The tale Heloise and Abelard has captivated the attentions of romantics since the twelfth century. Heloise was a woman beyond her time: educated, fierce, and unafraid to be herself. When Peter Abelard, a radical philosopher determined to reform the archaic practices of the Church from within, becomes her private tutor, the attraction is overwhelming. Their passionate love affair soon becomes dangerous, as enemies and opportunists hide in every shadow.
In the twenty-first century, Arthur, a historian and author, roams the city of Paris to step into the shoes of Peter Abelard, to understand his true reasoning for abandoning Heloise. Needing to discuss his hypothesis and hoping for to reconcile, Arthur invites his estranged daughter, Julia, to Paris. But Julia could care less about lovers long dead; she is on a mission to discover the truth about her parents, and why her father left.
Told in alternating narratives that transcend centuries, Love Without End delivers an unflinching look into relationships, fractured and whole, to discover the true nature of love in all its forms.
"Melvyn Bragg brings a fascinated attention to the moral complexities of a love story we all thought we knew, but perhaps did not understand well enough. His compassion for Abelard and Heloise makes brilliantly real and present to us their anguished journey from erotic excess towards the mystical sublime."
Rose Tremain, award-winning author of Merivel: A Man of His Time
"A tour de force - a moving, poignant, compelling tale, wonderfully told. I have never read such true and compellingly depicted accounts of sexual desire and encounter, and Paris, both medieval and modern, comes vividly before one."
A.C. Grayling, philosopher and author of The Age of Genius and The God Argument
