The Tale of the English Templar

By: Helena P. Schrader
Publisher: Cross Seas Press
Publication Date: March 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8987177082
Reviewed by: Douglas C. MacLeod, Jr.
Review Date: May 22, 2025

Helena P. Schrader, author of the Bridge to Tomorrow series, which brilliantly speaks about the perils and personal sacrifices surrounding the Berlin Crisis during the last years of World War II, has once again developed a stirring and compelling narrative using global, medieval history as its backdrop in her newest work The Tale of the English Templar, a complex story with long-dead figures who contended with (what one could argue are) real-world, 21st century problems.

It is October 13, 1307, and the Knights Templar, a once powerful military order founded in 1119, is on the brink of being defunded and disbanded by France’s King Phillip IV, who is putting pressure on then Pope Clement V to help dissolve and destroy the Order. Thus, those who once valiantly fought for a new world order were now becoming the hunted. The story itself centers on Sir Percival “Percy” de Lacy, a Poor Knight of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, who, at 25 years old, had been a Templar for six years. He is tasked with carrying dispatches from the Seneschal of the Order in Cyprus to the Master, who is temporarily in France by invitation. The Templar does his duty but unfortunately is still in France when the French king strikes, leading to de Lacy’s eventual arrest, torture, and transformation into a bold resistance leader after being found bruised, battered, and on the brink of death by stalwart good Samaritans. de Lacy becomes a representative of the Templars during this horrendous time in their history, and Schrader, as the author of this well-constructed and easy to read historical novel, uses de Lacy’s harrowing and gut-wrenching story to show how change can happen when one stands tall and is willing to risk one’s body, while fighting with mind, soul and spirit for an admirable cause.

Very much like Schrader’s prior works, The Tale of the English Templar is masterful in its mixture of fictionalized narrative and well-researched history. At moments, the dialogue is sometimes too American-English, 2025 for it to resonate as true (which, admittedly, it is not supposed to being that this work is fictionalized); however, most of the expository text excellently showcases Schrader’s uncanny and expert abilities to weave a robust story out of her professional understandings of the times and the subject matter. Schrader holds a PhD in history from the University of Hamburg and rather than provide a non-fiction dissertation on the Knights of Templar, which could be dry and flavorless, she uses her skills as a “historian, diplomat, and novelist” to construct a pseudo-cinematic story with such trusty standards as the fight between good and evil; political and religious intrigue; violence in war; the power of love through sacrifice; able-bodied protagonists and vicious, unrelenting antagonists. These types of stories still resonate today, and Schrader knows how to conflate both worlds to create a story we all can relate to, even if on the most miniscule of levels.

The Tale of the English Templar is yet another win for Schrader as well as its readers, providing its audience with reliable, credible information while also keeping readers engaged with a powerful story about how drive and perseverance can lead to personal success, whatever that may look like.

Quill says: The Tale of the English Templar is another wonderfully readable text from a knowledgeable writer and fabulous storyteller.

For more information about The Tale of the English Templar, please visit the author's website at: helenapschrader.net

Author Interview