The Ballad of Saint Lidoire
One autumn in medieval Provence a nobleman’s only daughter, Lidoire, finds herself mysteriously pregnant. She has never lain with a man and wonders if she, like the Virgin Mary, has conceived immaculately.
Soon, with the help of her father’s vintner, Lidoire flees to forest to hide and await the birth. There, she makes a decision that ultimately reveals the shocking truth of her pregnancy, a decision for which repercussions are felt from the idyllic, sun-drenched vineyards of southern France to the bloody battlefield outside the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Set in the time of the First Crusade (1096-1099), The Ballad of St. Lidoire is a tale of love and betrayal, the vicissitudes of time, and the messy way in which saints are sometimes created.
