Sir William de Mandeville is the hero of my Templar novel Quest for the True Cross. Some key facts about William:
- He is a Templar knight from Essex in England
- His father was the Earl of Essex but died in gruesome circumstances after rebelling against King Stephen
- William’s older brother becomes the new earl and soon reveals a cruel streak
- William returns home from the crusades in the Holy Land after a spell of madness and challenges his brother’s tyranny, rescuing a poor boy who is about to be mutilated for theft
- Back in the Holy Land, the True Cross – the most sacred Templar relic – has been stolen by the Saracens. It is now in the city of Al-Usbunna
- Crusader and Templar armies mass to take Al-Usbunna from Muslim control and William joins them to try and retrieve the True Cross. He hopes by doing so, he can restore his family honour disgraced in different ways by his father and brother
- William also hopes to conquer his own growing insanity, caused by the terrible carnage he had seen on crusade in the Holy Land
I won’t spoil the conclusion – buy Quest for the True Cross to find out what happens!
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