The Mapmaker - Hardcover

Jauncey, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0233988521 ISBN 13: 9780233988528

Publisher: Trafalgar Square, 1995

Synopsis

Two men unjustly accused of murder flee their medieval home, following a map they hope will lead them to knowledge and wealth

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Reviews

Set in the 14th century, this skilled first adult novel from Jauncey (The Albatross Conspiracy) brings the medieval world to life. A young peasant, Creb, makes a life-changing discovery when he finds a map in a cabin near his plague-isolated hamlet the day after his brother's death by drowning. That death, depicted in a lyrically written, though somber scene, is one of a series of cataclysmic events that throw Creb from his rural cottage into the greater world where he becomes fast friends with Roland, the educated, epileptic son of his lord's steward. When, later, the two must flee the village, the map, which Roland believes will lead to the legendary philosopher's stone, acts as their guide. They encounter Ellen, a beautiful Jewish woman bent on escaping her pimping uncle. She and Creb fall deeply in love, but, after Roland becomes ill and the two nurse him back to health, Creb finds Roland and Ellen in bed together and leaves, frantic with pain. Eventually, Creb reconciles with Roland, who's dying; he apprentices to a stonemason and eventually assumes an avocation as a mapmaker. When his path and Ellen's entwine again, he must prove his love and his heroism. Jauncey's language is precise and evocative, and his pacing, plotting and characterization are for the most part sound, the major exception being Roland's inexplicable betrayal of Creb with Ellen. But the touching story keeps one completely involved.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Trafalgar Square
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0233988521
• ISBN 13: 9780233988528
• Binding: Hardcover