Hermit Trilogy
3 primary works Complete
Book 1
No man is an island...
Power in fourteenth-century Britain is a fluid idea, depending on who is speaking, the Church or a feudal elite. To priest Jean-Felipe, the only power worth having is over oneself. Shunning the path that leads to marriage and family, Jean-Felipe instead travels from his abbey in Normandy to the remote Gower coast of Wales. There he intends to live as a hermit and use his power to teach and spread God's love.
Despite his intentions, Jean-Felipe is a passionate soul, with an independent mind that can get him into trouble. This is particularly true when a feudal family return to occupy their Welsh castle for the few months of April to September.
The summer is hot and passions run high as the young people of the castle flex their power, running up against Jean-Felipe and the local people. Through the intervening months, all will be tested against the codes of man and God, some emerging unchanged and others never to be the same again.
Power in fourteenth-century Britain is a fluid idea, depending on who is speaking, the Church or a feudal elite. To priest Jean-Felipe, the only power worth having is over oneself. Shunning the path that leads to marriage and family, Jean-Felipe instead travels from his abbey in Normandy to the remote Gower coast of Wales. There he intends to live as a hermit and use his power to teach and spread God's love.
Despite his intentions, Jean-Felipe is a passionate soul, with an independent mind that can get him into trouble. This is particularly true when a feudal family return to occupy their Welsh castle for the few months of April to September.
The summer is hot and passions run high as the young people of the castle flex their power, running up against Jean-Felipe and the local people. Through the intervening months, all will be tested against the codes of man and God, some emerging unchanged and others never to be the same again.
Book 3
Book 3
War then Peace? Ot not?
Recent events have left the hermit bereft. It is time to follow the advice of an old friend and leave his island and community in safe hands. Jean-Felipe will make upon a voyage of discovery that takes him to Ireland and Spain, before he reunites with his family in Normandy: his step-father, sisters, and mother.
But this is only the start. Danger to a comrade sends him back into the embers of the dying rebellion.
Then an even deeper call comes from Edith to teach a group of young people at their riverside haven on the banks of the Tamar in the deep South-West. Here, in this gentle backwater, a growing peace allows time to rebuild and prepare this fresh generation for a better future.
When a charismatic new monarch, Henry V, calls for soldiers, squires and knights to prepare and follow him to war with France Jean Felipe can do only one thing. Although a man of peace, the hermit becomes a warrior-priest to protect those he loves, travelling alongside them all the way to the killing field of Agincourt.
The hermit only ever wanted power over himself. He never knew how much power he had to influence others, with his work, his passion, and in spite of his flaws, his love.
Recent events have left the hermit bereft. It is time to follow the advice of an old friend and leave his island and community in safe hands. Jean-Felipe will make upon a voyage of discovery that takes him to Ireland and Spain, before he reunites with his family in Normandy: his step-father, sisters, and mother.
But this is only the start. Danger to a comrade sends him back into the embers of the dying rebellion.
Then an even deeper call comes from Edith to teach a group of young people at their riverside haven on the banks of the Tamar in the deep South-West. Here, in this gentle backwater, a growing peace allows time to rebuild and prepare this fresh generation for a better future.
When a charismatic new monarch, Henry V, calls for soldiers, squires and knights to prepare and follow him to war with France Jean Felipe can do only one thing. Although a man of peace, the hermit becomes a warrior-priest to protect those he loves, travelling alongside them all the way to the killing field of Agincourt.
The hermit only ever wanted power over himself. He never knew how much power he had to influence others, with his work, his passion, and in spite of his flaws, his love.