A Saint, More or Less

Henry Grunwald makes sixteenth-century France under King Henry IV come vividly alive in A Saint, More or Less, as he explores, through the story of two women, the still timely subject of how politics, power, passions, and religious belief can intersect with explosive results.

When Nicole Tavernier, a mysterious healer, arrives in Paris in the mid-1500s, the lives of ordinary citizens, religious leaders, and members of the Parisian aristocracy are utterly changed. Taken under the wing of the pious and politically influential Acarie family, Nicole pursues her mission under the watchful eye and religious guidance of Barbe Acarie, a woman much admired in the Catholic community. When Nicole comes to the attention of Henry of Navarre, the future king of France, Barbe Acarie grows to distrust the younger woman, whose past is cloaked in secrecy. A silent struggle between the two leads to charges of demonic possession, an exorcism, and a climactic confrontation, each woman facing down the other and herself.

In A Saint, More or Less, Henry Grunwald writes with a keen understanding of church and state, of how religious belief can be manipulated by those in power to achieve their own political ends. This finely crafted novel also raises questions about the role in belief of passion and doubt. One of these two women is a candidate to become a saint—but which is the true one? A Saint, More or Less illuminates a rich period in history as two women struggle with doctrine, faith, belief, their own natures, and questions about religion and society that are still relevant today.

Henry Grunwald was the managing editor of Time magazine from 1968 to 1977, and from 1979 through 1987 he was editor in chief of all Time Inc.’s publications. He subsequently served as U.S. ambassador to Austria from 1988 to 1990, and has since written his autobiography, One Man’s America, and the memoir Twilight: Losing Sight, Gaining Insight, about his struggle with macular degeneration. Born in Vienna, Grunwald came to America at the age of seventeen and enrolled at New York University. He began his career at Time in 1944 as a copy boy while completing his education. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Louise, and their Australian terrier, Harry.