14 h 25 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 25 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Two brothers love the same woman. How much can honor ask them to surrender?
In H. Rider Haggard’s The Brethren, Sir Godfrey and Sir Wulf d’Arcy share blood, a knight’s code, and their love for Rosamund. Their English home offers no lasting peace. A great loss sends them eastward, where a difficult rescue tests the bonds they hold most dear. Rosamund, meanwhile, wants to follow her own conscience.
Their quest crosses Europe and the Middle East into the wars of the Crusades. Richard the Lionheart places their private struggle within a larger conflict. Saladin emerges as a wise, courteous opponent worthy of respect. Amid swords and sieges, the brothers face demands that pull against one another: love, faith, loyalty, and the duty to keep their word.
What you’ll discover
- Brotherhood under strain Follow Godfrey and Wulf as shared love puts their deepest loyalties to the test.
- A woman with conscience Meet Rosamund, whose fate draws the brothers eastward, yet whose own wishes still matter.
- An enemy worth respecting Encounter a Saladin whose dignity challenges any easy division between hero and foe.
- The cost of honor Explore what these knights are willing to lose rather than betray their word.
- The sweep of saga Settle into courtly speech and rich storytelling that give adventure a stately rhythm.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy crusader adventure, loyal brothers, daring horse rides, castles of mystery and a tender triangle of love and honor set against the war between Cross and Crescent.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An ambush at Death Creek in Essex
- Two brothers swear an oath of love
- Saladin's dream reaches an English hall
- A merchant with wine brings a Christmas trap
- Two pilgrims fall into Masouda's web
- A wild ride and a lion in the night
- Rosamund at sea with an emir and a traitor
- Inside the fortress of the Old Man
- Love, faith and honor across two worlds
Who’s who
- Godwin D'ArcyThe elder twin, a thoughtful and devout knight who loves Rosamund and holds to his oath more than to his own wishes.
- Wulf D'ArcyGodwin's bold, blue-eyed brother, a fierce fighter with a ready laugh who also loves Rosamund and would die for her.
- Rosamund D'ArcyA half English, half Syrian lady of great beauty and spirit, Saladin's niece, who longs only to live as a free Christian.
- Sir Andrew D'ArcyRosamund's father and the twins' uncle, an old crusader who once knew Saladin as a friend and fears what the Sultan wants.
- MasoudaA beautiful, secretive innkeeper and spy of the Assassins who guides the brothers and hides a deep loyalty of her own.
- SaladinThe Sultan of the East, just and stern, who acts on a dream that his niece will save many lives.
- Emir HassanSaladin's trusted prince, who carries out his master's plan with courtesy and honor despite hard orders.
- Sir Hugh LozelleA false knight and pirate who wants Rosamund for himself and serves any master who helps him.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 25 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Les Frères in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Les Frères
by H. Rider Haggard · 1904
Two twin knights swear to share one cousin's choice while Saladin's galley carries her away across the sea.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Can a dream in Damascus reach all the way to an Essex hall? In The Brethren, H. Rider Haggard sends the twin knights Godwin and Wulf D'Arcy after their cousin Rosamund, who is half English and half Syrian, and Saladin's niece.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An ambush at Death Creek in Essex
The story opens on the Essex coast, where Rosamund D'Arcy rides to the old shrine of St. Peter with her twin cousins, Godwin and Wulf. Rosamund is the daughter of Sir Andrew D'Arcy and his Syrian wife, so Saladin is her uncle. Godwin is quiet and devout, while Wulf is bold, quick and always ready with a joke.
On the way home, masked men block both paths beside a tidal inlet called Death Creek. They say a knight named Lozelle, a rejected suitor with a bad name at sea, wants Rosamund. Godwin tells her to swim her grey horse across the water while the brothers hold a narrow stone quay with their long swords.
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What is The Brethren by H. Rider Haggard about?
It follows twin English knights, Godwin and Wulf D'Arcy, who travel to Syria to rescue their cousin Rosamund after Saladin sends men to bring her to his court. Along the way they meet a spy, the Assassins and the war for Jerusalem.
Is The Brethren based on a true story?
Haggard presents the work as a romance set against the wars between the Crusaders and Saladin. His opening note describes Hattin and the surrender of Jerusalem as the historical background for his tale.
Who are Godwin and Wulf D'Arcy?
They are twin cousins of Rosamund, raised in Sir Andrew's house in Essex. Godwin is thoughtful, grey-eyed and devout, and Wulf is blue-eyed, broad and bold. Their shared love for Rosamund drives the story and tests their oath.
The author
H. Rider Haggard
1856–1925 · English adventure novelist
Henry Rider Haggard (1856–1925) was an English novelist. He was born in Norfolk, lived in southern Africa from 1875 to 1881, and later settled in Norfolk. He wrote King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887), and Beatrice (1890). He also wrote about agriculture and rural life. He died in London.
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