Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet - the names of Heloise and Abelard stand beside those in the register of "great lovers". But who were they?
In an evocative and richly researched work of historical biography James Burge set out to discover and engrossingly portrays the lives and correspondence of two astonishingly "modern" human beings from 900 years ago.
Abelard was a brilliant philosopher in Paris. Heloise, his student 15 years his junior, was a poet already famous for her learning, a woman with a uniquely powerful insight into her own feelings. The letters they wrote to each other - some of which have only recently come to light - open a miraculous window onto the story of their affair.
We know about their terms of endearment, about the passion of their lovemaking, of stolen moments in churches, of their erotic play. The letters tell the story of the birth of their child, of their secret marriage and the violence and tragedy which followed, culminating in a brutal attack in which Abelard was castrated.
In panic and shame the couple separated to continue their lives - and very successful careers - in monasteries. But their love continued through their letters.
