Already an international bestseller and nominated for the prestigious Goncourt Prize in France, 'Farewell, My Only One' is a stunning re-invention of the classic love story of Heloise and Abelard, and affair that has so captured hearts across the centuries that it has been called "the invention of love".
Set amid the vibrant colour, intellectual ferment and tumult of twelfth-century Paris, we follow every turn of this passionate and doomed relationship through the eyes of William, and idealistic, young British monk who is, himself, in love with Heloise and devoted to Abelard.
With great literary grace, lush description and harrowing emotional authenticity, Audouard brings to life Abelard's scandalous passion for his educated and charming student, their flight and secret marriage, the barbaric and horrifying revenge of the girl's uncle, their long years of separation, their famous letters to each other, and, finally, the demise of a broken Abelard, who books have been burned and whose only solace is the thought of the woman who never stopped loving him.
