Pilgrimage - Jean Bellimont, #1

France, 1295. Jean Bellimont leads a quiet, contented life as scribe to the Bishop of Troyes and husband to his wife, Marguerite. Suddenly his world is turned upside down when he is accosted by a small beggar woman on his way home from work one evening. He retaliates by knocking her to the ground - then watches appalled as her lifeblood ebbs away before his eyes. Looking up, he meets the gaze of the woman's young daughter watching from the shadow of a nearby doorway.
He flees the scene in a blind panic, but is later overcome with remorse. His guilt becomes so overwhelming that he eventually realises there is only one path to redemption - to undertake a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. Thus the little scribe is forced to leave his wife and children to undertake a life-changing journey. On the way he is charged with retrieving a stolen relic, becomes involved in deadly disputes between the Church and heresy, and befriends a nun, a former crusader, a heretic, and a hunchbacked dwarf.
With parts of the novel based on historical fact (including details of the pilgrimage route to Compostella, Cathar heretics, and the second Crusade), the novel draws a convincing picture of a 13th century pilgrimage, wrapped within a compelling story of true drama lasting right up to the final page. Pilgrimage is the first of the Jean Bellimont novels. What some readers have had to say:"Remarkable story of great historical value.
Stunningly realistic description of the Christian world in the middle ages.""What an ending!!! I enjoyed this book so much."