cover image Kingdom of the Grail

Kingdom of the Grail

A. A. Attanasio. HarperCollins Publishers, $23 (500pp) ISBN 978-0-06-017965-6

This vivid tale of revenge, faith and love set during the rule of England's Richard I moves from Wales to a tumultuous Europe unsettled by the Crusades to intensely colorful Palestine and back. Arrogant Guy Lanfranc assumes control of the family demesne by sending his hated mother, the old baroness Ailena Valaise, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Wily Ailena vows revenge and finds the means in the person of Rachel Tibbon, a Jewish girl who survived the butchery of her family and other Jews after Crusader losses. Ailena's plot to regain the castle built by her father is based on Rachel's astonishing resemblance to herself as a young woman; 10 years after her forced departure the baroness returns, claiming the restoration of her youth in a Church-certified miracle. As Ailena, the well-coached Rachel earns the support of her people while locked in a fearsome struggle with Guy and opposed by the castle's priest, who calls the ``miracle'' a work of the devil and objects to her attempts to change religious practices at the castle. Until now a fantasy and science fiction writer, Attanasio ( Radix) adeptly expands his domain with this thoughtful touching historical novel . (Mar.)