A WALK WITH LOVE AND DEATH

by Hans Koningsberger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1961

From two earlier, modern novels of young lovers (The Affair; An American Romance) this medieval idyll of a knight-errant romance substitutes the period turbulence of the peasant uprisings in 14th century France for the subtler shadings of internal conflict. Heron de Foix, a student from Paris, escaping to find the freedom which he values most- in England, falls in love with Claudia de Saint-Jean during a way stop at her chateau- Dammartin House, writes to her, and having reached Calais to embark- hears that Dammartin has been burned to the ground. He returns to find her, in hiding, and together they travel on, and, while his love for her is ""pure"", it is passionate too. Captured, escaping, joining forces with Robert de Lorris- who is killed, they finally make their way to an abbey which is shortly deserted by the monks; alone there, they await their captors.... This feudal war which was fought with ""nothing except despair"", the shifting scenes of battle and bloodshed, only serve as a background and are subdued by the intensity of two young people in love--so that the fervor of the flesh gives the story its impetus rather than any greater substance.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1961

Categories: FICTION