An interesting, free-form biographical novel of the 15th century poet, Francois Villon, is told in sinewy, colorful prose. How much is fact is hard to say. As an imaginative recreation of a life and time, the book has pace and reality. Through a tumultuous life, the one staple was poetry, a passionate and alive commentary on Villon's times. The book's prose captures some of the raciness and bitterness of this poetry and it is absorbing and emotionally believable.