Book Rec of the Day 1/10/07

QUIRKY HISTORIES

True crime doesn’t get more salacious—or more medieval—than this. In 1386 in France, a knight returned home from battle to find that his wife had been raped and impregnated—or so she said—by his neighbor and friend. The neighbor denied it. The king ordered the dispute to be settled on the battlefield so that God could determine innocence or guilt. Would the knight avenge his bride? Were the neighbor’s claims of innocence true? And if the knight lost, would his bride be killed, according to the law? History, true crime, and thriller combine in a ripping good read.

THE LAST DUEL, by Eric Jager (Broadway, 2005)