Book

Cathedral of the Sea / Ildefonso Falcones ; translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor.

ISBN: 9780451225993
ISBN: 0451225996
ISBN: 9780525950486
ISBN: 0525950486
Physical Description: 611 pages : map ; 22 cm.
Edition: First New American Library ed.
Publisher: New York : New American Library, 2009.
Copyright: &copy;2008.

Falcones de Sierra, Ildefonso, 1959- (author.). Caistor, Nick, (translator.).

Summary:

Set in 14th century Barcelona, the 80-year construction of the Church of Santa Maria affects the lives of the citizens, those who devoted their lives to building it, and those who were sheltered there.

"An unforgettable fresco of a golden age in fourteenth-century Barcelona, Cathedral of the Sea is a thrilling historical novel of friendship and revenge, plague and hope, love and war. After his father flees a brutal feudal system, abandoning their land, Arnau Estanyol arrives in Barcelona to find a city dominated by the construction of its great pride--the cathedral of Santa Maria de la Mar--and by its shame, the deadly Inquisition. As a young man, Arnau joins the powerful guild of stoneworkers and helps to build the church with his own hands, while his best friend and adopted brother, Joanet, studies to become a priest. With time, Arnau prospers, makes friends among the Jewish population of Barcelona, and falls secretly in love with a forbidden woman. When he is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved Cathedral of the Sea is finally completed, or will his brother save him?"--Page 4 of cover.