The Burning Chambers
A Thrilling Epic of Love and Conspiracy from the No. 1 Bestselling Author
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4.5 • 12 Ratings
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- €5.99
Publisher Description
The Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller
'A tour de force' – The Observer
Bringing sixteenth-century France vividly to life, Kate Mosse’s historical epic The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love, betrayal, war and conspiracy.
Carcassonne, 1562. On the eve of the wars that will tear France apart, nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE.
But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot, Piet Reydon, profoundly reshapes her destiny. For Piet has a mission of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to get out of La Cité alive . . .
A thrilling historical adventure and a heartbreaking boy-meets-girl love story, The Burning Chambers is the first volume in Kate Mosse’s No. 1 international bestselling Joubert Family Chronicles. Continue the story with The City of Tears.
Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles:
'Historical fiction to devour' – Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of Close to Death, on The Burning Chambers
'An utterly absorbing epic' – Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Paris Apartment, on The City of Tears
'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' – Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost Ship
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Set in 1500s France, Kate Mosse’s The Burning Chamber is a fiercely gripping tale of a family’s struggle through the French Wars of Religion—a unique and tumultuous time, when neighbours became enemies. We follow Minou Joubert as her destiny becomes entwined with that of Piet Reydon, a young Huguenot. At the same time, she unwittingly stumbles into grave danger when she receives a cryptic and anonymous letter. Mosse’s extensive historical knowledge and evocative descriptions enables her to paint a vivid picture against which both romance and mystery unfold. Tense and absorbing, this is an atmospheric pageturner of a story that is a compelling read for all historical fiction lovers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Against a backdrop of conflict between Catholics and Protestants in 1562 France, 19-year-old Minou Joubert, the intelligent and spirited Catholic daughter of a bookseller, and Piet Reydon, a warmhearted Huguenot soldier, fall in love in this tense, atmospheric thriller, the first of a trilogy from bestseller Mosse (the Languedoc trilogy). The plot centers on a disputed inheritance and a stolen religious relic that ruthless men will stop at nothing to possess. The author displays her usual flair for descriptive detail, whether it's a dusty Renaissance bookstore or a storm-drenched countryside. Unfortunately, a psychotic villain and one-dimensional fanatics stand in awkward contrast to such nuanced characters as Minou and Piet. When all parties converge on a castle in the Pyrenees, the various story lines are resolved in a fashion that feels a trifle pat. Nonetheless, Mosse brings vividly to life the mounting strains in a community filled with fear and mutual mistrust. Readers will eagerly await the sequels, which will chart how the feuding plays out over the next few centuries.
