The Jester (novel)

The Jester is a novel by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.

Plot

The Jester is a novel focused on a young man named Hugh De Luc. Set in the year 1096, Hugh is living in a time of unrest when peasants like himself are treated poorly. The region is ruled by a tyrannical duke named Baldwin. In seeking freedom, Hugh joins the Crusades. Hugh and his group manage to invade one of the Turk cities, but Hugh notices the horror around him and decides he cannot face it. He passes a church, where he sees a priest being beaten, and kills the men attacking him. At the dead priest's side lies a staff, which Hugh decides to carry with him from then on.

Hugh flees the Holy Land, returning to his home village of Veille du Père, only to find his wife Sophie kidnapped, his son Phillipe dead (born after Hugh had left) and his inn destroyed. Townsfolk tell him the attackers wore no colours except for black crosses sewn onto their tunics, and were dishonoured knights who seemed to be looking for him particularly. Angered, he wanders into the forest, searching for Sophie, who he believes is still alive and being held captive in the dungeons at Treille. In the woods, he's attacked by a boar which although he kills, wounds him badly. He is saved by Emilie, a woman who reminds him of Sophie. She turns out to be highborn -- a relative of the King of France -- though he does not learn of this until much later. She takes care of him in her hometown of Borée, which is the dukedom of her father, Stephen. Hugh's plan is to infiltrate the castle of Lord Baldwin at Treille. With Emilie and the jester (at Borée) Norbert's help, he adopts the pretext of a Jester. After winning his Lord and the Lord's crowds' ear, he soon finds that his wife was never in Treille with Baldwin. He travels back to Borée to see Emilie once more.

Winning Anne's (Emilie's mother) ear, he eventually finds that his wife, Sophie was in the dungeon of Borée all along, and that Anne had been lying to him. Killing three of the Tafurs (the guards of Anne which turn out to be the dishonored knights who took his wife), Hugh runs back to Veille du Père. By then, he is sure that the men are hunting him, but he knows not for what. The Tafurs were a fearsome war band, with rumors circulating that they resorted to cannibalism, either deliberately or as a last resort. The Tafurs launch an attack on Veille du Père, but Hugh and his friends had prepared traps, and so killed all of them but one. This one attacks Hugh before his escape, and breaks his staff, but not the object within, which turns out to be the Holy Lance that pierced Jesus Christ's side as he lay on the cross. Peasants flock to the spear, so Hugh marches on Treille and takes Baldwin prisoner. Next, he marches on Borée, but try as they might, they could not take it. Finally the leader of the Tafurs, "Black Cross" attacks Hugh and his Peasant army, but they rebuffed them, Hugh killing Black Cross as they did so. Stephen (Anne's evil husband who had recently returned from the Crusades), threatened to kill Emilie, but a plot by Hugh and Anne saves her. Stephen runs into the castle with Hugh in pursuit, Anne eventually killing Stephen with the Holy Lance. Emilie turns out to be the daughter of the King of France, and Hugh and Emilie get married, living well from then on.

Book information

• Description: 467 p. ; 24 cm.
• Subject: France—History—Medieval period, 987-1515
• Genre: Historical fiction.
• ISBN 0-316-60205-1