The treasure of Montségur : a novel

I love reading about the Cathars, so I was happy to find this book. I loved it. I thought the main character was a little weird at first, but as the book progresses you start to understand why she is the way she is, through her flashbacks. I really loved this story and it was an interesting look back at the times where Catholicism was spreading its wings and pretty much choking out any religion that stood in its way. This was definitely an insightful and interesting read.

Thirteenth-century southern Europe was a scary place, which is made clear in this novel about a woman who is never quite sure where her spirit belongs. Alternate chapters jump from "present" to "past" in flashbacks, and the heroine is a little out of her mind at times. I found it to be a little mired in the philosophy of religion -- sometimes too close to stream of consciousness for me. But the story itself was compelling and the history is fascinating.

This is a fascinating look at the extermination of the Cathars from the South of France in the Middle Ages. The Cathars were a group of Christians with beliefs quite different from the Catholics. As a result, a crusade was waged against them and they were all killed.

This novel is set during that time, with a protagonist who was raised by Cathars. The story is told with alternating view points and flashbacks, which together weave an interesting and heartfelt story.

This is historical fiction at its finest - a look at daily life during that time, a bit of a love story, and an examination of the cultural and religious climate of that time.

On Monday, September 15, 2008 I wrote about this book:


I feel awful because you mailed this book all the way from Australia to me, but I did not like it at all.
Just visited amazon and there I noticed, yes it has some great reviews but most people don't agree with those reviews.
I was very disappointed cause I had expected so much more. The part where Jeanne grew up as a young girl and her first love was interesting, so i thought hey, this is going to be great, but then we went back to the future where she was old and it was all so vague and weird. After a while i just hurried through the book. You either love it or hate it it seems, I guess I belong to the latter. sorry.
Going to offer in a swap or in the VBB.

Absolutely loved this book. Amazing fictional account of Jeanne, who witnessed the mass murder of the Cathars at Montsegur. Beautifully and sensitively woven story of love.
Highly recommend it.

Functional as a novel, very misleading as history.

I liked it. I was encouraged to learn more about the Cathars & the Albigensian Crusade