The Tale of the English Templar

By: Helena P. Schrader
Publisher: Cross Seas Press
Publication Date: March 31, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-9871770-8-2
Reviewed by: Rebecca Jane Johnson
Review Date: April 29, 2025

The Tale of the English Templar follows the 14th century political upheaval relating to the fall of the Knights Templar. This novel is written by the award-winning author of 26 titles, Helena P. Schrader, who happens to be a brilliant historian with a gift for depicting the poignant details that make a historical period come alive through fiction.

While en route to Cyprus, Sir Percy de Lacy stops for the night at a monastery in France. That same night, local authorities, under the orders of King Philip IV, surprise the monks in the dead of night and arrest them for no fathomable reason. Percy, though an Englishman, is taken into custody along with the monks. The police and a Dominican Commander torture the monks to force them to admit to horrible crimes and Percy faces tests of strength and faith.

Around this time, a family of French nobility gets swept up into political upheaval of the day, and Percy eventually makes the acquaintance of Felice, one daughter of this noble family who escapes an undesired arranged marriage by running to join a convent. The noble family has another daughter and two sons, all trying to navigate their place in the social order of the day while living with a tyrannical mother who reigns as a mean dowager. When Felice and Percy meet, their fates entwine in thrilling ways.

This novel contains a list of well-drawn main characters — the noble family, the Preuthunes, Percy, the Knight, Umberto, a clergyman, and the Bishop of Albi. The narrative arc meanders through complex relationships and compelling scenes. Scenes take place in beautiful French countryside, prisons, manor houses, the royal court, and the Catholic Papal realms, and tribunals highlight the struggles of the falsely accused. A group of the bold fighters make every attempt against the tyranny of King Phillip IV, while the noble families try to keep their hold on their wealth and status. The story reveals ways nobility ingratiate themselves to the king, while humble monks and rebels rise against the French monarchy. Dominican authorities show ferocious determination to learn all they can about the Templar’s stores of wealth and riches. Those leading the resistance appeal to everyone with influence that they know, but find no one willing to oppose the King for the sake of the Templars. Even though most of the peers of France acknowledged that the charges against the Templars were absurd, eventually the Templar wealth refills the royal treasury. To strategically lessen the pressure the King might otherwise have exerted on noble purses, individual noblemen make individual pleas for their own sons, brothers, and uncles but not for the Templar Order as a whole. The vivid depiction of personalities, uprisings, romances, passions, and tragedies surrounding the fall of the Knights Templar make this book a shining example of excellent historical fiction.

Quill says: The Tale of the English Templar transports readers to 14th Century France, giving readers a thrilling, relatable experience of all the internal and external conflicts that were endured by characters who fought tyranny with courage.

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