Under the Witches' Moon: A Romantic Tale of Mediaeval Rome

About the book

Tristan of Avalon reaches Rome on the eve of St. John in 935, wearing a pilgrim's habit and carrying a burden that separates him from the surrounding revelry. The crowded Piazza Navona confronts him with music, masks, foreign travelers, and glimpses of private conspiracies beneath the public celebration. His search for spiritual relief enters a city where religious authority, political ambition, and sensual fascination are closely interwoven. Gallizier builds the romance from contrasts between sacred aspirations and the fears and desires that undermine them. Theodora and other powerful figures belong to a highly theatrical historical world, filled with ominous imagery and uncertain appearances. Its Rome is a setting for invented romantic drama, where the pilgrim's wish to escape the past exposes him to new forms of danger.

• Penitence and temptation
• Power and deception
• Sacred and worldly Rome

Why read it

The opening festival makes Tristan's inward isolation visible against a city overflowing with competing attractions and hidden purposes.

English Page Company edition, first impression October 1917