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Reliquary: Book One of The Peregrinus Series Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

This is a novel about relics.
Relics can move mountains, so history tells us. They cure the sick, promise success, enable whole kingdoms to win wars.

Many relics might only be dogs’ bones, or the hair of a shaggy horse, maybe the shrunken hand of a punished Byzantine thief, or perhaps the heart of a slaughtered ox.
Who would know?
But a piece of
byssus, arguably the most enigmatic cloth in the world, cannot lie, and its very existence underlines the life of Christ and the meaning behind the Holy Church.
The cloth’s power can only be wondered at.
It is the kind of relic which inspires heroic deeds. The kind of relic that inspires murder.

In telling this story, it also becomes a novel about faith.
Faith in power. In money which can beget power. Faith in one’s own self and one’s strengths. Faith in one’s friends and even in God. Or maybe it is even a story about lack of faith…

From Constantinople to Caen, from Venice to Viviers, from Rome to Rouen, relics are traded like pepper and frankincense, silk and silver, lapis and alum. Sold to the highest bidder.
Who then shall pay the highest price of all for a fragment of aged cloth?
For the highest price must surely … and inevitably … be death.

'A moving and exciting tale...' Sharon Bennett Connolly - Heroines of the Medieval World
If you enjoyed
The Kingmaker Series or The Knights Templar Series, you will enjoy this story.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09KQTQC5F
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 910 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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Prue Batten
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A former journalist from Australia who graduated with majors in history and politics, Prue is now a cross genre writer who enjoys writing escapist fiction for her readers. Mostly however, she writes her favourite genre of historical fiction.

She is fortunate to have had almost all her writings awarded globally and she remarks that it encourages her to continue on.

Her 2019 foray into contemporary fiction, Passage, has been honoured, not just with a finalist’s award from Chanticleer, but with an endorsement from the great Irish writer, Cathy Kelly.

During Australia’s Covid-Lockdown in 2020, she wrote a short book called The Pillowbook of Prudence which she based on the work of Sei Shonagon, from one thousand years before. Prue’s Pillowbook was written as a gentle escape for those in need during Lockdown.

In 2021, she released a mini hist.fict anthology set in the 12th century, called Sword and Sirventes.

She is currently still happily in the same timeframe, writing a three book collection called The Peregrinus Series and which incorporates loved characters from previous novels in the venal setting of medieval trade. The great writers, Christian Cameron, Simon Turney and Matthew Harffy have reviewed her works and comment freely on its excellence.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
15 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2021
    Reliquary: Book One of The Peregrinus Series by Prue Batten is a fast paced, action packed, character driven tale bringing back her wonderful characters from her previous series. Although Reliquary features past characters one can read this book as a stand alone.
    I enjoyed the plot line set in medieval Italy and France and getting to know new characters. Well researched and well written.
    I am really looking forward to book two.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2021
    BLURB
    1196AD

    Lyon

    Relics can move mountains, so history relays. They cure the sick, promise success, enable whole kingdoms to win wars.

    A fragment of byssus lies in a small chest and its very existence underlines the life of Christ and the meaning behind the Holy Church. Its power can only be wondered at.

    It is the kind of relic which inspires heroic deeds and . . . murder.

    An elderly nun and a returned crusader are all that stands between the world's most sanctified relic and a Templar knight who craves it for his own purpose.

    From Constantinople to Caen, from Venice to Viviers, from Rome to Rouen, relics are traded like pepper and frankincense, silk and silver, lapis and alum. Sold to the highest bidder.

    Who then should pay the highest price of all for a fragment of aged cloth?

    Is the highest price surely . . . and inevitably . . . death?

    If you enjoyed The Kingmaker Series or The Knights' Templar Mysteries, Reliquary will enthral you.

    Reliquary is Book One of The Peregrinus Series.
    REVIEW
    One indication that you're having a good day is when a favorite author personally requests a review of their new book. An even better indication is that despite the fact that I have a decades long dislike of the historical abuse of power fomented by 'Holy Mother Church', Reliquary is a certified page turning tale. The emotional trauma of a nun completely out of her comfort zone - a cloistered existence in a small convent in the middle of nowhere - is deftly and beautifully written. Not that she is the only character suffering pangs of doubt, hatred, unfulfilled love and the like. It is a dangerous mission for all involved in this latest foray into the author's Gisborne legacy. Another chapter in an amazing series of books, one that had me riveted, and that has me anticipating the next one. There are questions still to be answered, hearts that still need mending. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
    The author takes the time to answer some questions:
    Interview with Prue Batten
    What is it that prompted you to start writing?
    I love creating stories in the same way that others create art, poetry or music. I’ve been writing prose since I was first able to write words when I would apparently tell myself little stories. That feeling of ‘writing’ is indescribable, and I can’t find the words without sounding precious.
    But that’s the other thing, you see; I love words!
    Why this particular genre?
    I read my first hist.fict in Grade 6. A Rosemary Sutcliff, The Eagle of the Ninth. And from that moment, hist.fict and indeed history, became my genre of choice. But I will qualify that just a little by saying that myth and legend dominated my early childhood reading and so fantasy is a very close second.
    But in terms of his.fict, I also had the most wonderful lecturer in medieval history at university. He was a Roman Catholic priest and a history-maker in his own right. He came to the faith after his marriage and was one of the only modern Roman Catholic priests I have heard of who did in fact have a legitimate wife and children. He had a way of kindling sparks of interest in we students. He talked of folk like Peter Abelard, Heloise of Argenteuil, Hildegarde von Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Venerable Bede and so many more, bringing them to life before my eyes. The names were like beacons. Before long, I had a deeply rooted love of the medieval era. He spent very little time talking of kings and dynastic wars and hours talking about the development of philosophies and I think that’s why I write fiction that is so far removed from bloody battles and so rooted in the common man’s traditions.
    Were there any influences that helped you create the Gisborne legacy?
    Now that is a huge question.
    Firstly, Dorothy Dunnett who established the House of Niccolo, set in the European Renaissance. She is an iconic hist.fict writer – the doyen of all good hist.fict. in my opinion.
    Because I have a lifelong fascination with the medieval era, I idly began to read on trade in the 12th century, reasoning that someone didn’t just begin to trade as the Renaissance took off. And of course, I was right. The medieval era was filled with extraordinary beauty and that beauty came from rare and exotic goods that were the result of travel and trade from beyond the flat edge of the world. Such trading encouraged the best and complete worst of humankind and thus I had my Gisborne trading house.
    The man Gisborne is quite another thing and in many ways, quite trite. Originally the first Gisborne book began life as a blog fan-fiction – what Guy of Gisborne’s life would have been if he had turned away from the Sheriff of Nottingham and chosen an untrodden pathway. It had an enormous following because Guy was based on Richard Armitage’s interpretation in the TV series Robin Hood, and any woman who was a fan of Robin Hood knows of the thousands-strong Armitage Army.
    But ¾’s of the way through the telling of that first story, I could feel myself moving into more serious historical fiction. My research on the era went deeper and the narrative began to change dramatically. In time, I had a publishable book. The story continued for two more books to make a trilogy and in that time, I met characters I grew to love and who had their own story to tell. Thus, I ended up with another series and am now on my way to a third series. The members of the household are many and varied…
    What books, genres, authors does Prue read when she’s not writing?
    I read most genres except sci fi and romance, and I’m not a great fan of time-travel. My favourite genres are hist.fict and fantasy but I also enjoy good contemporary fiction. My favourite time frames are Roman, Dark Age, medieval and Renaissance, but I’m very flexible if it’s a good story The names Simon Turney, Anna Belfrage, Gordon Doherty, Matthew Harffy, Theodore Brun, Robert Low, Bernard Cornwell, Paul Collard and Paul Bennett, all spring to mind. But there are many others. Actually, looking at that list above, I realise Anna is the only woman. She must work extra hard to keep her name amongst the collective Illuminati! I shall have to try harder to join her!
    My favourite fantasy stories are those based on myth and folklore. I have a Number One favourite – internationally renowned Juliet Marillier who was, in fact, the person who challenged me to write a contemporary fiction about a woman of a certain age. In addition, and although nothing has come from this writer’s pen for many years, I do love Cecilia Dart Thornton’s work.
    I also enjoy biographies on people I admire or who create an interest by the way they have lived their lives: certain members of the Royal Family, some American presidents, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Joanna Lumley, David McAllister and so forth.
    Who do you turn to for advice or encouragement when the Muse is a bit reticent in supplying inspiration?
    Would you believe I don’t turn to anyone? I either write through it or take a complete break and do something else. I love the outdoors, I walk a lot with my dog, I’m a gardener and embroiderer, I love ballet, ocean swimming, kayaking – boating of any sort. I suppose if anything stirs the Muse, it’s Nature. I’m also a believer that things happen when they’re meant to.
    Circling back a little to Passage, one of the more poignant stories I’ve read, was it difficult to take on a tale outside of your normal comfort zone?
    Thank you for the compliment and yes, it was. When dealing with the contemporary world, one knows one’s readers will be very familiar with so much more than one’s 12th century. In addition, one knows one’s readers will automatically assume that one is writing one’s own life into the narrative. Thus it was important to establish that the work was fictional, BUT that it was based on an actual event in my own life.
    That was the other difficulty. The accident my husband suffered on the farm caused some PTSD. Mostly for him, but a little for me as well, and writing Passage allowed me to process that dreadful day and be glad that our outcome was so different to Annie’s.
    A further difficulty was that I have reached the time in life when some of my friends are passing away or losing their lifelong partners. By necessity, Passage became a lesson in grief – one of the hardest lessons we all have to learn.
    It seems bizarre to say I enjoyed writing Passage, but I actually did. To be able to set the story on my own coastline, the one I love so much, was beyond special and I’ve always believed that a setting can be a character in its own right. Maria Island dominates Annie’s landscape and in fact was transformative for her. Every day I look at that island now, I see it in a different light.
    What is next for Prue Batten?
    Reliquary is Book One of a 3 book series – The Peregrinus Series. I’m a quarter of the way through the second book, tentatively titled Oak Gall and Gold. Each book is a standalone but they all involve members of the Gisborne ben Simon trading house with whom, it might be said, I’m in a long-lasting relationship.
    Thank you, so much Paul, for these insightful questions. I’ve commented elsewhere that such questioning keeps one’s feet on the ground and makes one realise why one is indeed a writer. That’s very important! Cheers.

Top reviews from other countries

  • s c.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2024
    Great
  • C STANLEY
    4.0 out of 5 stars Another very good book from Prue Batten
    Reviewed in Australia on November 10, 2021
    It started off a little slowly but the pace picked up as the book went on Henri and Cecile the nun were the stand out characters for me.
    I throughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially to people who enjoy historical fiction.
  • Mrs M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2021
    Wonderful writing, Prue's writing draws you in to the story, you can feel yourself alongside watching. I loved the interaction of the various characters.The descriptions were fabulous, and the book certainly kept me awake and reading into the wee small hours.
    I loved the return of favourite characters from Prue's previous books, am so looking forward to the next two book of the trilogy

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