Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #664694 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In a striking departure from her first two novels ( Taste of Salt ; Grab Hands and Run ), which center on current political and social injustices, Temple travels back to 13th-century Europe for a coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old orphan. Eleanor of Ramsay is betrothed to the rakish Thomas, who has just returned from fighting in the Crusades for eight years. Frightened by the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she hardly knows, Eleanor worries even more when the town priest sends her and Thomas on a pilgrimage to Spain to atone for the sins of all the townspeople. Along the way Thomas and Eleanor meet up with scholars, peasants and performers, each of whom plays a role in helping the young protagonists to discover their true feelings for each other. Temple's pleasing portrayal of the saintly but plucky heroine guides readers through a rather long-winded journey. While Eleanor's spiritual and emotional awakenings are believable and sensitively wrought, her internal conflicts fail to buoy the tale with any significant doses of humor, pathos or drama. However, readers newly introduced to Chaucer's famous Canterbury pilgrims may find Temple's contemporary style an easier introduction to medieval settings and customs. Ages 11-14.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-In 1300, 14-year-old Elenor of Ramsay's fiance, Thomas of Thornham, returns from the Crusades. The couple, uncertain of their roles in life and their feelings about each other, are reluctant to wed. Wise Father Gregory sends them on a pilgrimage to Spain; this not only buys them time but forces them to become better acquainted. Their journey is full of unexpected adventures, joys, and hardships. They see new sights, make new friends, and learn new things. By book's end, both are at peace with themselves and gracefully accept their lot. Temple writes fluently of the medieval era, smoothly weaving data on everyday life, religious attitudes, folklore, music, architecture, and crafts into her story. All this detail is fascinating, but it is definitely overdone. The 300+ page text needs a judicious pruning, particularly those scenes included primarily for informational or philosophical purposes (such as the mechanics of glassblowing and Moslem beliefs). Unfortunately, Temple's facts aren't always accurate; for starters, she alters the construction dates of Amiens' cathedral, errs in describing Albigensian tenets, and repeatedly refers to vernacular scriptures although at this time the Bible was available only in Latin. Her characters, though intriguing, are, for the Middle Ages, incredibly literate and modern thinking. The Ramsay Scallop also suffers from lack of glossary (not all terms are adequately defined in context) and a map tracing the pilgrimage (essential in a book of this type). A valiant effort that doesn't quite make it.
Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. It is 1299, and 14-year-old Elenor waits--reluctantly--for her betrothed, Lord Thomas, to return from his crusade to the Holy Land. Though it's their duty to marry, neither of the young people has warmed to the prospect. Elenor is frightened of marriage; Thomas has come back broken from the crusades. Besides, they don't like each other much. Father Gregory, the village priest, sends them on a chaste pilgrimage through France to a shrine in Spain to expiate the sins of the village, and through that long wandering, packed with new faces and fresh ideas, Elenor and Thomas slowly come to know themselves and each other. With a nod to The Canterbury Tales, the book highlights the stories that their fellow pilgrims share with Elenor and Thomas; the stories are sad, romantic, and instructive, and all help shape the journey into the special thing it becomes for the duo. This is very different in style from Temple's previous books; here, the leisurely pace of the pilgrimage allows the author to introduce a large cast of characters and to decorate her story with historical details that enlighten and intrigue. It's not often that a book that can be used to bolster the curriculum is warm and romantic, too. Ilene Cooper