The Good Men [Paperback]

In fourteenth-century France, a young woman from the mountain village of Montaillou was tried for heresy by the Catholic inquisition. Her name was Grazida Lizier and, by her own confession, her “joy was shared” with the wrong man: the village rector.“The Roman Catholic Church kept transcripts of these inquisitional processes, providing an intimate, almost voyeuristic window into the affairs of men and women who lived seven centuries ago. These documents continue to fascinate…they provide inspiration for an ambitious first novel, The Good Men, by Charmaine Craig.”—The New York Times Book Review

 

“As a writer, she’s the real deal…The action takes place in Montaillou, a tiny mountain village that is falling under the influence of saintly wanderers known as the Good Men who preach that the world was created by the devil and should be despised. The narrative, which is based on historical sources, unfolds from several points of view: those of an alcoholic widow, a lustful village priest, a cobbler struggling with his homosexuality, a conflicted Inquisitor. Craig has the gift of finding complexity in simple people, and she tells their stories in fluid, shapely prose that blends mysteries both religious and erotic with the…realities of peasant life.”—Time

 

“I have never read so powerful an account, fictive or historical, of the Cathar rebels against the Roman Catholic Church. Craig’s vision encompasses an entire culture, which was forever destroyed.”—Harold Bloom

 

“A rich tale of the struggle between spiritual thirst and bodily hunger… Craig deserves critical acclaim…for creating a novell“ƒ