Author:Marguerite De Navarre,Paul Chilton,Paul Chilton

In the early 1500s five men and five women find themselves trapped by floods and compelled to take refuge in an abbey high in the Pyrenees. When told they must wait days for a bridge to be repaired, they are inspired - by recalling Boccaccio's Decameron - to pass the time in a cultured manner by each telling a story every day. The stories, however, soon degenerate into a verbal battle between the sexes, as the characters weave tales of corrupt friars, adulterous noblemen and deceitful wives. From the cynical Saffredent to the young idealist Dagoucin or the moderate Parlamente - believed to express De Navarre's own views - The Heptameron provides a fascinating insight into the minds and passions of the nobility of sixteenth century France.
'A rip-roaring combination of high romance and breathless excitement'
—— MAIL ON SUNDAY'A rewarding experience...This is murder at its most foul, crime at the deep end'
—— Spectator'His novel is something substantial and distinctive...Edric has a clear, almost rain-washed style, eminently suitable for his Hull setting...Cradle Song is a strong and serious novel, soberly entertaining and well worth your while'
—— Literary Review'Cradle Song is a superbly paced book... This is classic crime noir... Edric can also produce beautiful prose and arresting images as well as incisive social satire... Magnificently achieved'
—— Giles Foden'Deeply intelligent...Vertiginously devious...Twists like a fist around the throat of the reader'
—— The Times'A veritable Stanley Kubrik of the world of fiction...Edric makes it impossible for the crime novel to be considered the country cousin of serious literature any longer'
—— The TimesA witty novel about love
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