Harlequin (Grail Quest)

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Bernard Cornwell

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Pages: 484 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0006513840

Pub: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Pub date: 2001-06-04

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3241

Editorial Review:

Following the phenomenal success of the Sharpe novels set in the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard Cornwell has turned his storytelling talents to another great moment in English history, the Hundred Years War between England and France throughout the 14th century. Harlequin is the first book in Cornwell's Grail Quest series, which chronicles the adventures of young Thomas of Hookton, "a big, bony, black-haired country boy". Thomas rejects the church in favour of the life of an archer in France after his village is brutally sacked by the French. The young Thomas fights back against the French with his bow, and "in that one instant, as the first arrow slid into the sky, he knew he wanted nothing more from life". He vows to seek revenge on the plains of France, and recover the holy relic of St. George stolen from his village by the sinister "harlequin" with whose destiny Thomas finds himself inextricably entwined. The rest of the action moves at a hectic pace across the violent and bloody battlefields of northern France, as Thomas falls for a beautiful French widow nicknamed "the Blackbird", makes a mortal enemy of the "poor, bitter and ambitious" Sir Simon Jekyll, and follows the ensign of King Edward III and his heroic son, the Black Prince. Harlequin is a fast-paced and graphic recreation of the Hundred Years War, despite a rather gratuitous fixation on rape and pillage. The action comes thick and fast, although it remains to be seen if Thomas of Hookton has the wit and flair of Cornwell's other great heroic creation, Richard Sharpe. --Jerry Brotton

Reader Reviews:

A Good Start to the Series (0/2 people found this helpful)

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series, set during the Napoleonic Wars. I have not as yet read any of this series. The books about Arthurian England are much more my cup of tea and I read those avidly. He has also written among others, Stonehenge 2000 B.C. Bernard Cornwell lives with his wife on Cape Cod.

This book is I believe the start of a trilogy, beginning in the 14th century and following the lives of a family who have in their possession a holy relic sought by the whole of Christendom, but more importantly by men who can be bought by promises of wealth or land.

These are dark and somber days for a Church, split down the middle by the fact that there are two popes. One guiding the church from Rome, the other in Avignon, both factions struggling to gain supremacy. Hearing of a an artifact that could bring them victory, one side has hired a mercenary to retrieve what could unite the church under one banner.

Entertaining adventure, but lacks depth (4/5 people found this helpful)

"Harlequin" (also known by its US title, "The Archer's Tale") is the first book in Cornwell's Grail Quest trilogy and follows the experiences of young longbowman Thomas of Hookton during the early years of what will become known as the Hundred Years' War. When Thomas's father is killed and his village destroyed by French raiders, he vows revenge upon those responsible and makes it his goal to recover the holy relic - the lance of St George - that they stole from Hookton's church. Years later, as he finds himself fighting for King and country in Brittany, he starts to discover the nature of his enemy, the Harlequin, and of his own destiny in defending Christendom.

This is an entertaining and fast-paced tale, in the course of which Thomas joins battle countless times, makes both enemies and friends, is outlawed and then reconciled, finds love, has it taken away, and finds it again, while a host of supporting characters enter and disappear from the narrative. Unfortunately this fast pace means that there is little overall sense of direction to the book, and since the quest for the Grail forms only a subplot in this first volume it means unfortunately that the narrative lacks much depth. Thomas, too, is not as compelling a character as Cornwell's other heroes, Derfel (of the Warlord Chronicles), and Uhtred (of the Saxon Stories). He remains a rather bland and disinterested figure and shows little development over the course of the book, and it is difficult for the reader to feel an emotional connection with him.

On the other hand Cornwell is very good at fleshing out his story with a cast of interesting supporting characters. Two in particular stand out, namely Thomas's employer, the gruff William Skeat, and his sworn enemy, the bitter and penniless knight Sir Simon Jekyll, while many other refreshingly quirky minor characters lend personality and life to the setting. Cornwell expertly creates a real sense of time and place, and his depictions of the medieval towns of of La Roche-Derrien and Rennes, and of the French countryside, are colourful and vivid. He does well, too, to communicate the drive and often the desperation felt within the English army, as well as the utter destruction inflicted upon the French. His battle scenes are likewise engaging and his treatment of the Battle of Crécy, the climax of the book, is excellent.

Everything considered, "Harlequin" is a great yarn, not by any means Cornwell's best work but very readable nonetheless. I would be interested to see how he develops Thomas's character and his quest in the sequels, "Vagabond" and "Heretic".

Very disappointing (0/6 people found this helpful)

After the magnificent "Winter King" trilogy I was impatient to discover the new trilogy by Bernard Cornwell. Well, I was devastated by this book. Author clearly was on a strict deadline writing this one, because it seems that the main characters are drafted rather than described. The only interesting "hero" (one of the bad guys in fact) with some in depth description, gets killed at the end so he will not be there in the two following books (I am not telling you which guy it is). In fact, there is such an abysmal difference in quality between this book and the previous Cornwells, that I have a strong impression, that for this book author simply hired a "mercenary" to wrote it for him, when taking some time off on a sunny beach.... This book is simply boring! I didn't even bother to read the two folowing books in this cycle. My honest advice - do not waste your time and your money. Two stars just because I usually love Bernard Cornwell's books and after all I managed to almost finish this one....

A lesser Cornwell novel (2/3 people found this helpful)

I like Bernard Cornwell novels but found this one hard going compared to others. Its the first of three novels telling the story of Thomas of Hookton (the Archer of the title). Originally called Harlequin (The Archers Tale is the American title), the story starts with an attack by the French on the shores of England and Thomas, the only survivor sets sail to seek revenge and in the process gets caught up in the quest to find the Holly Grail.
Typical Cornwell fare with the main character being from one class amidst the others, with baddies who you will get to love and goodies who are real bad and bound to hate the central character.
Not as easy to get in to as others of Bernard Cornwell but stay with it, it gets better; I read this and refused to read the others but eventually got the audio versions from my local library and listened to the complete trilogy, it was much better than I had thought.

Compelling (2/2 people found this helpful)

Bernard Cornwell doesn't usually disappoint and Harlequin is no exception. A fast paced, exciting story with a host of interesting and complex characters (with a few exceptions to be fair) this is a thrilling read and an excellent beginning for the trilogy. Complainants have noted the rather excessive amount of brutality but as I have not found this to be symptomatic of Cornwell in general, beyond the necessity for historical fiction novels, I feel it was unavoidable for the book's era. The longterm nature and extent of the atrocities of the Hundred Years war stands out in a very bloody period and thus this had to be kept in the forefront of the readers mind. If you can endure (or love) the violence of the setting this is an engrossing tale which nicely sets up a fascinating trilogy.

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