Heresy (2010) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• Fra Giordano Bruno: Philosopher, poet, scientist, magician and fugitive Italian monk.
• Phillip Sidney: Aristocratic soldier/poet and friend of Giordano
• Laski: Palatine to the court of Queen Elizabeth described by Giordano as " fat and red-faced <with> a wholly misplaced regard for his own importance and a great love of the sound of his own voice."
• John Underhill: Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford
• Sophia Underhill: John Underhill's daughter
• John Florio: Respected scholar and tutor of languages at Oxford
• Roger Mercer: Doctor of divinity and subrector of Lincoln College, Oxford
• Walter Slythurst: "college bursar, a bony, thin-lipped man...with narrow, suspicious eyes and lank hair that fell in curtains around his face"
• James Coverdale: Proctor responsible for students' discipline. "...a plump man of about forty with a great sweep of dark hair, a close-cropped beard, and an air of complacency.
• Richard Godwyn: Librarian, who appeared ...fifty, and whose large, drooping features reminded me of a bloodhound"
• Goodman Cobbett: College porter, "old man with a burst of wavy grey hair"
• Thomas Allen: A scholarship student, the son of the former subrector, Edmund Allen, who was exiled from England for being a papist.
• Rowland Jenkes: Earless bookbinder and stationer and Catholic.
• Doctor Bruno: Add a description of this character.
• Jerome Gilbert
• Gabriel Norris
• William Bernard
• Walsingham
• Foxe
• Philip Sidney
• Adam
• Humphrey Pritchard
• Lawrence Weston
• Edmund Allen
• Doctor Coverdale
• Master Slythurst
• Rector Underhill
• Mary
• Master Norris
• Ned
• Dean Flemyng
• Newell

Quotes edit see section history

• “So I learned that, in Italy, words and ideas are considered as dangerous as swords and arrows, and that a philosopher or a scientist needs as much courage as a soldier to speak his mind.”

  Giordano Bruno

• “The divinity is in all of us and in the substance of the universe.”

  Giordano Bruno

• “The Christian church is corrupt, every faction of it--this is what I want to convey.”

  Giordano Bruno

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “That we are all God,” I said, quietly. “The divinity is in all of us and in the substance of the universe. With the right knowledge, we can draw down all the powers of the cosmos. When we understand this, we can become equal to God.”

  Highlighted by 14 Kindle customers

• So I learned that, in Italy, words and ideas are considered as dangerous as swords and arrows, and that a philosopher or a scientist needs as much courage as a soldier to speak his mind.

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• What kind of a religion is that, Doctor Bruno, that makes men fall in love with death over life? Where is love, then? Where is human kindness?”

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• I hate religion and the way it makes men believe that they alone are right.”

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• “It works on the principle that the infinite diversity of matter in the universe is all interconnected, part of One Unity, animated by the Divinity, so the adept with the requisite knowledge can create links between the elements of the natural world and the celestial powers to which they correspond.”

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• Christendom desperately needed a new philosophy, one that would draw us together as we passed from the shadows of religious wars into the enlightenment of our shared humanity and shared divinity.

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• Playing politics with the lives of others was part of the path to advancement, but that, as I was just beginning to understand, was the real heresy.

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• “An ancient truth, of which the Christian faith is one later interpretation. A truth which, if it could be properly understood in our clouded age, might enlighten men instead of perpetuating these bloody divisions.”

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• “Because the Christian church is corrupt, every faction of it—this is what I want to convey. It is only a poor shadow, a dilution of an ancient truth that existed long before Christ walked the earth. If that were understood, then true reform of religion might be possible. Men might rise above the divisions for which so much blood has been spilled, and is still being spilled, and understand their essential unity.”

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• Agrippa had his knowledge of practical magic from an ancient manuscript known in Europe by the name of Picatrix,”

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London
• Oxford England
• Catherine Wheel Inn: Oxford, England business and meeting place for secret, late night Catholic worship services.
• Leicester
• Rheims
• Christ Church
• Lincoln College
• High Street
• Padua
• Windsor
• Catte Street
• Abingdon

Organizations edit see section history

• Monastery of San Domenico Maggiore, Naples: Add a description of this organization.
• Oxford University
• The Roman Catholic Church
• College de Sorbonne

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Prophecy.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. S. J. Parris (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.92

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery › Historical
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers
• Books › Literature & Fiction
• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Fiction › Historical

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• heresybook: Learn more about the author, get a timeline and cast of characters.

More Books Like This edit see section history