Portada The Workshop of Forbidden Books

The Workshop of Forbidden Books

Publishing date:4/02/2011

Synopsis:

Cologne, 15th Century. The winds of reform and change are whipping through a Europe still governed by old beliefs and superstitions. Access to knowledge is in the hands of the few. However, a small group of erudite men meeting in absolute secrecy are united by a common goal: to spread culture amongst the people. How? Through books. But beforehand they will have to overcome the barriers set in place by the church – which doesn’t want “dangerous” works such as the Gospels to reach the masses – and the nobility – who want to hold on to their privileges. One man rises to meet this challenge; a modest goldsmith named Lorenz, helped by his daughter. However, the price to be paid for his insolence could be high: his life and those of everyone close to him.

Highlights

Highlights The Workshop of Forbidden Books

An intense and epic novel about the magic of books. Along the lines of The Pillars of the Earth: the struggle of one man to see his dream become reality.

International Editions

Technical Data

Technical data

Publishing date: 4/02/2011

ISBN: 978-84-270-3709-0

Pages: 640

Imprint: Ediciones Martínez Roca

Rights sold

Mondadori (Italy), Marcador (Portugal), Aleksandra i Andrzej Kurylowicz (Poland).

Reviews

Readers will find it easy to identify with the novel’s plot: the struggle between the corrupt and powerful who want to control everything and idealistic characters who rebel in support of a new invention.

The novel is like a fresco of the city of Cologne in the 15th Century. The author describes everything: the monuments, geography, merchandise, jobs of the period, food, streets, dress, interiors of the houses...