Synopses & Reviews
Henry Grunwald makes sixteenth-century France under King Henry IV come vividly alive in
A Saint, More or Less, as he explores, through the story of two women, the still timely subject of how politics, power, passions, and religious belief can intersect with explosive results.
When Nicole Tavernier, a mysterious healer, arrives in Paris in the mid-1500s, the lives of ordinary citizens, religious leaders, and members of the Parisian aristocracy are utterly changed. Taken under the wing of the pious and politically influential Acarie family, Nicole pursues her mission under the watchful eye and religious guidance of Barbe Acarie, a woman much admired in the Catholic community. When Nicole comes to the attention of Henry of Navarre, the future king of France, Barbe Acarie grows to distrust the younger woman, whose past is cloaked in secrecy. A silent struggle between the two leads to charges of demonic possession, an exorcism, and a climactic confrontation, each woman facing down the other and herself.
In A Saint, More or Less, Henry Grunwald writes with a keen understanding of church and state, of how religious belief can be manipulated by those in power to achieve their own political ends. This finely crafted novel also raises questions about the role in belief of passion and doubt. One of these two women is a candidate to become a saint—but which is the true one? A Saint, More or Less illuminates a rich period in history as two women struggle with doctrine, faith, belief, their own natures, and questions about religion and society that are still relevant today.
Synopsis
When Nicole Tavernier, a mysterious healer, arrives in Paris in the mid 1500's, the lives of ordinary citizens, religious leaders, and members of Paris' aristocratic elite are changed forever. Taken in by the pious and politically influential family of Barbe Acarie, Nicole continues to pursue her "mission" in Paris, under the watchful eye and religious guidance of Barbe, a woman highly esteemed and admired in her local religious community. When Barbe begins to distrust the young miracle worker whose past is cloaked in secrecy, a silent struggle between the two women begins, to the dismay and eventually the discredit of Nicole. Nicole comes to the attention of the King of France and the most prominent leaders of the Catholic church, religious and political power elite, who use her situation to their own ends. A SAINT, MORE OR LESS illuminates a period in history, two real life women, and struggles over doctrine, faith, belief, and questions about religion and society that still are relevant today, prompting us to look more closely at the eternally contentious relationships between science and faith, faith and power, power and church/state. With marvelous historical detail, Grunwald brings us back to 16th century France, vividly recreating the period as we travel from Parisian drawing rooms to remote Protestant farms, from the squalor of French orphanages to the grandeur of St. Denis. A feat of the mind and the heart, this stunning novel provokes, informs, and inspires.
Synopsis
With marvelous historical detail, Grunwald brings readers back to 16th century France, vividly recreating the period as they travel from Parisian drawing rooms to remote Protestant farms, from the squalor of French orphanages to the grandeur of St. Denis. A feat of the mind and the heart, this stunning novel provokes, informs, and inspires.