Harlequin (The Grail Quest, Book 1)

Bernard Cornwell

Jul 2009 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

It was the time when the English came across the Channel to take the battle to the French.

The army was led by the King, the great lords and knights, but it is the archers, the common men who are to be England’s secret weapon.

Thomas of Hookton is one of those archers. But he is also on a personal mission – one he frequently forgets in the joy of fighting – to avenge his father’s killing by a French raider and to retrieve his family’s treasure. But the journey is far more complex and treacherous than he had expected and the enemy who awaits him could harness the power of Christendom’s greatest relic – the Grail itself.

Ratings and reviews

A brilliant yarn, and I enjoyed the beginning of the story and feeling the characters develop. It is quite heavy on the references to rape though - it's worth reading but also worth being aware of.

Even as a reread it is still a ripping yarn.

Doesn't disappoint.

About the author

Bernard Cornwell worked for BBC TV for seven years, mostly as producer on the Nationwide programme, before taking charge of the Current Affairs department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he became editor of Thames Television’s Thames at Six. Married to an American, he now lives in the United States.