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The Ruby in her Navel by Barry Unsworth is out in paperback at 12.50 euros.
Young Thurstan is a civil servant at the court of King Roger of Sicily in the 12th century when the Norman king ruled peaceably over Muslims, Jews and Christians, although that time simmers with underlying scheming and treachery.
The Second Crusade has failed and the Church is looking for someone to blame. Thurstan Beauchamp is employed under Yusuf, a Muslim who holds the Christian king’s purse strings.
Thurstan has pined and written love songs for his childhood sweetheart, Lady Alicia, during the years in which she has been married and abroad in Palestine. Now, on her return, she has given him renewed hope. Yet he is drawn to the sensuous Nesin, an exotic dancer from Anatolia, and struggles with the conflict between love and lust.
While Thurstan wishes to be made a Knight, he has little taste for courtly intrigues and, in his pursuit of love and knighthood, fails to appreciate that he may also be a pawn in a deadly game.
Barry Unsworth’s writing creates suspense with myriad twists and turns and masterfully paints a picture that is rich in historical detail.
