History COMES ALIVE
A PASSIONATE UPDATE TO AN ENDURING LOVE STORY
It may have taken place around 800 years ago but the love story of Heloise and Abelard has continued to fascinate ever since. I remember learning about them in medieval history lessons and so it was fascinating to read New Zealand writer Mandy Hager’s take on events in this fictionalised version of the lives of the legendary lovers.
There is no doubt that she is Team Heloise. The story begins with her as a motherless girl living in rural France and being mistreated by the pig farmer’s wife who has been paid to care for her. Fortunately, Heloise’s brother Fulbert rides to her rescue and takes her to live in safety with the nuns at the great abbey of Argenteuil.
There, finding a library and a teacher, she embarks on a lifetime of learning. It turns out Heloise has a brilliant mind and can’t get enough of the stories and ideas books offer her.
Moving to Paris to live with her uncle opens up yet another world. To satisfy her thirst for knowledge, Heloise risks disguising herself and sneaks into lectures given by the celebrated philosopher Peter Abelard. There is a meeting of minds and of bodies. Abelard is to become the great love of her life but also the cause of immense suffering.
I can only imagine how daunting it must have been to turn this complex, sweeping real-life story into fiction
– the politics of the time, the attitudes, the events and people who shaped Heloise’s fate, as well as all the details about the way everyday lives were conducted. It must have required months steeped in research to make sure everything was accurate.
Perhaps inevitably the result is uneven. Some parts of Heloise’s life are described in great detail, other dramatic events are dealt with swiftly and, at times, peripheral characters come on and offstage so fast, it’s confusing. Also, since this is a book about people obsessed with theology and philosophy, you get a bit of a crash course into the thinking of the era.
But what this novel does do brilliantly is show how Heloise was punished for her passion, and for being beautiful and brilliant at a time when women were mostly powerless. It is a story to provoke indignation and heartbreak. For history lovers, it’s a treat and will make you want to read much more about the 12th century.