A richly detailed, irresistibly compelling, glorious story of love, art, religion, and treachery at an extraordinary turning point in history
De IlluminatorReeks
Deze serie neemt lezers mee naar het Engeland van de 14e eeuw, een tumultueus tijdperk van pest, politieke onrust en ontluikende hervormingsideeën. Volg het leven van een meesterverluchter wiens exquise kunst gevaarlijke geheimen bevat, en weef een verhaal over geloof, macht en persoonlijke vrijheid. De verhalen duiken in de conflicten van een cruciaal historisch keerpunt, en bieden een episch verhaal over liefde, kunst en verraad. Het is een rijk gedetailleerde reis door een boeiende periode.
Aanbevolen leesvolgorde
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A glowing first novel that brings us "historical fiction in the grand epic manner, beautifully felt and written" It is England, in the fourteenth century -- a time of plague, political unrest and the earliest stirrings of the Reformation. The printing press had yet to be invented, and books were rare and costly, painstakingly lettered by hand and illuminated with exquisite paintings. Finn is a master illuminator who works not only for the Church but also, in secret, for John Wycliffe of Oxford, who professes the radical idea that the Bible should be translated into English for everyone to read. Finn has another secret as well, one that leads him into danger when he meets Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, a widow struggling to protect her inheritance from the depredations of Church and Crown alike. Finn's alliance with Lady Kathryn will take us to the heart of what Barbara Tuchman once called "the calamitous fourteenth century." Richly detailed and irresistibly compelling, Brenda Rickman Vantrease's The Illuminator is a glorious story of love, art, religion, and treachery at an extraordinary turning point in history.
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In the fifteenth century, with religious intolerance spreading like wildfire across Europe, English-born Anna Bookman and her grandfather, Finn, earn a living in Prague by illuminating precious books, including forbidden translations of the Bible. Finn subscribes to the heresy that people ought to be able to read the Word of God for themselves, without having to pay a priest for the privilege, but holding that belief is becoming more and more hazardous. When the authorities start burning books and slaughtering heretics---including the man Anna was to marry---Finn urges her to seek sanctuary in England, but her passage abroad will be anything but easy. In London, Friar Gabriel dutifully obeys church doctrine by granting pardons . . . for a small fee. But then he is sent undercover on a spying mission to France, where Anna has set up a temporary stall as a bookseller. Anna has no way of knowing that the wealthy young merchant frequenting her stall is actually a priest---just as Gabriel does not know he has met the woman who will cause him to doubt his vows. As Anna continues her journey to England, where the movement to stamp out heresy is growing ever fiercer, Brenda Rickman Vantrease brings us a richly imagined and immensely rewarding novel of love, faith, and dangerous secrets.
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The Mercy Seller
- 446bladzijden
- 16 uur lezen
Set against the backdrop of 15th-century Europe, the story follows Englishwoman Anna Bookman and her grandfather, Finn, who illuminate precious books, including forbidden Bible translations, in Prague. As religious intolerance escalates, their secretive work becomes increasingly perilous. Finn encourages Anna to escape to England for safety, but her journey promises to be fraught with challenges.