For centuries, the brave knights of Camelot and the Crusaders have searched for the Holy Grail. The cup that Jesus of Nazareth used during his Last Supper is rumored to be a vessel that can grant eternal life or miraculous healing powers. It can be a cup, plate, or stone, but in all stories, the Grail guardians and those searching for it are predominately male. But what if the guardians were male and female and the ones searching for it were predominately female? Alais from 11th-century France and Alice Tanner visiting France in 2007 share a connection that is centuries deep and it all started with a ring, a book, and an image of a labyrinth. How are these two connected to the labyrinth and the Grail and can they protect it from those who want to use it for their dark purposes? Kate Mosse weaves the tale of the Grail and the two women connected by fate in her novel, “Labyrinth.”
This is another one of my bookshop finds. The cover initially caught my eye, followed by the author and the description. Dual-timeline stories have become one of my favorite sub-genres recently, so when I saw this was a feminine take on the Grail quest with a dual-timeline twist, I jumped at the chance to read it.
We begin with Alice and an archeological dig that she decided to volunteer at as a guest of her colleague Shelagh. As an amateur, she knows that she should not go into a cave alone, but she decides to throw caution to the wind and finds the bodies of two people, a leather bag, a stone ring, peculiar writing on the wall, and the image of a labyrinth. This is quite a discovery, except it puts the entire dig in danger as the police want to investigate the scene. Not only that but Shelagh goes missing and someone wants to either harm or kidnap Alice. The discovery of the cave will change Alice’s life, and reconnect her with a man from her past, a man who knows the truth, and a woman from the past who connects all the dots.
In the year 1209, Alais and her family are sitting on pins and needles as the pope has declared a crusade against the people of her faith, the Cathars, who have been deemed as heretics. As the armies of the Catholic church are on the doorsteps of Carcassonne, Alais’s father Bertrand gives her a gift of a book and a stone ring. What Alais will learn is that there are three books in total and a special ring inscribed with the labyrinth to mark the guardians of the Grail. Alais must make the difficult choice to leave her home and travel to the head of the guardians to protect the knowledge of the Grail. Alais is willing to risk everything as both a Cathar and a guardian of the Grail.
This was an absolutely thrilling read, it is also the first time I have read a novel with the Cathars and the Crusade against them featured prominently. There were so many twists, turns, and secrets abound that just when you think you have the novel figured out, something new drops. The balance between the present day and the past was perfect and the characters were so realistic that it felt like I could have a conversation with them. I need to see how this trilogy ends, which does include new characters and timelines. If you want a thrilling historical fiction novel full of twists, turns, history, and myths, “Labyrinth” by Kate Mosse must be on your list.
Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions to unite two families through the bonds of love, at least in our more modern sense of the ceremony. However, in the past, weddings were ceremonies that would unite families through contracts to create powerful alliances—hardly a romantic endeavor. One of the grandest weddings of the 16th century was meant to unite France, which led to bloodshed between Catholics and Huguenots. Minou Joubert and her family are invited to the wedding of Marguerite de Valois and Henri of Navarre in Paris, but the decision to attend the lavish event leads her family on a path full of tears and heartbreak. The story of the Joubert family’s struggle to fight for the faith they strongly believe in and to unite their broken family is masterfully told in Kate Mosse’s novel, “The City of Tears.”
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 