Orrain

A family feud drives Bertrand d'Orrain from a planned career in the Church into the dangers of sixteenth-century France. His older brother Simon bars him from their dying father's home, and Bertrand later enters court life in Paris and serves in an Italian campaign. Accusations involving a religious leaflet eventually force him into exile with his faithful companion Pierrebon. Bertrand tells these events in his own voice, looking back on the choices that cost him his property and security.

S. Levett Yeats's historical romance combines personal rivalry with court influence, religious conflict and affection under strain. A later passage follows Bertrand and Diane through the countryside of Poitou, where flowering hedges and birdsong share the scene with houses still burning in the distance. Her apology and their playful race offer a gentler moment amid the danger. Readers interested in historical adventure can follow a narrator whose concern for rank, loyalty and trust shapes both public troubles and private encounters.