Beyond the Abbey Gates

Beyond the Abbey Gates by Catherine MacCoun
Historical Fiction

This story takes place in the mid 1300s. Ingrid Fairfax has been raised in a convent. She has healing powers which she doubts and is not all that happy about. She abhors the days when the nuns open the convent to the sick. When Jacques Brigand des Coeurs, a travelling troubadour breaks his leg just outside the doors of the convent, he is brought inside to recover.

Jacques seduces Ingrid and forces her to examine her way of life. She leaves the convent and then it is a story of missing each other. Ingrid is treated abominably as women of this period often were.

The history of this book was interesting. I found Ingrid to be a little too perfect for my liking. I would have liked her to at least be angry with the way she is treated.

First Line: "When the man was injured so near their gate, the nuns said it was God's will."

Rating:
(3.5/5)