A sheltered monk leaves the abbey, joins the White Company, and earns his knighthood.
Who drives the story
A sheltered, golden-haired young man raised by monks at Beaulieu, sent into the world at twenty by his father's will. He becomes a squire, a tutor, a wounded messenger, and finally a knight, socman, and husband.
A small, bald knight hungry for deeds of arms, famed at Crécy and Poitiers, who takes command of the White Company. Captured and presumed dead in the ravine, he escapes Spanish captivity and rides home for the happy ending.
Sir Nigel's strong-willed daughter, who falls for her tutor and defies convention to wait for him. Believing him dead, she nearly takes the veil before he reaches the convent doors.
A veteran archer and cheerful womanizer whose eye puts a shaft through a pirate helmsman and whose loyalty saves Sir Nigel repeatedly. Captured in Spain, he escapes and comes home.
A giant expelled from Beaulieu for appetite and flirting, who becomes the strongest man in the company and Alleyne's squire. He holds the ravine pass with a stone when his weapons break.
Alleyne's estranged older brother, the wicked socman of Minstead, who threatens Maude and later attacks Twynham Castle, dying in the siege and leaving Alleyne his land.
Also in the story
Sir Nigel's commanding wife, who rules Twynham Castle with an iron hand and leaves no doubt about who is mistress there.
How they are connected
Lady Maude LoringSir Nigel Loring
Sir Nigel's strong-willed daughter, who falls for her tutor and defies convention to wait for him.
Samkin AylwardSir Nigel Loring
A veteran archer and cheerful womanizer whose eye puts a shaft through a pirate helmsman and whose loyalty saves Sir Nigel repeatedly.
John of HordleAlleyne Edricson
A giant expelled from Beaulieu for appetite and flirting, who becomes the strongest man in the company and Alleyne's squire.
Lady Mary LoringSir Nigel Loring
Sir Nigel's commanding wife, who rules Twynham Castle with an iron hand and leaves no doubt about who is mistress there.
Simon EdricsonAlleyne Edricson
Alleyne's estranged older brother, the wicked socman of Minstead, who threatens Maude and later attacks Twynham Castle, dying in the siege and leaving Alleyne his land.
Simon EdricsonLady Maude Loring
Alleyne's estranged older brother, the wicked socman of Minstead, who threatens Maude and later attacks Twynham Castle, dying in the siege and leaving Alleyne his land.
Go deeper
The sheltered soul meets the world · Honor as appetite · Love that waits and races · Brothers and inheritance
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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