The Good Heretic
Paul F. McMichael
Type: Beta project
Genre: Historical fiction, literary, adventure
Word count: 96,000
1580: after the death of his parents, Tristan escapes to Bordeaux where a young nobleman saves him from a mob. Their naïve kiss ignites something intense but forbidden, and although Tristan flees, he can’t kill what he feels. They undertake a perilous journey across a fractured Europe to free Étienne’s betrothed, Lady Eleanore, who has been falsely accused of witchcraft.
After the sudden death of his parents in 1580, loner Tristan is forced from home and escapes to Bordeaux where Étienne, a dauntless young nobleman, saves him from a mob hunting down heretics. Their naïve kiss ignites something intense but forbidden, and although Tristan flees to begin with, he can’t kill what he feels. Re-united, they embark on a perilous journey across a fractured Europe to free Étienne’s betrothed, Lady Eleanore, who has been imprisoned in Rome on a false charge of witchcraft.
Can Tristan reconcile faith and feelings, and find the courage to stand up to his enemies? How will he turn the tables on the Inquisition and Pope Gregory in the Vatican to win freedom for Eleanore and ultimately, for he and Étienne to be together? Will love, that thrilling, irrational, gravity of souls, endure in those days of superstition and unreason?
I was born in a small town that sits within the carved-out beauty of Ireland’s rugged northeast coast. Those seascapes led to many of my short stories, several of which have had success in writing competitions.
I live in London now and this is my first novel. The idea came to me when reading the secret diary kept by the writer and diplomat Michel de Montaigne during an eventful horseback journey he made through Europe. My research includes retracing that exact journey (by car this time, I’m no horse rider!).
Registration closed early due to high demand.
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