The Ramsay Scallop

Book excerpt: The year is 1299. Fourteen year-old Elenor reluctanly awaits the return of her betrothed -- a man she hardly knows -- from the Crusade. Thomas, broken and disillusioned from years of fighting, finds the very idea of marriage and lordship overwhelming. So When the village priest sends them on religious pilgrimage before the marriage, both are relieved. The journey means a postponement of the dreaded nuptials, and a last chance for adventure. As Eleanor and thomas wend their way toward the shrine of St. James, they meet mant other pilgrims -- each with their own extraordinary tales to tell and ideas to share. There is Etienne, a passionate student of philosophy; Brother Ambrose, gentle teacher of Sschoolboys; practical Marthe, eager for a decent life for her children. And graually Eleanor and Thomas come to realize the glorious possibilities of the world around them... within each other.