Reading Group Guide

THE BURNING TIMES is a story of a woman, told by a woman, that is
mystical and harsh in its recreation of history. Reminiscent of
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series, Jeanne Kalogridis has
crafted a triumphant tale of love and compassion.

Mother Marie Françoise is an immensely powerful priestess
whose healing powers have been declared anti-Church. After a
lifetime of hiding from the forces of the Inquisition, she allows
herself to be captured by them.

It is after her capture, when a young priest has been ordered to
take her confession, that Kalogridis introduces Marie's story. The
Dominican Brother Michel believes that Marie is not "relapsa," or
one who had taken Christ into her heart and then consciously
rejected faith. He offers her a chance to confess her sins and save
herself from burning at the stake. The story she reveals, however,
is one of magic and pagan ritual, most definitely not a tale of
Christianity.

Given the cruelty of the Church's Inquisition, Marie's heretical
story is inspiring and compassionate. In her beliefs, all things
are sacred. In the Church, at the time of the Inquisition, all
things are suspect and subject to burning. Michel quickly succumbs
to her charms.

Marie begins, quite simply, at the beginning. Despite Michel's
urgings to condense her confession, she does not. Her stubborn
insistence on sharing everything with her audience allows her to
captivate the reader and Michel completely. Born to a superstitious
Christian Frenchwoman and an Italian descendent of "The Race,"
Marie chooses to follow the religion of her father. The members of
"The Race" follow a pagan religion worshipping the Earth Mother,
known to Romans as Diana and adopted by the Church into the Virgin
Mary. Marie has the power to be the Goddess incarnate, if she can
overcome fear and find her predestined love.  

Kalogridis underplays this rather obvious key to salvation well.
While she makes it obvious that THE BURNING TIMES is a story of
redeeming love, she does not make it easy for love to triumph.
Marie, Michel, and their supporting cast seem to be constantly
outmaneuvered and defeated.

Kalogridis doesn't forget the historical events of war, plague, and
burnings at the stake. These fueled the superstitious and
suspicious times of 14th century France. She describes the horrors
clearly and with purpose. These are terrible incidents but they
give meaning to Marie's destiny and lead her to both her love and
her enemy.

THE BURNING TIMES lays the foundation for more of Marie's
adventures in history. Jeanne Kalogridis has created a heroine of
epic proportions and a cast of characters that are equally rich. No
stranger to series, Kalogridis is the author of the Diaries of the
Family Dracul trilogy and, hopefully, she will continue the saga of
Marie, Michel, and the French Inquisition in the near future.