Thank you for your kind review of my novel. I am glad that you at least liked some parts of it and feel you can recommend it, even with qualifications. I will say that I made very intentional choices with regard to the balance of history and fiction and I do not apologize for that. My Author’s Note states my intentions quite clearly and references many scholarly books for readers to go to for a historian’s perspective, including Mr. Malouf’s work. The story is very much structured for a specific purpose — presenting how the Crusaders would have been seen by Muslims and Jews, with a fictionalized love story between Saladin and a Jewish woman that serves to explore the complex dynamics between these communities. Those who approach my novel as a fictional tale tend to appreciate it better than those who are looking for a transcription of historical textbooks.

You may disagree with the story adjustments I made and would have written a novel on the Third Crusade differently, and that is fine. I would suggest that my novel is more accurate than many of the popular and beloved works of historical fiction such as “The Other Bolyen Girl” (which I enjoyed throughly as a novel, despite its historical problems). The challenge for an artist when creating a work that is set in a historical framework is that some people will seek out the deviations from history books while ignoring what the artist is actually trying to do. There are people who still criticize “The Last Temptation of Christ” by Nikos Kazantzakis because the first century Jews eat tomatoes (which did not exist in the Middle East at the time) or because he puts salt water fish in the sea of Galilee (which is fresh water). And yet that book remains one of the most powerful explorations of faith ever written.

The greatest works of historical art, including medieval paintings and sculpture, are divergent from the historical events that they are portraying. Michelangelo’s David is uncircumcised. Medieval paintings of ancient Jerusalem make the city look like Florence. And Jesus is consistently drawn with European features (tall and blonde, rather than short and dark like 1st century Levantine Jews). And yet most people understand that the purpose of these works is to convey emotions and ideas rather than to catalog historical data.

I do notice that the recommendation you give is to Mr. Malouf’s history book rather than any other work of historical fiction on the Crusades. Most novels on the Crusades are wildly inaccurate with regard to showing Muslim perspectives on these events and rarely receive any criticism for these errors. Misrepresenting Saladin’s life seems to be fair game for many authors, but choosing to leave Berengaria out of a story on the Crusades provokes immediate comment.

I am at least glad that I opened the door for other authors to broaden their approach on the subject. Even though you may disagree with my choices as to where to draw the line between history and fiction, I hope you will agree that my book is well written and engaging.