Crossed
A Tale of the Fourth Crusade
| Price: |
$24.99 |
| On Sale: |
19/08/2008 |
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Formats:
Trade PB
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In the year 1202, tens of thousands of crusaders gather in Venice, preparing to embark for Jerusalem to free the Holy City from Muslim rule. Among them is a lowly vagabond Briton, rescued from damnation by a pious knight who burns with zealous fire for their sacred undertaking. And so they set sail, along with dedicated companions—and with a beautiful, mysterious Arab "princess" whom the vagabond liberates from a brutish merchant. But the divine light guiding their "righteous" campaign soon darkens as the mission sinks ever deeper into catastrophe, disgrace, and moral turpitude—as Christians murder Christians in the Adriatic port city of Zara, tragic events are set in motion that will ultimately lead to the shocking and shameful fall of Constantinople.
Impeccably researched and beautifully told, Nicole Galland's Crossed is a stunning tale of the disastrous Fourth Crusade—and of the hopeful, brave, and driven who were caught up in and irrevocably changed by a corrupted cause and a furious battle beyond their comprehension or control.
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Critical Praise for
Crossed
"A tasty fictional stew. . . . A veritable reading feast."
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Booklist on Revenge of the Rose
"[A] funny (really!) look at this disastrous Crusade through the eyes of a wacky Welshman, a pious knight and his half-brother and an Arab princess (who isn’t what she seems) they hope to return to her Egyptian home. It’s a raucous road trip set in the 13th century."
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New York Post
"[A]t once an idiot’s guide to the tangled geopolitical landscape of 13th century and a clear and stern indictment of contemporary events...Thick with delectable historical details."
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Martha's Vineyard Times on CROSSED
"[A]ttention to detail and humor keeps the novel both exhaustive and hilarious...Nicole Galland is exceptionally well versed in the fine nuances of storytelling and illustrating the combustible nature of mixing religion, commerce and war."
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St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
"A clever novel of courtly love . . . entertains with a flourish."
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Publishers Weekly
"A tasty fictional stew, mixing elements of twelfth-century culture together skillfully to produce a veritable reading feast . . . .The combination of vicious politics, mysterious doings, betrayals, and double-dealing, added to a leisurely but engaging plot, will keep those pages turning."
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Booklist
"A wallop of a first novel—entertaining and engaging."
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San Francisco Chronicle on The Fool’s Tale
Reader Reviews from First Look
Ms Galland has brought the Middle Ages to life with her epic novel Crossed. This is not the dull Sir Walter Scott version of Courtly Love and the Crusades, but rather the nitty gritty version, with real, down-to-earth characters who bring history alive, with all its moral imperfections and political deceits. You feel as if you're right there, in the midst of the sights, smells, and dangers. If you enjoy reading Bernard Cornwell or Kate Mosse's novels, this book is for you!
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Violet (Natick, MA)
Ms Galland has brought the Middle Ages to life with her epic novel Crossed. This is not the dull Sir Walter Scott version of Courtly Love and the Crusades, but rather the nitty gritty version, with real, down-to-earth characters who bring history alive, with all its moral imperfections and political deceits. You feel as if you're right there, in the midst of the sights, smells, and dangers. If you enjoy reading Bernard Cornwell or Kate Mosse's novels, this book is for you!
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Violet (Natick, MA)
A wonderful and engaging read. Perhaps it's Galland's work as a screenwriter or just her writing style but far away times and places read like the present day and it's easy to picture everything and everywhere. A long book, but the detail makes it well worth it.
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Lucile (New Smyrna Beach, FL)
This book will take you back to the time of the crusades. Recommended for more advance readers due to the vocabulary and length of the novel. Great book for a summer-read or book club.
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Melinda (Bourne, MA)
A breathtaking epic about the Fourth Crusade, Crossed brings the motivations of medieval war close to home.
A massive army comprised of knights, squires, and other soldiers from all over Europe sail out of Venice intending to go straight to Jerusalem with a possible stopover in Egypt. Instead they went to Zara, (modern day Zadar in Croatia) demand surrender despite an edict from the pope commanding them to leave them be, turned out its residents, and remained there for the winter. They then headed for Constantinople, the magnificent capital of the Byzantine Empire and deposed its emperor, placed another on the throne, and demanded remuneration for fulfillment of this agreement. Only half of the enormous sum could be paid so holy relics were demanded to melt down into coin. Things spiraled down and the city was eventually sacked, burned, and looted.
Narrating through the eyes of two men, “the Briton” and the journals of a knight named Gregor, Nicole Galland expertly chronicles the infamous pilgrimage that never reached the Holy Land.
Gregor is a religious man and incredibly talented in the arts of war. He is so morally good that he believes in the innate goodness of those around him. Big mistake. Having just married Boniface’s daughter he begins this crusade with such earnestness it is easy to see why Boniface thought he could easily use Gregor for his own dastardly purposes. His first journal entries are pretty funny in their innocence and gullibility but quickly change to disbelief and horror as his father-in-law manipulates and threatens him to do things contrary to his conscience.
Although there are a few villains, most soldiers had no idea what was about to happen and were swept along in the dark tide. Choosing to rise higher than a typical black and white mentality Galland creates intelligently designed moral dilemmas where nothing is guaranteed to end well. In fact throughout the story whenever the Briton attempts to help Zara or some individual it usually ends in disaster. However characters like Gregor, even while thoroughly disillusioned are able to grow and reach new levels of wisdom.
Important themes aside, this is also an exciting story with plenty of action and adventure. The research is impressive and descriptions of Constantinople and buildings like the Hippodrome are superb. Holy relics are vividly portrayed, as are city inhabitants right down to the color of their shoes.
Crossed is the best book I have read in a long time and I look forward to reading more by Nicole Galland in the future.
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Jaimie (Gilroy, CA)
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Revenge of the Rose
Welcome to a world of intrigue of the most intriguing kind, where emperors and popes desperately vie for power, even as their subjects and servants engage in behind-the-scenes machinations of their own. The Holy Roman Empire circa 1200 A.D. Impoverished young knight Willem of Dole believed he...
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The Fool's Tale
Wales, 1198. A time of treachery, passion, and uncertainty. King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, known as Noble, struggles to protect his small kingdom from foes outside and inside his borders. Pressured into a marriage of political convenience, he takes as his bride the young, headstrong Isabel Mortimer,...
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