The Rebel Princess
Page 36
FANATICS
Our time is attempting to come to terms with fanatics. But who or what are fanatics? Who will define fanaticism? Who are the enemies of God? And who knows the mind of God clearly enough to say?
The human race is no more certain of the answer to these questions than those characters who created history in the thirteenth century were. But while we consider these deep questions, we might as well also look at adventure, heroism, jealousy, mystery, murder, and very strange vision, all the things humans get up to while history is happening. It makes a good story. That is what I have tried to present in the new adventures of the Princesse Alaïs.
Acknowledgments
Many friends and writers have helped by reading and commenting on various versions of this story. I am indebted to Alice and Lance Buhl, Dee Ready, and Mary Logue, whose editorial and overall comments were most helpful. I owe a debt of gratitude to Marolyn Downing and Michel Charpentier for their hospitality while I was in France, and the use of their fine French library as well as the invaluable comments Michel provided in early drafts of the manuscript, regarding language and history. I have already acknowledged the important role of M. Le Roy Ladurie and his views on recent historical scholarship that revised my thinking on the Cathars. I would not have completed the project without the monastic hospitality of the Studium program of the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Sisters Colman O’Connell and Emmanuel Renner, my dear friends, were especially helpful with their multiple readings, comments, and support. And thanks to my lifelong friend Ruth Murphy, who accompanied me on an early trip from Toulouse to Béziers, and who shared many adventures on the way.
No book comes to fruition without agents and editors. I want especially to thank my editors at HarperCollins, Wendy Lee and Carolyn Marino, and my agents Marly Rusoff and Michael Radulescu. Without Marly’s support and belief in the book as it was developing, there would be no Rebel Princess!
About the Author
JUDITH KOLL HEALEY has a keen interest in France and its medieval history. She has spent her career as a philanthropic consultant to families of wealth across the nation. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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ALSO BY JUDITH KOLL HEALEY
The Canterbury Papers
Credits
Map by Mary Karen Lynn-Klimenko
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE REBEL PRINCESS. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Koll Healey. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-189163-2
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