Pillars of Light by Jane Johnson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another superb read from the pen of a worthy successor to Dorothy Dunnett!
A disparate group making the trip from Cornwall via Somerset to the Cinque posts and thence to the Holy Land and the untrammelled savagery of the Seige of Acre. John Savage, a foundling, but with an eye and a talent for drawing, Ezra, a girl using a boys identity, the enigmatic Moor and a crew of mummers and rogues find themselves despatched to Palestine for Richard the Lionheart’s Crusade. A Palestine where Saladin has conquered Jerusalem, but who finds himself unable to relieve the Seige of Acre – an Acre where a young Jewish Doctor and a Muslim girl find themselves caught up in the terrible events of the siege.
Jane Johnson has a superb eye for detail and the gift of impeccable research. A wide-ranging tale packed with emotions and events, with love and with savagery. Highly recommended by me.
My own peripatetic existence has seen me spend a long time in the Levant. The author shows a wonderful feeling of “place” that I recognised instantly.



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