Book description
The epic story of one man's fight for his love, his God and his Country
The Road to Jerusalem - Book 1 in the Crusades Trilogy.
Arn Magnusson, born into an aristocratic Swedish family, is raised in
an old monastery because of an old promise made by his mother. From the
start he shows the natural skill and aptitude of a born fighter, yet
despite his strength he is innocent in the ways of the world. He is sent
from the sheltered walls of the convent to experience something of real
life. On his journeys Arn falls foul of various fighting groups, but is
also delighted with the women he encounters. Seduced by one sister, he
falls in love with the other and ends up sleeping with them both - a
mortal sin in the medieval church. While his love is sent to a convent,
Arn's sentence is commuted to forced commitment to the cause of the
Crusades, where he becomes a notable soldier and eventually a high
ranking commander of the Knights Templar and both friend and enemy to
the charismatic Saladin.
Arn's Story continues in the next two books: The Knight Templar and
Kingdom at the End of the Road. 'He has a remarkable grasp of the
mindset of the period and always puts the emphasis where it would be for
the people involved at hat time, rather than ours. Some readers may find
that disorienting, but a capacity for disturbing readers' assumptions is
even more a hallmark of good historical fiction than the inclusion of
the Knights Templar'
Diana Gabaldon
'Thrilling and inspiring, bloody and romantic; utterly of its time and
utterly modern'
Tom Holland
'Destined to become a classic, a brilliant and dramatic recreation of
the medieval world' Sharon Penman Jan Oscar Sverre Lucien Henri
Guillou was born in Sweden in January 1944. He made his name as a
journalist and rose to fame when he exposed a secret intelligence
organisation, was convicted of espionage and spent 10 months in prison,
5 of which were spent in solitary confinement. He is now a bestselling
novelist and writes regularly for Sweden's leading tabloid, commenting
on current affaris.
