153: Hispania and the Isles of Albion Like ‘Game of Thrones’ with real history. Can be read as a standalone. Mystery, intrigue, romance and adventure fill the pages of this thrilling conclusion to an epic series. Jean Gill captures the soul of the age and the characters who lived in it. Dragonetz and Estela: the troubadours. They thought they knew each other but they didn’t even know … knew each other but they didn’t even know themselves.
Dragonetz has failed Eleanor of Aquitaine once. Now that she plans to be Queen of England he could make amends. Although prepared to risk his own life on an impossible quest, a knight should protect his lady, or so say the troubadour songs.
His lady, however, plays to a different tune and she wants partnership, not protection. Estela and Dragonetz fight their enemies, both on the battlefield and in the courts of Christendom, from the sophistication of Zaragossa to the wilds of Wales. Can they win through to song hereafter, together? Or have they broken one rule too many?
Sure to delight fans of Ken Follett, Elizabeth Chadwick, Bernard Cornwell and Kristin Hannah.
Global Ebooks Award for Best Historical Fiction. FINALIST in The Wishing Shelf and the Chaucer Awards. The Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choice.
‘Evocative and thoroughly riveting. A vividly-written, historical saga.’ The Wishing Shelf
‘Historical Fiction at its best.’ Karen Charlton, the Detective Lavender Mysteries
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A blast of medieval air and irresistible storytelling you can’t put down. The fourth and final book in the Troubadours Series which continues with Dragonetz los Pros and Estela de Matin, two characters I have been rooting for since the very beginning. Without giving a précis of the book, I would rather give interested readers a ‘feel’ for what they are about to read.
Song Hereafter is brought to life in ways that only Jean Gill fans will appreciate. It’s easy to see why this author has won so many awards, readers and fans across the globe. She gets her historical facts right when it really matters because her research and her dedication to the finer details of the period is impeccable. With courtly intrigue and power struggles, you can’t help but feel the beauty and live the fear. Swept along by the unique flavor and mood of the story, I particular enjoyed the accounts of medicine and healing, wills and hunting deer, architecture, singing and the wise traveler. Fascinating aspects of the time and had me pinned to my reader.
I’m very sad, however, to see the last of these captivating and enchanting historical novels. Although the books could be stand-alones, I recommend reading all four from the beginning to gain a thorough insight of the period and a deeper sense of these well-rounded and richly developed characters.
Loved this book. Loved the characters, the setting, the era which the story takes place.
This is the final book of the Troubador series and as with the first three books it is is worth reading. Well researched, historically fairly accurate and fantastic characters.. Start at the beginning and read the books in order…it will open up the middle ages in a way that I have never thought of them. LOVED these books!
Troubadours Quartet, #4, brings the story home
. . . but not before fitting the final stage of the saga of Estela and Dragonetz into the history of the unification of England and France, as Alienor (Eleanor) of Aquitaine marries Henri I of England, then sends our lovers to Gwalia (Wales) to assess the political and military situations there, with the ongoing wars between Welsh leaders and the Norman Frankish lords of the Marches. Further, the Welsh leaders variously have betrayed each other from time to time, so there needs to be a careful and wise assessment made so Henri will know with whom he should ally. Our troubadours perform well, and curiously, learn to respect the culture they had thought barbaric when seen from distant Provence. Of course, readers, we need also to experience some reconciliation for Dragonetz with his family and his liege lord, as well as Estela needing similar reconciliation with her family, friends, mentor, and her child. Thank you, Ms. Gill, for taking care of this pair of remarkable people. And more, for teaching us so much about the period and places they inhabited, from Jerusalem through southern France, Spain, and Wales. Remarkable journey that I am happy to have taken with two such remarkable characters.
A wonderful book – brava! Jean Gill’s stories are so tightly woven into the tapestry of medieval France and England and the politics thereof that I simply marvel as I read them. Her complex plot lines and immersion in the atmosphere of the regions and the time are wonderful, and her use of Occitan lyrics throughout in her troubadors’ songs enhances the authentic flavor. As her characters travel farther afield, she draws the differences in the cultures of the time period so clearly that the people and their world view come alive. Although it was sad to say good-bye, this was a fitting end to the saga of Dragonetz and Estela. If you like history, if you like romance, if you like France, you have a treat awaiting you in this masterfully conceived and written quartet.
I received an electronic Advanced Reader Copy of this book prior to publication, in exchange for an honest review.