Book description
The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling Harlequin, this is
the second instalment in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series.
In Harlequin, Thomas of Hookton travelled to France as an archer and
there discovered a shadowy destiny, which linked him to a family of
heretical French lords who sought Christendom's greatest relic.
Having survived the battle of Crécy, Thomas is sent back to England,
charged with finding the Holy Grail. But Thomas is an archer and when a
chance comes to fight against an army invading northern England he jumps
at it. Plunged into the carnage of Neville's Cross, he is oblivious to
other enemies who want to destroy him. He discovers too late that he is
not the only person pursuing the grail, and that his rivals will do
anything to thwart him.
After hunting and wounding him, Thomas's enemies turn him into a
fugitive. Fleeing England, he travels to Normandy, determined to rescue
Will Skeat, his old commander from Harlequin. Finally Thomas leads his
enemies back to Brittany, where he goes to discover an old love and
where his pursuers at last trap their reluctant pilgrim.
Vagabond is a vivid and realistic portrait of England at a time when
the archer was king of Europe's battlefields. 'It is all spectacular,
rattling good stuff: war and torture; love, lust and loss.' The Times
'Crackling with good deeds, fine characters and sparkling set pieces,
it confirms yet again Cornwell's reputation for masterly historical
novels.' Daily Mail Bernard Cornwell worked for BBC TV for seven
years, mostly as producer on the Nationwide programme, before taking
charge of the current Affairs department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he
became editor of Thames Television's Thames at Six. Married to an
American, he now lives in the United States.
