A new spirit of philosophical and religious enquiry is growing in 12th-century France.
In its vanguard is the brilliant Peter Abelard, a man of great learning, independence
of mind, and sensuality
He starts a war of ideas with the powerful Abbot and Pope-maker, Bernard of Clairvaux,
the arch-priest of medieval mysticism and austerity
But when Abelard begins a wild affair with his equally brilliant but disastrously
connected student Héloïse, his enemies find just the pretext they need to destroy him
Through the joy and suffering of one of the greatest love stories of the Middle Ages,
Howard Brenton explores the relationships between logic and religion, humanism and
fundamentalism, faith and power
'A passionate, bracing play of ideas that has topical urgency as well as
historical fascination' ~ Financial Times
'Romeo and Juliet with more brains ... Brenton peers into medieval mindsets with an
unashamedly modern sensibility. Highly recommended' ~ Daily Telegraph
