Hoffman, Mary. Troubadour.

Hoffman, Mary. Troubadour.
Bloomsbury see St. Martins 2009 290p 16.99 978-1-59990-367-5 ms/hs In 1208 thirteen-year-old Lady Elinor, secretly in love with a troubadour and determined to avoid marriage to an older man, runs away from her family's castle disguised as an apprentice troubadour, unaware of the dangers ahead as the Albigensian Crusade begins its onslaught on her native Languedoc. Thirteen year old Elinor is the daughter of a landowner in Occitania, what is today known as the Languedoc region of Southern France. She enjoys her position as the donzela of the castle, totally unaware that her father’s religious beliefs and those of most citizens of Occitania are about to ignite a crusade against them that will destroy their lives. Elinor’s father is a Believer, a Credente otherwise known as Cathars, who did not believe in the Incarnation of God as Jesus Christ. The Credentes and the Catholics in the region, as well as the Jews, peacefully coexisted but their relations with the pope in Rome was the opposite. The Credente were considered to be heretics by Rome, and when a papal legate who was sent to Langeudoc to convince the ruler of the region to quash Credente beliefs is murdered, the pope calls for a holy war against them. Bertran, a Credente troubadour travels to Elinor’s castle to spread the news of the coming persecution and Elinor’s parents, in order to assure her safety as well as quash her romantic longing for Bertran, betroth her to an older nobleman. Elinor rebels against the arranged marriage and disguised as a boy, she steals away with a group of minstrels traveling to the eastern cities of the province carrying Bertran’s warning. Elinor’s travels and her transformation to a minstrel provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of a variety of women and social classes of the thirteenth century, particularly those educated women who were troubadours and whose verse and songs were valued and honored. When Elinor’s disguise is discovered she in turn becomes a troubadour and with her patron Lady Iseut they escape to Northern Italy, one step ahead of the French invaders. Elinor eventually finds happiness and contentment in her new life despite the horrors and tragedies she and her family endured. Hoffman uses the same attention to details that characterize her Stravaganza series, and the detailed backdrop of the Albigensian Crusade provides drama and tension. The emotional connection with Elinor, Bertran and other characters is slight but historical fiction readers will be satisfied with their travel to the south of France. Historical Zajko, Rosanne