6 h 53 minAudiobook16 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take for an unlikely hero to win a lady’s heart in a world ruled by honour?
In The Geste of Duke Jocelyn, Jeffery Farnol brings disguise, chivalry and romance into a medieval adventure. Knights and nobles belong to this world, but wealth is not its deepest measure of worth. Honour, courage and love shape the tale, giving its unlikely hero more to pursue than glory alone.
A geste is a tale of heroic deeds, and the title points toward old traditions of knights and outlaws. Farnol’s rich, old-fashioned language invites you to linger as well as follow the adventure. Approach it like an old ballad unfolding into a long story, where loyalty to a lady or a friend carries real weight.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely romantic hero Follow a romance that gives an unexpected hero a lady’s heart to win.
- The lure of disguise Discover the appeal of disguise within a tale of chivalry and adventure.
- Honour before wealth Enter a chivalric world where honour matters more than the wealth a person holds.
- Loyalty with real weight Explore a tradition that treats devotion to a lady or friend as serious duty.
- Language worth lingering over Settle into ornate sentences and the bold voice of an old-fashioned historical romance.
Who will love it
Readers who like knights, outlaws and witches, songs and riddling wordplay, and a hero who wins hearts with wit and kindness. It suits anyone who enjoys a tale told with a wink.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scarred duke walks the road disguised
- Folly sings his way into Canalise
- A fool woos by the lily pool
- Pertinax goes fishing and meets Melissa
- The Fool in the dungeon sings of freedom
- A witch saves Robin from the gallows
- Outlaws, a haunted wood and a man raised from the dead
- The tournament at Canalise
- Folly, wisdom and the art of the telling
Who’s who
- Duke JocelynA scarred, quick-witted duke who disguises himself as the jester Joconde so that Yolande may love the man rather than his rank.
- Sir Pertinax of SheneThe duke's gruff, hook-nosed knight who curses cheerfully, loves beef and fighting, and is stumped by a dark-eyed girl.
- Yolande the FairA proud, lovely lady courted by many knights, who must decide whom she loves beneath the cap and bells.
- MelissaA dark-haired, teasing girl who flees armed foresters, wears a crowned crystal heart and quickly takes Pertinax's measure.
- Robin of the GreenA witty outlaw chief, rescued from the gallows, who talks in knots and rules the forest merrily.
- Lobkyn LolloA strong, humpbacked dwarf who cannot stop speaking in rhyme and longs to be a fierce fighter.
- MopsaA beak-nosed witch, feared and loved, who casts spells to save her friends and sets a test for lovers.
- Sir Gui the RedA proud, cruel lord of Ells who wants Yolande by force and swears revenge on the Fool.
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
- 6 h 53 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 16 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 Gesta del duca Jocelyn 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.
Gesta del duca Jocelyn
by Jeffery Farnol · 1919
A scarred duke dresses as a jester and sings his way toward the lady he hopes will love him.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Geste of Duke Jocelyn is a medieval romance told in rhyme, blank verse and plain prose by Jeffery Farnol, who died in 1952. He wrote it for his young daughter Gillian, and she keeps breaking into the story to scold, tease and give orders.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scarred duke walks the road disguised
The story opens with a chat between the author and his daughter Gillian. She insists that a hero must be handsome, and he answers that his duke is ugly for a good reason. They settle on a compromise, which is that the duke is much less ugly when he smiles. After that the tale begins, and Farnol promises to tell it as the old storytellers did, in prose, blank verse and rhyme.
On a hot, dusty road two travelers trudge along. One is tall, dressed in motley, with a fool's cap and bells, and his face is badly scarred. The other is Sir Pertinax of Shene, a bony, hook-nosed knight who curses the heat, the dust and the lack of beer. The jester is Duke Jocelyn, and he explains at a shady brook why they are dressed so poorly.
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What is The Geste of Duke Jocelyn about?
It follows a scarred duke who disguises himself as a jester to win the lady Yolande. On the road he meets outlaws, a witch, a rhyming dwarf and a runaway duchess, and he wins friends by mercy and wit.
Why does Gillian keep interrupting the story?
Farnol wrote the tale for his daughter, so she appears as a character who comments, objects and gives orders. Her chatter makes the telling playful and lets the author joke about what readers want.
What is the Crystal Heart?
It is a jewel with a crowned heart inside a crystal heart. A rhyme says that whoever takes it takes all, and those who know it obey its holder, which matters in the dungeon at Canalise.
The author
Jeffery Farnol
1878–1952 · English adventure novelist
Jeffery Farnol was a British novelist born in Birmingham, England, in 1878. He lived in England and, for several years, in the United States. He wrote historical romances and adventure stories. His novels include The Broad Highway (1910) and The Amateur Gentleman (1913). He died in Eastbourne, England, in 1952.
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