LONDON, Nov. 18, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- In 1209, as the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars looms in Southern France, a young son of a Templar knight sets out on a pilgrimage that turns into a journey within himself in David Couling's new novel, Narrow is the Way: an allegory of what was, and is, and might have been (now available through AuthorHouse).
Bernard, the son of Sir Geoffrey Monsignore, departs for Santiago de Compostela in honor of his recently deceased mother. His travels are halted when he reaches Languedoc, France, as the fight against the Cathars is in full swing. The Cathars, those who subscribe to the figurative interpretations of the Bible and who believe in the mysteries of Gnostic Christianity, are being persecuted as heretics. Because of the long campaign to punish the Cathars, which was sparked by a papal decree, little is known about their beliefs. Today they are shrouded in controversy.
A devious hunter of heretics causes Bernard to stop his journey. He spends some time with the countess in her castle and is placed with a Cathar family. He is not yet aware that Monsignore billeted him to live with this family because of his own ulterior motives.
Throughout the book, this young man is exposed slowly to the Cathar teachings, which Couling includes in this fascinating historical novel. He weaves these beliefs with a dramatic, suspenseful plot that is tinged with Bernard's romantic endeavors.
Narrow is the Way is an intriguing tale that moves through the intense landscape of the day, which is overshadowed by forebodings of the calamity about to be unleashed against the Cathars.
Couling, born in New Zealand, lives in London, where he has had several art exhibitions. He earned a degree in fine arts, studied in Munich, Germany and taught English for five years in Rome. Couling is a lifelong student of the "perennial philosophy" and its underlying presence in the great religious and philosophical traditions of the world.