Beyond the Abbey Gates
In this 14th century historical romance, a traveling troubadour named Jack breaks his leg near Greyleigh Abbey. The nuns take him in and place him under the care of Ingrid, a young resident blessed with the ability to heal and who is hailed as a saint. Jack’s bold-as-brass panache for life’s pleasures intrigues her – a contrast to the harsh discipline within the abbey. Ingrid succumbs to his charms but soon thereafter is separated from him.
As Jack searches for Ingrid, he becomes less of a charlatan and loses his take-what-I-can attitude about life. Misfortune and calamity shakes Ingrid’s faith. Jack’s rise to morality and Ingrid’s fall from grace set the stage for a satisfying tale as they both courageously face their misadventures and overcome them.
This novel is peppered along the way with interesting characters. At times, I found that some of them changed so dramatically and so suddenly that it left me wanting more rationale for their motivations. Regardless, Catherine MacCoun has penned an intriguing tale of two people whose faith deepens through a series of mistakes and failures that lead them back to each other.
