Sir Pagan

by Henry J Colyton

author Henry J. Colyton (pseudonym of Sara Zimmerman)

from the dust jacket --

"At the end of the First Crusade, when Baldwin was King of Jerusalem and Sir Pagan de Beaugency -- the bastard son of Count Stephen de Blois -- received his first fief, love was serious, if you knew what love was.

"Love -- Love was the Countess Adelize, the most haughty, beautiful, desired woman in Jerusalem. But she was married. 'Maybe something will happen to your husband,' said Pagan slowly, 'and then you could marry me.' 'O, no,' said Adelize quickly. 'When you put the marriage ring about the neck of Messire Love, he flies away.'

"But then came Sibilla, so beautiful, so wise-but-naive, so virginal, fleeing from a husband no girl could be expected to love. It was Sir Pagan's enviable task to catch her and return her to her husband. And it was from Sibilla that he at last learned about love.

"All this takes place in the 12th century, at the end of the only crusade that took Jerusalem, when many a knight (including Sir Pagan) had only recently won his spurs. The half million knights and peasants that had started from Clermont as the 11th century was ending, on the first crusade to free the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, had dwindled to less than forty thousand by the time Jerusalem was theirs. The hardy survivors rose from villenage with unprecedented speed; the knighthood had never been more democratic. Was it any wonder that a few fledgling knights (including Sir Pagan) had had no leisure for love?"

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Henry J Colyton was the pseudonym of Sarah Zimmerman, a freelance writer and English teacher at Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio. She wrote for many of the popular pulp magazines of the day. Her most popular title was Sir Pagan. Her works include:

The Baron’s Day of Wrath, (ss) The Saturday Evening Post Jul 1 1944
The Bride Price, (nv) Argosy Feb 1947
The Countess and the Devil, (ss) The Saturday Evening Post Jun 2 1945
The Saturday Evening Post Jan/Feb, Mar 1987
The Elf Horn Sounds, (ss) The Blue Book Magazine Jan 1948
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen!, (na) Argosy Jan 1945
The Kelpie, (ss) Collier’s May 31 1952
The Miracle of St. Merrow, (ss) Adventure Jul 1945
No Man’s Lady, (ss) Argosy Aug 1955
The Pig of Pen Mynydo, (ss) The Saturday Evening Post Jul 31 1943
The Pilgrim and the Pirate, (sl) Adventure Sep, Oct 1945
The Red-Woolen Man, (ss) The Saturday Evening Post Nov 6 1943
Sword Land, (sl) Adventure Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct 1946
Wine, Wenches—and Good Scots Blood, (na) Argosy Jun 1948

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn I like this book.

It's got everything. Kings, castles, knights, rescuing a damsel in distress - who then turns around and rescues her rescuer! - camaraderie, some mystery and intrigue, humor, history, romance. Or, to quote another good read, it's got -- "fighting, fencing, giants, villains, escapes, true love" :)

Set in Palestine in the years following the First Crusade, the writing is so vivid you can, as another reviewer said, almost smell the camels. The descriptions put you right there. History is given as backstory, but it's unobtrusive, and even minor characters are fleshed out. I guess what makes this book really stand out for me is that it's as if it really happened.

That's not so usual as you'd think.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book 40 years ago when I was 15. It helped me appreciate a good novel and set me on a course of reading. I just retired and picked it up. What a joy! It was like reading it for the first time and I highly recommend this to all.

[Janice Nepita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time in 1958 when I was 12 and have re-read every 2-5 years since then. My first romance novel.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my annual goals for '08 was to read a book written the year I was born. This one was surprisingly good but not great. The Holy Land of the period was like the American West in that a person of low social standing could rise by his own efforts to become a person of status. Pagan is a bastard adventurer who found glory in the Crusade and was rewarded with a title and small domain by King Baldwin of Jerusalem and the friendship and devotion of his fellow warriors. A nobleman on pilgrimage with his wife, son and daughter-in-law comes to Pagan's stronghold seeking assistance when the son's wife goes missing. Pagan vows to find the girl. The girl, once found, leads Pagan a merry chase across the countryside where they both face many dangers. There are battles, escapes, injuries,treachery, separations and reconciliations. I was surprised that a male author would write a story featuring battle hardened warriors that was essentially a deeply romantic love story.