Crusade

Linda Press Wulf (author)

Bloomsbury, UK: Australian release February 2011; 245pp

ISBN: 978140880481

Genre: adventure, historical fiction, realistic fiction

Issues: beliefs, ethics, religion

The year is 1212. The place is a small village in France. A young man, a mere boy, passes through, gathering followers for his Children's Crusade – they will walk to Marseilles, the sea will part and they will walk through the Mediterranean to reclaim the Holy Land.

Georgette struggles to care for her silent, stubborn father who was widowed at seventeen and her moody brother, Gregor. A religious child, raised more by the village's Catholic priest than her own neglectful father, Georgette longs to do more to serve her beloved God. The Children's Crusade seems to answer the need. But as the children travel from town to town across France, Georgette begins to doubt not her own faith but the purity of the cause.

Many children travel to escape poverty, unpleasant work, cruel families or simply as an opportunity to see the world beyond their village. Shocked, in her innocence, by the uses and abuses of power that she sees in their supposedly holy leader, Georgette finds herself far from home and without protection. Only her faith maintains her – and the silent, watchful protection of a young man from the monastery of Blois. For Robert, too, has a strong, pure faith and recognises in Georgette not only a kindred spirit but an attractive girl likely to be vulnerable to attack.

A sad but absorbing tale based upon vague historical accounts, Crusade explores the classic journey from the innocence of childhood to the complexities of adulthood. Knowledge – of oneself, of the flawed nature of humanity, of human strength and frailty – are the true indicators of maturity. Georgette's physical journey is a mere reflection of a much greater, inner shift from naivety to wisdom.

Peopled with interesting characters, Crusade's greatest strength is the way the reader is immersed in the finely drawn historical context. Wulf's beautifully crafted writing, the telling details embedded in the narrative, bring to life an astonishing, tragic event that actually happened and as a result of which thousands of French children were lost forever.

An interesting read, be aware that this is a story that will disturb imaginative and sensitive readers.