Published 2005 / Length 694 pages
Kate Mosse’s richly imagined historical novel mixes conspiracy, intrigue and adventure through the astonishing narratives of its two central heroines, Alice Tanner and Alaïs Pelletier. Based on thorough research, the book conjures a believable version of thirteenth-century Languedoc, bringing to life the social, political and private lives of Cathars, northern Crusaders and the Inquisition. In the midst of brutal genocide, Alaïs struggles to protect an ancient secret, one that traces back to Egyptian civilization, a secret shrouded in mystery and protected by a shadowy cult. Alongside this narrative strand is a modern-day thriller, sparked when two skeletons are found in a cave during an unusual archaeological dig in southern France. With a plot that spans eight hundred years, Labyrinth is an ambitious story, made captivating and gripping by the two immersive worlds created by Mosse. Unlocking the secret of the labyrinth and the identities of the two corpses brings out the novel’s profound and moving central conundrum.
‘Labyrinth is very much a Girl’s Own story: a grail quest in which women aren’t helpless creatures to be rescued, or decorative bystanders, but central to the action, with the capacity to change history.’ – The Observer
• Strong women abound in this novel, both heroines and villains. Where do you think the novel’s emphasis lies, though, on what it takes to be a ‘strong woman’?
• In contrast, what do you think of the men in the book – specifically Will Franklin, Jehan Congost, Guilhem du Mas and Audric Baillard?
• There are many religions and cultures in the book; what do you think the book’s principal message is about differences or similarities of faith?
• How successful do you think the dual narrative is? What do the two stories reveal in each other?
• How do more recent acts of genocide, such as the Holocaust, compare to the events described in Labyrinth? Do you think the book offers a response to war?
• The book was selected as the Best Read of 2006 by the Richard & Judy Book Club.
• Kate Mosse co-founded the Orange Prize for Fiction.
• During the research and writing of Labyrinth, Mosse set up a website with her husband (www.mosselabyrinth.co.uk), which captured her creative process and built a community around her passion for the history of southern France in the thirteenth century.
• In July 2006, sales of Labyrinth in the UK reached 1 million copies.
• The Name of the Rose by UMBERTO ECO – a mystery set in a monastery in 1327 Italy, during a similar period of heresy and Inquisition.
• Fugitive Pieces by ANNE MICHAELS – a young boy runs from the Nazis, escaping into history and poetry.
• The Da Vinci Code by DAN BROWN – an inventive grail-quest conspiracy.
• Enlightenment by MAUREEN FREELY – strong women struggle to unlock the truth behind a gruesome murder.