Birth of the Kingdom: Book Three of the Crusades Trilogy - Hardcover

Guillou, Jan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061688630 ISBN 13: 9780061688638

Publisher: Harper, 2011

Synopsis

Inthe final gripping volume of Jan Guillou’sboundary-breaking Crusades Trilogy, exiled warrior Arnde Gotha returns home to Sweden, determined to liberate and unite his homelandin what promises to be his greatest trial yet. Traveling from Saladin’ssand-swept Holy Lands to the Scandinavian North, Arn’sfinal adventure is a captivating historical narrative encompassing the strugglefor honor, the quest for lost love, and the momentous clash of European andMiddle Eastern cultures. Fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden,William Dietrich, and James Clavell will beenthralled by Jan Guillous’ Birth of the Kingdom,the stunning and dramatic climax to a tale begun in The Road to Jerusalemand The Templar Knight, and a masterpiece of epic and magisterialhistorical fiction.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

An exiled warrior determined to unite his homeland returns to face his greatest battle yet in this stirring final volume in the trilogy that began with The Road to Jerusalem—a critically acclaimed epic "destined to become a classic" (Sharon Kay Penman).

Exiled from his home and the woman he loves, Arn de Gotha became one of the fiercest and most feared warriors of the Knights Templar. But now that Jerusalem has been lost to the man who saved him—his longtime enemy and trusted friend Saladin—the weary nobleman, ravaged by wounds and illness, can finally return to his beloved Sweden.

During his twenty years of exile, warring clans have torn Arn's homeland apart. Determined to reunite it under the Folkung lineage and establish lasting peace, he sets off with a band of skilled craftsmen and doctors from the Holy Land whose talents and knowledge are unknown to the northern world. With the superior skills of the foreign men, Arn sets about building an estate to rival those of the most powerful in the region.

And waiting for him is his beloved Cecilia. Emerging from a convent after their unfathomably long separation, Cecilia is beset by the clan's demands that she return to monastic life, while Arn is urged to marry into a competing family, for the sake of avoiding war. Arn and Cecilia are reunited, but new obstacles have been set in their path. They can only hope to convince their clan that love ranks higher than politics, and that it can sustain a new quest: to create a new people, a new society—both Christian and Muslim, craftsmen and warriors—with Arn at its helm.

A rousing, satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable and original epic, Birth of the Kingdom tells the story of a warrior's transformative journey, and of the love that founded a nation.

About the Author:

Swedish-born journalist Jan Guillou has won several international awards, including the Prix France Culture. He is the creator of two of the most successful series ever published in Sweden—the Hamilton series and the Crusades Trilogy. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0061688630
• ISBN 13: 9780061688638
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496