To Calais, In Ordinary Time - James Meek

Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical FictionLonglisted for the Orwell Prize for Political FictionThree journeys. One road.England, 1348. A gentlewoman flees an odious arranged marriage, a proctor sets out for a monastery in Avignon and a young ploughman in search of freedom is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. In the other direction comes the Black Death, the plague that will wipe out half of the population of Northern Europe.To Calais, In Ordinary Time is an exploration of love, death and power, against the backdrop of catastrophe.