Historical Novel2013
The Brotherhood of Book Hunters
PublisherActes Sud
Pages320
Year2013
ISBN978-2-330-02261-7
Synopsis
Raphaël Jérusalmy's novel begins where history books stall.
François Villon, the first modern poet and notorious brigand, languishes in the dungeons of Louis XI awaiting execution when he receives a visit from a royal emissary. Rebellious and wary, he nonetheless strikes a deal with the Bishop of Paris to embark on a secret mission: first to persuade a Mainz bookseller-printer to relocate to Paris. A treacherous first step that will lead our poet, accompanied by his loyal accomplice Master Colin, into the most fantastical depths of the underworld of Jerusalem, amid a vast web of alliances, conspiracies, and counterplots..
As playful as he is scholarly, Jérusalmy brings to life a vivid and intrepid François Villon who champions the power of the mind over the might of dogma and arms, to see humanism and freedom prevail.
François Villon, the first modern poet and notorious brigand, languishes in the dungeons of Louis XI awaiting execution when he receives a visit from a royal emissary. Rebellious and wary, he nonetheless strikes a deal with the Bishop of Paris to embark on a secret mission: first to persuade a Mainz bookseller-printer to relocate to Paris. A treacherous first step that will lead our poet, accompanied by his loyal accomplice Master Colin, into the most fantastical depths of the underworld of Jerusalem, amid a vast web of alliances, conspiracies, and counterplots..
As playful as he is scholarly, Jérusalmy brings to life a vivid and intrepid François Villon who champions the power of the mind over the might of dogma and arms, to see humanism and freedom prevail.
Excerpt
"The smell of ink is the smell of revolt."