Publisher's Synopsis
It is 1248 and King Louis’ mighty French Crusade is about to sail for the Holy Land in a fleet hired from Pietrasanta, that proud city republic where Donato Seresini's adored father, the Lord Matteo, is Podestà and Merchant Prince. Donato and his friend Gianni sail with the galleys, learning their trade under the tutelage of a commander whose bitter resentment and overwhelming ambition drive him far beyond mere intrigue and fraud. The story sweeps Donato to the heart of King Louis’ Court, to the mud, blood and slaughter of war, to the depths of degradation and despair and beyond. It snatches Chiara, who loves him, from her home and family to the harems of Egypt. Through their adventures and perils, Donato, Gianni and Chiara each eventually discover their individual adult personalities, their values, and where they truly belong in their world. The fascinating narrative of the Crusade; the charismatic characters of King Louis, his Queen, and his brother the Count of Artois; the political fireworks between King, Knights Templar, Barons and Princes of Outremer; even the gory details of the conditions in war-torn Eygpt – all have authenticity derived from the immortal chronicle of Jean de Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne, written to glorify King Louis, his Lord. Pietrasanta can be easily identified through its thin disguise. The reader can still walk its familiar streets. But its genuine inhabitants and true history are somehow less satisfying than the careers and achievements of the splendid and all too human Seresini.
