Heloise And Abelard: A Twelfth Century Love Story [Paperback]

'A great story' Douglas Johnson, The Spectator 'The most striking part of the book is its modernity ... Burge achieves something truly difficult: he reminds us that, for Abelard and Heloise, their world was as new, risky and unpredictable as ours is.' Ann Wroe, Sunday Times 'Burge is excellent at empathy. He keeps you alive to the agony of Abelard ... [and] makes a moving, likeable document of an extraordinary love.' Alice Ferrebe, Scotland on Sunday 'Intelligent, clearly written, and, perhaps inevitably, heart-rending ... Burge is rather in love with Heloise himself: she writes, thinks and feels exquisitely' Murragh O'Brien, Independent on Sunday 'Burge opens up this tale with great sympathy and directness' Frances Spalding, Daily Mail

Abelard was a brilliant philosopher in Paris. Heloise, his student 15 years his junior, was a poet already famous for her learning, a woman with a uniquely powerful insight into her own feelings. The letters they wrote to each other - some of which have only recently come to light - open a miraculous window onto the story of their affair. We know about their terms of endearment, about the passion of their lovemaking, of stolen moments in churches, of their erotic play. The letters tell the story of the birth of their child, of their secret marriage and the violence and tragedy which followed, culminating in a brutal attack in which Abelard was castrated. In panic and shame the couple separated to continue their lives - and very successful careers - in monasteries. But their love continued through their letters.

James Burge is a TV producer and journalist who lives in London and France.