Read many years ago, still remember it as excellent. Thomas B. Costain was a fantastic author.

FROM AMAZON: Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of an English peer, is forced to flee from Oxford for his part in the university riots of 1273. Inspired by Friar Bacon, he determines to travel to China. With his friend Tristam, he fights his way to the heart of the fabulous Mongol Empire and returns famous, to find that he must choose between the first love he thought lost and the exotic flower that he found in the East.

"Solid in its facts, colorful and romantic...a rich and remarkable historical tapestry." (Christian Science Monitor) ( )

Romp through 12th Century England. Some parts a bit slow though. ( )

Pleasant enough historical epic of the 1200s, although, having enjoyed the Tyrone Power / Orson Welles movie version, I found the novel flat and tedious in places, by comparison. I expected more character depth and excitement in the book, but found rather less.

Still, if the last twenty pages don't move you, you have not an iota of romance in your soul. ( )

if more history was written like this... ( )

The Black Rose is a long historical novel set during the reign of Edward the First of England. Walter of Gurnie, also sometimes called the Bastard, is a scholar at Oxford as the book opens. Walter and a new friend, Tristram, run afoul of the authorities and need to leave England for a while. Walter had recently heard Roger Bacon speak and, inspired by his remarks on the Far East, Walter pawns his inheritance from his father and the two set off to Cathay and the court of Kublai Khan to make their fortune. This is the story of their journey there and back again with plenty of adventure and even some romance. I had read this many years ago and I found that I still enjoyed the story very much.