Troubadour

A lyrically told tale of persecution and poetry, love and war set in Southern France in the year 1209.

A troubadour, Bertran, witnesses the brutal murder of the Pope's legate, and risks his life to warn others of the war that he knows is certain to follow this act. The lands of the peaceable Cathars - deemed heretics - are now forfeit and under threat from crusaders who have been given authority by the Pope to take the Cathar domains by force. But the Pope is trying to track Bertran down and so is somebody else: Elinor, a young noblewoman, in love with Bertran but facing a loveless arranged marriage, flees her family and becomes a minstrel herself. Soon both Bertran and Elinor find themselves enveloped in a rising tide of bloodshed that threatens the very fabric of their society.

'A wonderfully old-fashioned romance' - Telegraph

'Well researched and rivetingly readable, this runaway bride makes the perfect read' - The Times

'For young fans of historical fiction this will be a treat ... an enthralling and well-paced tale whose conclusion is at once unexpected, poignant and satisfying' - Guardian

About The Author

Mary Hoffman is an acclaimed children's author and critic. She is the author of the internationally bestselling picture book Amazing Grace. Her Stravaganza sequence for Bloomsbury has its own fan forum and the latest, Stravaganza: City of Secrets, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and The Falconer's Knot was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award. She has three grown-up children and lives with her husband in West Oxfordshire.