Synopsis: Paris, 1298. Disguised as an outlaw, a personage of the highest rank sneaks through the cellars of Notre Dame. The maze of secret tunnels hides a laboratory. Here, occult studies are conducted under the guidance of the renowned scientist, Arnaldo da Villanova. Studies which remain a secret.
Rome, 1301. Denounced for impiety by mysterious informers in Paris, Villanova seeks refuge in Italy and becomes Pope Boniface VIII's personal physician. Yet Villanova knows a secret, one capable of discrediting and overthrowing the French monarchy. He's not safe. It's clear someone wants to silence him forever. Will he pay the price for the secret he keeps with his life?
Two things attracted me to this book - the subject matter and the author, whose book on the Templars I had read in the past.
Medieval politics is a difficult path to navigate at the best of times. Throw in some papal discord, political and religious machinations, mysterious cabals, superstition, rumour and inuendo, and two political giants in Philip the Fair of France and Pope Boniface VIII (described as two pillars holding up the world), and you have the makings of a very good historical fiction thriller.
Barely four years into his papal reign, Boniface VIII often involved himself in the foreign affairs of many nations, including in France, Sicily, Italy and Scotland. These chronic and oft unwelcome interventions were the cause of many bitter quarrels. France, at this time, was a war with England over Gascony, and Philip was constantly putting his hands into the coffers to fund these military actions. It was Philip's taxing of the clergy that also brought him into conflict with the papacy.
Frale is a noted historian and paleographer at the Vatican Secret Archives, and her previous works have been in the non-fiction genre. This is her first novel as far as I am aware. The amount of research that has gone into this book is (at times, painfully) evident.
I would strongly suggest that having some interest in this particular period would be a good thing as there are a plethora of characters (real and fictional) that walk across the pages; some add to the story, others are not so critical, leaving me wondering if they were necessary in the first place (mayhap a short list of essential characters at the very start might have been an idea).
The character of Arnoldo de Villanova intrigued me greatly. Was he real or one of those fictional characters that are there to drive the storyline. But no,Arnoldo is real and his exile is documented. I was pleased to see another side to Philip's chief minister, Guillaume de Nogaret. There are many more real-life characters worthy of further research. Truly a cast that would make Cecil B deMille envious.
In additional, there are also a number of themes running through the narrative - some evident; others not so; and these are not cleared up until towards the end. At times, the reader could be left wondering which narrative it is that they should be following and what should be discarded. Much of what is covered off here sets the scene of some more well known historical events that were to tragically play out in the years to come.
" ... you cannot escape the past ....
the past always returns and sets before us
the mistakes we have made ..."
Despite this being an area of interest for me (ie: medieval history and politics), the dearth of information provided sometimes felt oppressive - at page 50 I felt like I was at page 500! So I will stress that this undertaking is not for the faint-hearted.
However, once you get past all of this, the story itself posits a rather interesting premise, which will have some rushing to their history books or google in search of answers. I will most likely be reading this again.
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