Cross Seas Press is proud to announce the release of
The Tale of the English Templar
The young knight had been tortured and hoped only to die. His rescuers had other ideas. They formed a Resistance movement. But can they defy a tyrant -- and win?
An English Templar travelling to Cyprus is one of thousands arrested on Friday 13 October 1307. Victims of Philip IV’s greed for the Order’s legendary riches, they are cruelly tortured. The English knight becomes the first non-French Templar to confess to the trumped-up charges. Then he disappears. Soon, other imprisoned Templars also go missing from the French King’s dungeons. Rumours begin to circulate of a band of free Templars.
Based on historical events, not fantasy, The Tale of the English Templar tells the story of the of the destruction of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century -- and explores the struggle between good and evil in human hearts — and of the power of love even in our darkest hour.
Backstory:
This novel was conceived more than thirty years ago under the influence of frequent trips to the South of France. There I discovered and explored Templar properties and visited several castles in which Templars had been held prisoner. These encounters with the Templars, combined with research into the Albigensian heresy and its lasting legacy on the Languedoc, inspired this novel.
At the time of writing thirty years ago, I had not yet published a single novel. I had not developed a support network of test readers, and I could not afford several editors. I wrote with great passion, driven by inspiration, but without the tempering of reflection, refinement, and repeated editing. The result, first published in 1999 by Minerva Press and again by iUniverse in 2007 under the title “The English Templar,” was an immature work — full of raw energy and emotions delivered directly.
If I were to write this book from scratch today, I would tell the story differently, but not necessarily better. The advantages gained by a more sophisticated narrative might well be negated by the loss of energy, candour and naivety. So rather than undertake a major rewrite of the book, I resolved on a new edition with strategic but modest changes. I re-arranged some chapters, deleted some superfluous scenes, polished the narrative here and there, but altered neither the plot nor the characters. Nor did I undertake major stylistic interventions.
As conceived and as re-written, this book is founded firmly on historical facts. It is historical both in terms of the events surrounding the destruction of the Knights Templar and the overall characteristics of society in early 14th-Century France. It is not a work of fantasy. It does not offer the reader new (or old) conspiracy theories, and it does not rely upon supernatural forces or magical devices to deliver the plot or themes.
The
main purpose of this new edition is to make a story — that I still find moving
and compelling — more available in a digital edition. Over
the next few weeks I will introduce readers to the four main fictional
characters, the one historical figure features in the book, and provide
excerpts from the text featuring all.
"The Tale of the English Templar" is available in paperback or ebook format from all major online retailers.
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