’d started his career doing “protest” novels (what conservatives would now call “woke”) but was unable to interest major publishers in the 1940s. He switched to romance novels, and then historical adventure, which turned out to be very popular. He was the first African-American author to have a million copies sold of one of his novels! Three of his books were turned into movies, including this one. It starred Ricardo Montalban and as of this writing can be found on Youtube.
The writing style is a mix of pulpish action, stream of consciousness (words like “greenfire” and “musclemeat” show up from time to time) and erudite research. Mr. Yerby was big on historical research, and although some of his sources might be outdated now, the footnotes section is a nice bonus.
Pietro is an interesting protagonist. He is a good mix of underdog and advantages, so his few victories seem earned. He suffers a bit from the common historical novel protagonist syndrome of having 20th Century attitudes in a 13th Century setting. For example, he appreciates Frederick doing a lot to shake up the rigid feudal caste system, but thinks that ideally, a democratic republic would be a better plan. He’s also a freethinker, since he’s studied the religious beliefs of the three major Abrahamic religions and is dubious about all of them. (He’s still culturally Catholic and avoids mentioning theological musings out loud.)
Morally, he’s a mixed bag. Pietro understands the concept of sexual consent, so never forces himself on the sex-averse Antoinette, even though as her legal husband he would have the right to. On the other hand, when he finds out the woman he’s cheating on Antoinette with is also cheating with other men, Pietro gets all kinds of offended. He maintains the double standard about infidelity.
When it comes to killing, Pietro would rather not. He’s okay with it in combat, because that’s war, but he’s not down with murder, and especially not torture. Except when it’s Andrea Siniscola, but he swiftly repents too late.
Slavery is considered normal for the societies of this era. Pietro has slaves assigned to him at various points, though he never buys any, and he doesn’t see a problem with being enslaved himself outside the need to escape that state.
I also appreciated that for once, the word “swarthy” did not mean the person so described was a villain.
Content note: War, murder, suicide. Torture and public execution. A woman has acid thrown in her face, permanently scarring her. Rape (always off-page), infidelity. Religious prejudice. Classism. Slavery. Use of outdated terms. Late teens on up should be able to handle it.
This novel is “of its time” and is sometimes thick going for a modern reader, but has many good bits and solid historical detail. It’s been out of print since the 1970s, but you should be able to locate a copy in finer used book stores. Most recommended to men’s adventure fans and people who enjoy historical romance.
Donati was at the time an employee of Isaac the Jew, a wealthy merchant. But the feudal lord of the area demanded that Donati serve him in his need for armor as he disputed with neighbors and Isaac had to allow this, so became Pietro’s foster father from a young age. With no son of his own, Isaac had Pietro educated in not just Catholic lore, but that of the Jewish scholars and Saracens who lived in Sicily.
In his early teens, after meeting and bonding with the young Frederick, Pietro learns that his father is leading a peasant rebellion against the cruel head of the Siniscola family, the very noble who’d drafted him. He briefly reconnects with Donati but is unable to get him to escape before the Count’s forces overwhelm the town. Donati and Isaac (who’d hoped to bribe the Count into mercy) are tortured to death and Pietro is forced to take refuge with a friend of Isaac’s.
While there, he runs into the children of Baron Rogliano, the youngest, Iolanthe, takes a shine to him. He becomes squire to her brother Hans, and falls in love with Iolanthe. Bad news–her father wants her to marry Enzio Siniscola, one of the sons of Count Siniscola. The baseborn Pietro is not even in the running. His friendship with Frederick is not a help, as the boy king is essentially out of office.
Things come to a head, and Iolanthe comes up with a plan for them to elope. Foolishly, she decides they’ve gone far enough for a consummation break. Her brothers show up, give Pietro a beating, and carry Iolanthe off to her wedding. Pietro is saved from death by a passing French knight, Gautier. The two young men bond, and Pietro becomes Gautier’s squire.
As it happens, Gautier is in Sicily to convey a message from the French king, who supports Frederick in his bid for the Holy Roman Empire’s throne. That message delivered, the men head back to France.
In France, Gautier and his squire are pressed into service against the Albigensian heretics, who include Gautier’s uncle and possibly his sister. It’s more butchery than a war, and Pietro is sickened by it. After the death of the uncle, it’s discovered that Gautier’s sister Antoinette wasn’t there, but had run off to join the Children’s Crusade.
By the time they find her, Toinette has been sold to a brothel, where she’s been ill-used and is with child. She’s suicidal and this would normally be a great scandal for the family, but Pietro volunteers to marry Gautier’s sister so they can fudge the dates and make the child look legitimate.
At this point, the French king needs assistance with his own battle against the English, which is a “cleaner” fight than against the pacifistic heretics. Pietro saves the king’s life and is knighted at last.
Unfortunately, Antoinette never recovered from her trauma and their marriage is quietly annulled so she can become a nun. Pietro goes to Germany, as Frederick has now become Emperor. He’s knighted again, and sent to Sicily to act as the Emperor’s representative until Frederick can get back there to arrange things, including finally releasing Pietro’s large inheritance from Isaac.
Pietro checks in with the astoundingly beautiful but ill-tempered Elaine, who married the only decent member of the Siniscola family, only to have that man promptly die during the visit.
He then has an assignation with Iolanthe, which promptly gets discovered by Enzio. The angry husband imprisons Pietro, but then has to do feudal obligation stuff for a couple of months, allowing Pietro and Iolanthe to get it on in the dungeon. When Enzio returns, he will spare Io’s life if she stops using birth control, but is going to execute Pietro, so that person has to make a daring escape.
A couple of years later, Iolanthe has given birth to a child, (spoiler: it’s actually Pietro’s) so Pietro is trying to move on when Frederick finally shows up in Sicily again. He needs Pietro to help him subjugate the rebellious lords, and our protagonist primarily concentrates on the Siniscolas. Enzio is forced out of his castle but spared (and given a house for himself and his immediate family) while all but one of the remaining male Siniscolas are defeated and slain by Pietro in chivalric combat. He rubs it in by being especially gracious in victory.
Frederick wants Pietro to get married and have sons, and basically orders him to wed Elaine. Despite her many grievances against Pietro, he’s almost won Elaine when she learns this isn’t a voluntary arrangement. She marries Pietro, but swings wildly between anger at him and being hot for his body.
Needing a break from this relationship, Pietro volunteers to join the Sixth Crusade that Emperor Frederick is supposed to be a part of. As so often with the Crusades, the people leading it have lost the plot and are currently trying to conquer Cairo. Pietro and the other knights can see this is a doomed expedition, but the bishop in charge is convinced God will send a few miracles to make it work.
It doesn’t, but Pietro, who you will recall was trained by Saracen scholars, saves himself by feigning a conversion to Islam. He’s still enslaved, but in a superior managerial position. Also picked up by Shaikh al-Muqtafi is the beautiful but headstrong slave girl Zenobia, who he marries immediately to spite the Caliph. This leads to a scene similar to the one on the cover, where Pietro saves Zenobia from being whipped to death for refusing the Shaikh’s loathsome son.
A few years later, the Shaikh is pressured into using Pietro as a brainwashed assassin (as in the people we get the word from) to take out Emperor Frederick, who has finally arrived in the Holy Land, and the Caliph. Pietro cleverly avoids being actually brainwashed, and winds up saving Frederick’s life again.
Back in Sicily, it turns out Elaine’s been having an affair with Andrea Siniscola, one of the two remaining Siniscola brothers. Given he wasn’t exactly faithful while in Egypt, Pietro forgives her easily and the two reconcile. For a while. Until he learns that she never actually stopped boinking Andrea. In the ensuing mess, both Andrea and Elaine die.
Pietro throws himself into his work supporting the Emperor for another few years, until he learns that Enzio attacked his home, razing it, killing a bunch of his servants, and kidnapping Zenobia. This leads to a final battle. Zenobia takes her own life to avoid being raped, and Enzio is killed by his own abused peasants. Pietro and Iolanthe are finally able to be together, along with their son (who’s known the truth for years.)
That is a *lot* of novel. The author, Frank Yerby, was mixed-race but identified as African-American. He’d started his career doing “protest” novels (what conservatives would now call “woke”) but was unable to interest major publishers in the 1940s. He switched to romance novels, and then historical adventure, which turned out to be very popular. He was the first African-American author to have a million copies sold of one of his novels! Three of his books were turned into movies, including this one. It starred Ricardo Montalban and as of this writing can be found on Youtube.
The writing style is a mix of pulpish action, stream of consciousness (words like “greenfire” and “musclemeat” show up from time to time) and erudite research. Mr. Yerby was big on historical research, and although some of his sources might be outdated now, the footnotes section is a nice bonus.
Pietro is an interesting protagonist. He is a good mix of underdog and advantages, so his few victories seem earned. He suffers a bit from the common historical novel protagonist syndrome of having 20th Century attitudes in a 13th Century setting. For example, he appreciates Frederick doing a lot to shake up the rigid feudal caste system, but thinks that ideally, a democratic republic would be a better plan. He’s also a freethinker, since he’s studied the religious beliefs of the three major Abrahamic religions and is dubious about all of them. (He’s still culturally Catholic and avoids mentioning theological musings out loud.)
Morally, he’s a mixed bag. Pietro understands the concept of sexual consent, so never forces himself on the sex-averse Antoinette, even though as her legal husband he would have the right to. On the other hand, when he finds out the woman he’s cheating on Antoinette with is also cheating with other men, Pietro gets all kinds of offended. He maintains the double standard about infidelity.
When it comes to killing, Pietro would rather not. He’s okay with it in combat, because that’s war, but he’s not down with murder, and especially not torture. Except when it’s Andrea Siniscola, but he swiftly repents too late.
Slavery is considered normal for the societies of this era. Pietro has slaves assigned to him at various points, though he never buys any, and he doesn’t see a problem with being enslaved himself outside the need to escape that state.
I also appreciated that for once, the word “swarthy” did not mean the person so described was a villain.
Content note: War, murder, suicide. Torture and public execution. A woman has acid thrown in her face, permanently scarring her. Rape (always off-page), infidelity. Religious prejudice. Classism. Slavery. Use of outdated terms. Late teens on up should be able to handle it.
This novel is “of its time” and is sometimes thick going for a modern reader, but has many good bits and solid historical detail. It’s been out of print since the 1970s, but you should be able to locate a copy in finer used book stores. Most recommended to men’s adventure fans and people who enjoy historical romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2023
My Mother's favorite author for awhile and I read his books in high school. This isn't one of my favorites but I saw it on audio and had to return to the good old days. The story was quite scattered and his choice of women was wanting in this book. Yerby was a great writer and born in Georgia where I live. He was the first African American to write a best seller (The Foxes of Harrow, my favorite). His books are a joy to read and , pardon me, but I didn't understand his descriptive "beast with two backs" until I embarrassed my family by repeating the words at a dinner party feeling like it must be a Georgia animal I didn't know the name of. Never to be forgotten or forgiven since the party was for my Dad's new boss. Teenagers, huh.
December 11, 2019
Frank Yerby is a master of historical fiction and displays his craft well in Saracen's Blade. It is not the best Yerby tale. For a story following a young man's journey to self-awareness Goat Song is far superior. But as far has the historical background, creation of atmosphere, cultural variety and context, Yerby is at his best. I don't suggest this as a first foray into Yerby but it is a good example of his focus on historical accuracy.
September 21, 2021
I read The Saracen Blade many years ago and the thing what stuck in my mind after reading it was how the Crusades has been sanitised . There were occasions where the Crusaders couldn't believe that dark skinned people in the deserts could be Christians. This was because by this time Jesus had been Anglised and adopted by the western world . All in all I found it to be a rollicking adventure book.
December 30, 2020
I was given this book to read by my father in law after he said it was one of his favorite books ever. It was okay, but honestly wasnt that great. Maybe because he hyped it up so much i was let down. It covers the life of Peitro a boy born on the same day as Emperor Frederick who was a real person. He had a bit of a crappy life with lots of hardships. There were some elements of romance and it was very much the traditional idea of historical fiction. Over all it was okay.
April 20, 2025
What a story! I was riveted from the start. I really enjoy reading books by this author. He let it rip on organized religion and those stupid Crusades which I was in total agreement.
The thing about books written before 1960 is that the research is so well done--no computers!
The thing about books written before 1960 is that the research is so well done--no computers!
November 26, 2018
Definitely kept you guessing and coming back for more. Honestly, I had a hard time putting this book down.
July 20, 2019
My heart, at turns, exhaulted and wept. Pietro will stick with me for awhile.
Did Not Finish
March 4, 2020Read for a few days, but I won’t finish it. Well written, and it makes the era vivid. But it seems to rehash age-old clichés about the Middle Ages and the Church. I’d rather read something else.
April 28, 2021
I found this book to be a very good story and as far as I could tell well researched and very good historical fiction. Would recommend it to others.
November 6, 2021
Read lots of Yerby books as a teen. They weregreat!
April 16, 2024
I have read this book more times than I can count and every time it fills me with wonder, joy and an aching longing, longing for things lost and things yet to come. Pietro Donati, you inspire me.
June 16, 2008
I had a difficult time getting into this story. It contains many characters and I often don't like stories that have incidental characters which you meet at one point and then never hear from again. I'm only about halfway through, and the read has gotten better. This one will take me a while to get through because it's been relegated to being my "car" book, the one I keep in the front seat for boredom emergencies.
So I finished the book and it got much better. The main character has an idealized belief in love, which I find agreeable and an innate sense of justice which is refreshing, while still being a flawed, emotional, human being. I enjoying the history that was brought into the book, which fit perfectly into the story and was historically accurate (except for the meaning of Cathar). Overall, an excellent read.
So I finished the book and it got much better. The main character has an idealized belief in love, which I find agreeable and an innate sense of justice which is refreshing, while still being a flawed, emotional, human being. I enjoying the history that was brought into the book, which fit perfectly into the story and was historically accurate (except for the meaning of Cathar). Overall, an excellent read.
February 11, 2010
A pretty good read. As most historical fiction, this book really immerses you in the culture. There were a ton of factual references, which I found interesting. The somewhat annoying romance plots were thrown in there as well, many loves (although not at the same time now, jeeze). Ha, and the typical Frank Yerby 20th-century language randomly in there. But I did enjoy the discussions of battle-tactics and the cultures / histories involved. I felt like I knew prince-> king Frederick of France, which is really something to come out of a novel. Also his delvings in to faith and religion, including with the cultures, attitudes, and even religious wars involved, were pretty interesting. I'd recommend it for a semi-factual and interesting cultural read.
October 24, 2014
c1952. FCN: Emperor Frederick II, Pietro di Donati, Iolanthe Rodiano, Elaine of Siniscola, Haroun. "He had that feeling again that he had had before: that life was neither good nor pleasant nor worth the living. You started out in blood and stench with the echoes of your mother’s dying screams inside of you somewhere so that unrecognized, unremembered, they were there a part of you; then afterwards you were the hunted, always the hunted, running with that tiredness inside of you that was part of death itself, the knowing always in the end that the running was no good because you’d be pulled down – by the big ones, the strong ones, the ones whose world would crash about their heads if they permitted you, the small the wily, the different, to go on living."
Read
April 14, 2012I read this book over and over again.
The characters, the places, the adventure, the love, the drama, the strength.
This is a book that allows me to transport to another place and time and enjoy spending time within the story, even though some of the events recounted (based on historical events) are somewhat barbaric.
I'm a fan.
The characters, the places, the adventure, the love, the drama, the strength.
This is a book that allows me to transport to another place and time and enjoy spending time within the story, even though some of the events recounted (based on historical events) are somewhat barbaric.
I'm a fan.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews