Babylonne (Pagan's Daughter)
Exotic and exciting, this unflinching coming-of-age tale featuring a headstrong heroine weaves a vivid tapestry of life in the Middle Ages.
Early thirteenth-century Languedoc is a place of valor, violence, and persecution. At age sixteen, Babylonne has survived six bloody sieges. She's tough, resourceful, and — now that her strict aunt and abusive grandmother intend to marry her off to a senile old man —desperate.
Disguised as a boy, Babylonne embarks on an action-packed adventure that amounts to a choice: trust the mysterious Catholic priest — a sworn enemy to her Cathar faith — who says he's a friend of her dead father, Pagan. Or pursue a fairy-tale version of her future, one in which she'll fight and likely die in a vicious war with the French.
Though Babylonne never knew her irreverent father, fans of Catherine Jinks's novels about Pagan Kidrouk will be sure to see the resemblance in his feisty daughter.
Note: This book was also published with the title 'Pagan's Daughter'.
About the Pagan Chronicles Series
Books in series order
- 1.Pagan's Crusade(1992)
- 2.Pagan in Exile(1994)
- 3.Pagan's Vows(1995)
- 4.Pagan's Scribe(1995)
- 5.Babylonne (Pagan's Daughter)(2006)
Reading age: 13+ years
This series should be read in order.
Pagan is a 16-year-old thief and beggar, trying to survive in 1187 medieval Jerusalem with no home or family. To find safety and escape those to whom he's indebted, Pagan joins the Knights Templar and is soon a squire-in-training to the admirable and good-hearted, Lord Roland. The irreverent Pagan must learn to fight, clean, escort pilgrims to holy areas and shrines and - most importantly - hold his tongue!
But even the life of a Lord is never as perfect as it seems. Pagan's journeys with Lord Roland will take him from Jerusalem to France to renunciation of the sword and life in an Abbey, where perfection is also in question. As Pagan grows and matures, his experiences lead him from apprentice to mentor, and to situations in which he must re-evaluate all his previously held values and ideals.
This action-packed and humorous series is narrated in Pagan's sarcastic and witty voice. It is loaded with down-and-dirty details of medieval times and brings to life Medieval Jerusalem and the Crusades.