ffred's
nearly-forgotten treasures"Oh, thou dost not know the falsehood, the cruelty of those men. With them religion is but a name, a cloak for those crimes which honor and justice rebuke with all mankind."
Here is another fine historical novel by the author of Giafar al Barmeki. Set in the Balkans in 1444, the story is based on Cardinal Julian Cesarini, his role in the breaking of the Peace of Szeged, and his fall in the Battle of Varna. Overall the story is well researched and sympathetic; however, the elixir which confers immunity to ordeal by fire requires some suspension of disbelief.
The text is taken from this scan of the 1860 edition, backed up by this scan. For the most part the spelling is preserved, although a few archaic or obsolete spellings were updated (notably "cimiter" to "scimitar"). Two instances of "sabard" were changed to "tabard." Also, some inconsistent spellings were standardized (notably "Larensky" vs. "Larenski").
So here it is: the master HTML version, the home-brew Kindle version, and the actual Amazon publication.
August 29, 2025