The Sinner's Tale

by Will Davenport

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of The Painter comes a mesmerizing novel of war, redemption, and love, as the timeless legacy of a medieval knight reaches across the centuries to help an embattled young... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553802178
• ISBN13: 9780553802177
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Good read for people who like historical fiction, mystery, twists, and the movie A Knight's Tale!

I love books that weave the past with the present. This novel is no different. The author did a great job of slowly drawing me in by starting in the 1300s with a knight. I was eager to know more about this righteous knight who thought himself so lowly and sinful. The book also made me more curious about Catholics and their beliefs. It had just enough mystery to it, to keep me picking it back up. I also want to know more about the time period now. Davenport cleverly had Chaucer as one of the characters and I kept thinking throughout the book that it was him. I was happy with the modern day setting, but didn't enjoy it as much as the past. Beth (modern day main character) was kind of annoying and mean. I kept wanting to take her by the shoulders and give her a good shake. The author does give a little background history from World War 2 as well. The ending message about war is particularly good. I'd recommend this book to people who like historical fiction, mystery, twists, and the movie A Knight's Tale!

A Thoughtful Tale of Two Worlds

(This review was first published in The Historical Novels Review, Issue 32, May 2005. ISSN 1471-7492) A medieval knight with a sin he fears will condemn him to eternal purgatory; a modern-day woman whose anti-terrorist rhetoric conceals a desperate emptiness; and a secret link that transcends eras form the basis for Will Davenport's THE SINNER'S TALE. Beth Battock is an ambitious political player when a scandal forces her to flee to the childhood hamlet she's avoided for years. There, she comes face-to-face with the father she resents; an ornery grandmother who knows her better than she thinks; a gentle stone-cutter she once dallied with; and an ancient inscription with a tantalizing familial connection to the exploits of the 14th century knight, Sir Guy de Bryan. Sir Guy suffers from venal sin; he also suffers from a prescient understanding of war's futility. Though a veteran of bloody battles, Guy is a man of peace in a time of brutality; who believes he must atone for the wrongs he perpetuates. In his quest for redemption, Guy plants the seeds for a ceremonial immortality that will echo through the ages into Beth Battock's hollow life. Vivid scenes of warfare and the harshness of medieval life intersect with Beth's struggle to overcome her conservative stance on terrorism in the 21st century. The descriptions of Sir Guy's journey from hopeful youth to weathered witness are imbued with the authenticity of the period. The novel encounters its main difficulty in the modern world. The characters lack the compelling personalities of their medieval counterparts; and Beth proves a challenge to rally around, even as her narrow mindedness starts to crumble around her. Until family upheaval confronts her, she remains steadfast to her way of thinking -- an analogy of our own inability to learn from the past. Beth does learn, eventually; still, it is the knight's passionate quest we care most about.

Great story - and by the way, it's a novel

Inspired to write this by reading 'Picky reader' below. Er, guys it's a novel. Not only that but it's a very good one. I read it because I know a bit about Sir Guy de Bryan and, as it happens, he's got Guy's story pretty much nailed. So, he took a few liberties with a minor character. Like I say, it's a novel. If you want to know what the fourteenth century was like, read it. expect to laugh and cry a bit too.

one of the best historical novels I've read to date

This is going to be a rather difficult review for me to write because I liked the book so much that I don't think that I will be able to write a competent review adequately expressing my appreciation for "The Sinner's Tale." In 1372, Guy de Bryan, a trusted knight in the court of Edward III, is asked by his king to undertake one last mission to Genoa in order to negotiate an agreement so that the Genoese will trade freely with the English. Sir Guy will be accompanied on this trip by his old friend, soldier and priest, William Batokewaye, a squire who is closely connected to the Duke of Lancaster, and by two Genoese noblemen. The mission is a dangerous one, fraught with natural (traveling in the heart of winter is not for the faint-hearted) and physical dangers (pirates and enemies of England who would like the mission to fail), but Sir Guy is determined to ensure that his mission is a successful one. However, his friend William has another mission, one that he is equally determined to see through. Knowing of his friend's brooding and melancholy disposition, and suspecting that Sir Guy has assumed the burden for a sin he was not really guilty off, and that this is eating away at him, William is resolved to exorcise the sin from Sir Guy's soul. And to do that, he has let loose on Sir Guy the curious squire, who questions Sir Guy closely about his life at court and his adventures during the war with France, bringing to light a wondrous tale about an enduring and passionate love that tarnished the honour of a "true, a perfect gentle-knight..." "The Sinner's Tale" is actually framed around two time periods: one subplot deals with events that are taking place in the 14th century and revolves around Sir Guy's last mission and the story of his life; while the other subplot deals with events that are currently occurring and revolves around the sexual scandal that brings political high-flyer, Beth Battock down. Unfortunately, Beth's story is not a very interesting one: a neo-con hawk, Beth is at odds with her liberal family. Her fall from grace, and her flight back home to the backwaters, really serves to highlight Sir Guy's story (a childhood friend of Beth's is in the middle of restoring Sir Guy's chantry and her family is somehow tied to Sir Guy), and his message for future generations, which Beth and others slowly uncover. The subplot that deals with Beth is not as lyrically written as Sir Guy's, nor is it as absorbing or as compelling. Also I did think that the bit where Beth finally discovers her mother's identity, was a bit over the top. On the whole though I thought that the novel was a wonderfully engaging read, and one of the best things I've read this year. I must own though that I don't think that "The Sinner's Tale" is for everyone: the novel has a message, one that not everyone may agree with. But it is a beautifully written one and a thought provoking one, and one that resonates whether you're talking about events that took place in the 14

terrific two tales in one

All his life Sir Guy de Bryan was a loyal vassal to King Edward fighting for him in the war with the French. He loved one woman Elizabeth but lost her through trickery by another of the king's warriors, Sir John Molyns. Sir John would commit any atrocity if it meant that England would win the battle. A brave soldier Guy comes to believe he will go to purgatory for all the men he killed in battle. He bought more absolutions than he could afford and built a chapel on his estate in Slapton where monks provide continuous prayers for him. By the end of his life his opinion of war changed dramatically. In the present, British government aide Beth Battack assures the Americans that her country will support them in the upcoming war. She believes that sometimes war is the only answer for a lasting peace. A scandal has Beth hiding out in her home village of Slapton. Her dying father expects her to arrange the yearly mass for Guy de Braun. The Battocks are descendants of Sir Guy's priest who led the prayers in the chapel Sir Guy built. After tragedy strikes her family, Beth realizes war is not always the answer. This is really two stories in one novel, Sir Guy is a man who has come to hate war with its lack of chivalry and horror while Beth believes that war is sometimes the answer. The two stories are linked by the priest who first said the prayers on Sir Guy's behalf, who is an ancestor of Beth's family. The medieval parts of the tale are absorbing and entertaining but Beth's story seems comparatively weaker with a seemingly implausible ending to an overall fine rally cry for give peace a chance. Harriet Klausner