Pagan's Crusade

Omnibus Books, 1992 – newest
edition, Allen & Unwin, 2007

Book One in the ‘Pagan Chronicles’

Available from
Allen & Unwin
Amazon
iTunes

Other books in the ‘Pagan Chronicles’
Pagan in Exile | Pagan’s Vows
Pagan’s Scribe | Pagan’s Daughter

In the first adventure of the ‘Pagan Chronicles’, sixteen-year-old Pagan is assigned to work for Lord Roland de Bram, a Templar knight, in medieval Jerusalem. Set against a background of mounting tension as the Infidel army closes in on the city, Pagan’s Crusade traces the growing friendship between the knight and his orphaned squire.

This title is also available in the United States (Candlewick Press) and Germany (Carl Hanser Verlag).

‘Pagan . . . tells his adventures in chatty, modern English in a story full of pace and humour.’
The Observer

‘This book is a great, big, unholy delight . . . Jinks deftly interweaves the customs, clothing and food of medieval times with jokes, sharp caricatures and stench.’
The Australian

‘As a historical novel, Pagan’s Crusade is at once thoroughly ground-breaking and part of a solid tradition . . . Catherine Jinks has the capacity to overcome any current preconceptions
about the genre.’
Viewpoint

Click here for more reviews

Young Adult

lalucela

Hi, sorry to post this here, but there doesn’t seem to be any other way of bringing this to your attention. Did you realise this is the bolded description of Pagan’s Crusade on Goodreads?
“Catherine Jinks spins a colorful tale loaded with action, down-and-dirty details of mediaeval life, and a healthy helping of sarcasm, sure to appeal to a teen reader – especially boys.” <- wut. "…especially boys."?
This series was one of my absolute favourites as a young reader, for so many reasons. I still recommend it to any- and everyone whenever we get a copy at the second hand bookstore where I work. I would hate to think anyone was put off reading this just because it's "for boys".
- Catherine Jinks
  
  I try not to look at goodreads because I try not to read reviews – the bad ones can chip away at your confidence, and you need confidence to keep writing. (Edits are bad enough.) However, that blurb you mentioned sounds like a very old one, from years back, when people were very worried about how boys didn’t seem to be reading as much as girls.
  Nowadays, of course, there are probably an equal number of girls not reading – and we’ve got a bit more subtle about attracting male readers. But you’re quite right – I get the impression that the ‘Pagan’ books were always more popular with female than male readers (unlike the ‘Genius’ books). So apart from anything else, this goodreads logline (or whatever it is) is just plain wrong. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what to do about it, though. I have no internet skills whatsoever.
  Thanks so much for spruiking Pagan. It’s lovely to know he still has friends – especially ones who work in bookshops. I’m very grateful! And feel free to post ANYTHING here; it’s my only contact with the outside world …
  Subject: Re: New comment posted on Pagan’s Crusade
Emily

I just want to tell you how much I love these books. They are the funniest, most moving books I have ever read. They really mean a lot to me and I am forever grateful that you wrote them!!!
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Thank you so much, Emily – I appreciate your heartwarming message – it’s nice to know that Pagan is still remembered fondly some twenty years after his birth!
  Subject: Re: New comment posted on Pagan’s Crusade
Tobie

I’ve been to the Templar Headquarters in Acre. It’s pretty neat. I still have the flyer, its permanent home is in the pages of Pagan’s Crusade.

I’ve also been to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but don’t have any pamphlets.
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Oh, wow. You lucky thing. I’ve never been anywhere near Jerusalem – and the only Templar church I’ve ever visited is the one in London. Don’t lose that pamphlet! (I’ve still got pamphlets from my first visit to Europe thirty-odd years ago.)
  Subject: Re: New comment posted on Pagan’s Crusade
Greg

Still love Pagan!
- Catherine Jinks
  
  OMG Greg, are you still out there? It’s a miracle we’re not both dead! So good to hear from you – still chugging along, I trust?
  - Greg
    
    Yes still alive!
Alfie

Hello Catherine
Unfortunately i wont have much time available to read this book in the upcoming period of time that has been set to me. If possible, may you please give me a brief overview of each chapter i know this is a lot to ask and hopefully it wont take too much time from you, if this is possible that would be great. This would allow me to get an understanding of the book and i will read it in a later time.
- Catherine Jinks
  
  I’m sorry, Alfie, but it’s been twenty-seven years since I wrote that book and I don’t actually remember what happens, chapter by chapter – all I remember is a broad overview.
  - Alfie
    
    oh wow, sorry i had no clue of the age of this book. Thank you for responding
Gina B.

I have been looking for the audio version of Pagan’s Crusade (and all of Pagan’s Chronicles) . Looks like there is an audio version read by Mr. Wemyss that was available as an audio tape format but that is no longer sold, and no cd or downloadaable format shows up so perhaps never was available. Could the audio version be made available to check out from library through Overdrive or to purchase through a download site such as Google books? If not, any chance there are some copies of the audio tapes versions laying stashed in boxes somewhere that might be brought out and put out for sale (for some of us who still have perfectly good tape players)?

Gina
Catherine Jinks

Hi Gina – sorry about the delay in replying – I’ve been away. It so happens that I have a few of those old tape sets, so if you’d like one, I’d be only too happy to send it to you. My agent has a P.O Box address – Margaret Connolly, PO Box 945 Wahroonga 2076 NSW – so maybe you should send a cheque through to her, to cover the postage and packaging (the amount depends where you are – Australia or overseas) and I can post you the tapes? They’re in a box about the size of an old plastic VCR box. (Remember those? I remember BETA!!!)
- Gina B.
  
  Thank you Catherine! I would be delighted to buy the set. More than delighted! I’m in USA, postal code NY 13037. Will an international money order be easy for you to deposit? I can send that to your agent. Then please wait until it arrives and clears before sending the tapes.
Catherine Jinks

Hi Gina – I’ve just been digging around in the archives and realise that I’ve only got tapes for the first three Pagans, but only one SPARE SET – for Pagan in Exile. I’m thinking I should keep at least one set for each book (since they’re obviously so rare!) but you can certainly have the spare ‘Pagan in Exile’. Since you live in New York, though, it’s going to be pretty expensive to post – the set is as big as an old VHS box. I’ll have to take it up to the post office and get an idea of how much it will cost. Then I’ll tell you and you can send the money order to my agent.
- Gina B.
  
  Catherine, I apologize: I am very VERY sorry for not replying sooner! And thank you so much for checking on what audio tapes you have available. On the one hand, I would love to have your one extra Pagan in Exile. On the other hand, I fell compelled to point out that may not be your best option and I may not be the most deserving recipient: They do seem to be rare and there are so many fans of Pagan, and although I am a fan of your works, I haven’t read any of the Pagan series yet so can’t count as Pagan fan (though I do expect I will be joining that crowd). I was actually hunting for the first book on tape because I only just this year discovered your works — Pagan sounds so interesting and I have been enjoying everything on audio I could get ahold of here… but just could not find audio version of Pagan anywhere. So I haven’t read any Pagan books yet at all (however, I am going to get the print version as that is available). That’s why I feel I don’t deserve the only extra Pagan in Exile audio that exists in the whole world! But if you decide you don’t want to auction it to the highest bidder (and you probably should seriously consider doing that ) or give to an already longstanding Pagan fan, then do keep me in mind as definitely interested… and in that case let me know when and if you find out the shipping costs (and add to the cost for the actual tapes too) and I would gladly send that to your agent.
  Gina
- Greg
  
  What year do the tapes date from, Catherine? In which territory were they released? I wonder who owns the copyright in the recording?
  - Gina B.
    
    I wonder, too. When looking for Pagan’s Crusade audio through Overdrive, I found the following message: “UNAVAILABLE in your region. We can’t find this title to buy or borrow in your region. This book is only available in the following regions: Singapore, Australia, New Zealand.” I’m thinking it sounds like Overdrive actually has the title as ebook or audio that it can lend out in some parts of the world but not here in U.S. If so, very frustrating. Copyrights must be complicated, with audio and electronic downloads in addition to cd, tape, and print. Maybe this could be renegotiated so that Overdrive could make Pagan audios available to the rest of the world (through libraries) or Audible or something. (Off to library to pick up the actual book which is widely availble in U.S. thank goodness)
    
    Gina
    - Catherine Jinks
      
      Hi Gina
      
      I’ve just worked out that I have two copies of Pagan in Exile AND Pagan’s Vows. I might wait a little while to see if anyone pops up who desperately need them for anything, but if no one does, I’d still be happy to send. I daresay nobody will be able to listen to them for much longer anyway, because wither (a) they’ll deteriorate or (b) there won’t be any casette players left in the world!
      - Gina B.
        
        Hi Catherine, That sounds very good to me; that way if ever they do come my way I will not feel too guilty to enjoy them if l know the original Pagan fans had a chance! (But please do also check whether you could sell to highest bidder and use the money to build a new wing of children’s hospital!). In the meantime, I have a hardback Pagan’s Crusade from interlibrary loan and enjoying immensely.
        
        I will be keeping my tape players going as long as possible! Even if Sony quits making them, I’ll get my old ones repaired. I’m hanging on to my favorite books on tape. The tapes themselves don’t self destruct in a couple decades like the CD media. Tapes should be perfectly fine for many years (though I’ll have to keep a mending kit and learn how to splice).
        
        I hope someday the Pagan audio versions are allowed to be more widely available, such as through Overdrive. Given a good narrator, the audiobook version lengthens the enjoyment, doesn’t skip or miss anything, and also pronounces words and names correctly. When I read with my own eyes, I tend to “gobble” books too fast and really miss a lot. I didn’t realize I missed so much until I started to listen to books I’d already read and thought I knew well. And the narrators bring something of their own that is often truly wonderful that I could never do for myself (I’m thinking of Mandy Williams singing Birdie’s fabulous gruesome songs).
        
        Gina
      - Catherine Jinks
        
        Oh yes, speed reading – it’s a curse. The writer Helen Garner once went to a speed reading teacher to ask if there was any way she could teach herself to read more slowly, and he looked at her as if she had two heads. But I know EXACTLY WHAT SHE MEANT!
      - Greg
        
        I can encode audio cassette to mp3, so it would be preserved for digital posterity (and Pagans many fans!) but there’s the copyright issue – and I’m a few K miles from the tapes!
  - Catherine Jinks
    
    Hi Greg! Long time no message! Boy, are we ancient or what?
    
    I’ve got the first three talking books here. All of them are labelled ‘Louis Braille Books’ (South Yarra, Victoria, Australia) and are read by actor Stig Wemyss. The dates on two of the tapes (Pagan in Exile and Pagan’s Vows) are 1994 and 1995. I’ve no idea if Louis Braille Books still own the copyright. Since the tapes are over twenty years old, I don’t even know if they’re still playable! And now I’m just going to pop down and reply to Gina’s last message … I can’t believe that she actually messaged you!
    - Greg
      
      Older and wiser, Catherine! And in your case, hopefully closer to writing us more about a certain Mr P Kidrouk! How can we tempt you!
      
      Providing the cassettes haven’t been stored at extreme temperatures they should play back OK. The compact cassette format was very forgiving – I have tapes going back to 1979 which still play OK. The copyright in the recording probably still belongs to an entity, whether Louise Braille Books are still trading or not.
Sue Bursztynski

I just picked this off my shelves today and reread in a sitting. I’d forgotten how good it was and now I must reread the lot!
Avi Anflight

Ah, the book that started it all. To be honest, my friend and I were drawn to it because of Pagan’s smug little smirk on the cover! Even though we fancy the one where he’s holding the sword far more, we have to commend the illustrators.
- Avi Anflight
  
  Also, you said something about…audio tapes?
Catherine Jinks

Yeah – a ‘talking book’ was once recorded ON CASSETTE (so last century) but I don’t think they’re available anymore …
- Avi Anflight
  
  Ah, okay. Who created it?
Catherine Jinks

A mob called ‘Louis Braille Books’. I’ve no idea if they exist anymore.
Greg

Still love Pagan!
Catherine Jinks

Aw, Greg. So faithful! Glad you’re still around – it’s been a long time!
I’ve recently picked up a couple of new fans – from America, I think – but I think we can safely say you remain number one!
Avi Anflight

Hey, Catherine! It’s Avi, again! Sorry if I’m spamming your comments – Elymas and I are trying to type in moderation. I just wanted to let you know that the Pagan Chronicles she ordered me for my birthday have arrived, and I intend to enjoy them to their full capacity. Once again, we adore your writing, and we wish you a Happy Halloween!
Catherine Jinks

Happy birthday, Avi! We don’t celebrate Halloween over here as much as you do over there (I think because the weather’s better over here, at this time of year) but I hope you enjoy yourselves!
Victoria Clutterbuck

Hello Catherine – I’m sure you’ve been asked this many a time. Is “Christ in a cream cheese sauce” an actual medieval oath? Considering your depth of research I presume it is – or something like it. I know they swore by very odd things. As Cotton Mather says, yours in the bowels of Christ!
Victoria
Greg

Still love Pagan!
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Wow, Greg. I’m so glad to hear from you, after all this time. Glad you haven’t succumbed to COVID and glad you’re still carrying the torch. I salute you from the middle of a lockdown – all the best.
  - Greg
    
    Thank you Catherine! Hope you too are doing just fine! Currently re-reading the books!
    - Catherine Jinks
      
      I am also doing a lot of re-reading because the LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN CLOSED FOR A MONTH IN GREATER SYDNEY.
      - Greg
        
        Isidore would not be able to cope!
Marion McDonald

Dear Catherine,

I just wanted to write to you to thank, and congratulate, you for the Pagan books.

I first read Pagan’s Crusade when was about 12-13. My teacher started reading it to our class and then stopped abruptly (perhaps realising that some of the subject matter was heavier than the amusing writing style might have conveyed). By that stage, I was already hooked and so I got the first four books in the series out of the library and read them.

All my life since then, I have enjoyed the occasional “Christ in a cream cheese sauce!” but I never realised how profoundly the books had influenced me until I re-read them recently. I am a person who writes (“a writer” seems far too strong a term). I have really enjoyed exploring themes like inequality, ethics, philosophy, different perspectives and the complexities of relationships (particularly friendships between men). I’ve always adored acerbic wit and intelligent humour, and as a person whose internal monologue is a tad abrasive, I love seeing that in other’s work.

I returned to the books thinking of comfort food – something I remembered enjoying long ago. I tend to forget the plots of fiction so all I was left with was a lingering impression of biting wit and a rollicking depiction of history. Something about epilepsy? What I found was so much more. With each page my smile grew, as I saw the themes I adore, even my favourite character dynamic, bloom on the pages. Far from being “merely” a hilarious book which brings history to life, it was an ethical masterclass, showing frailty and inexperience, mistakes, growth and complex perspectives. So many strands of philosophy, psychology and sociology woven almost invisibly into this delightful tale.

To write about complex and dark themes lightly, to give such poignant insight without putting on airs… I admire you deeply. Your writing style is incredible, so evocative in a handful of words. I cannot think of anyone who can provide such visceral and emotive description in so very few. I have tried to write about such topics and I inevitably end up waffling on endlessly in a muddy quagmire of prose. Reading your work again has been like putting on my glasses after staring at a blurry world for decades. I see clearly now.

I can only hope that you think imitation a form of flattery, because even though the plots / settings which I explore are dramatically different, I see now that I have always been chasing your words. These themes of ethics, of trauma, of the complexity of the myths that we build around ourselves and those we hang our world-views from… I still love to play them out again and again.

I know that this is a little over the top (I do tend to be rather dramatic) but I feel somewhat enraged on your behalf. Works like this are so much bigger than the credit you seem to have received. Perhaps it is just because I value some of the things that it appears that you do, that I can see the care and intelligence, the subtlety and grace in these works.

I could go on indefinitely (amusingly, I became a canon lawyer of sorts so words are not in short supply) but I don’t want my admiration to be so huge as to be comical.

Thank you so much for these works. You are an absolutely incredible writer.

Warmest,
Marion
- Catherine Jinks
  
  I don’t know what to say, Marion. Whatever I do say will sound inadequate. I’ve never known how to respond to praise, and this is extraordinary. Thank you. I wrote those books a very long time ago, when I was very young, so I don’t think I was really conscious of ethical or philosophical complexities while I was writing them – it was all about characters, plots, and making sure I was as medieval as possible, and accurate about the way things worked. So maybe my determination to be historically accurate led to an exploration of the themes that dominated society at the time. You seem much more conscious of this stuff than I ever was. But I’m so glad those books have been so important to you (the way other books were important to me) and the fact that you became a ‘canon lawyer of sorts’ … that is so cool! I know one young reader of the Pagan books was semi-inspired to become a diplomat in the Middle East, which thrilled me no end, so I’m delighted that Pagan might have played even a tiny part in your career progression. That kind of thing is the most powerful feedback a person can ever get. It makes me feel a bit useful, like a teacher or something. Anyway – thank you so much. This really meant a lot to me. I was very moved and grateful.
Wendy Milligan

Hi Catherine.
I read Pagan’s Crusade for the first time nearly 25 years ago, and I still regard it as one of the best written books I have ever read. Though I had very little in common with an irreverent, resourceful teenage orphan living in Jerusalem, Pagan’s voice made that life somehow so relatable. Being a shy child, I also related heavily to Isidore, and his seemingly inherent anger really resonated with me when I was diagnosed with epilepsy in early adulthood. As with Isidore, one of my main triggers is stress, so Pagan’s advice to Isidore on his seizures often returns to me when I find myself taking on too much.
In fact, I found most of your characters relatable and/or inspiring in their own ways, and their relationships so gorgeously complex, just like real human relationships.
I just wanted to say thank you for creating a story and bringing characters to life that had such an impact on my younger self, and still impacts me now that I’m pushing 40.
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Oh, Wendy – what a wonderful message. Thank you so much for warming a cold, windy day. It’s messages like yours that help me feel a bit less useless and more like a nurse or a doctor or a teacher – someone who’s helped a few people, over the years!
  
  I wish I was pushing 40. I’m pushing 60. Enjoy it while you can!
Greg

Periodic Pagan mention!
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Awwwww – Greg! Is it an anniversary? Btw – I now have a YouTube channel called ‘Storybook Cottage Writer’ (http://www.youtube.com/@StorybookCottageWriter) where I occasionally discuss Pagan, so … like and subscribe!
  - Greg
    
    I shall pop by!
    - Catherine Jinks
      
      Thank you so much! Every view very much appreciated …
      - Greg
        
        Hello Catherine! A new comment from me after a couple of days as opposed to a couple of years – hope you can bear the excitement! Here in England we’re having another few of days of stormy weather. Our weather forecasters now give names to storms of a certain magnitude, and this one is Storm Jocelyn. Which made me think of Joscelin, a peripheral but intriguing character in Pagan’s Crusade, which I re-read last night (UK issue, working (not “best”) copy!) as the wind howled. All rather lovely.
      - Catherine Jinks
        
        We name our cyclones, but not our storms – and we’ve been having a few storms too, actually. (Luckily, it doesn’t flood up here in the mountains – we just get landslides!) So glad to hear from you again; always such a pleasure to know you’re still returning to Pagan.
    - Stephen
      
      So will !!!!
Stephen

Hi Catherine.
Hope you and your family are well and 2024 has started well.
Just wanted to say how much I love the character Pagan – especially in ‘Pagan’s Crusade’. I write some historical YA fiction and went on a course nearly 20 years ago when I was still working. We had to read 6 books ahead of the course and ‘Pagan’s Crusade’ was one of them. It was the first of the six I read and it just blew me away.
I have a bookcase with all the books that have meant most to me in my life. Some I read from very young and no longer can appreciate in the same way as an adult. Some just do not work with me after a passage of time – guess they caught me at the right moment but that moment has gone. Some I can just pick up, have a flick through and then find that several hours later I have been caught up again in the story. These are very few books, but ‘Pagan’s Crusade’ is definitely one of them. I don’t know how fond or not you are of Pagan after several decades but hope he still has a special place for you amongst your (now) many characters.
What is it about Pagan? For me, I think it is that is seems quite timeless. He isn’t locked in the Crusades. He could be a 21st century youth in so many ways.
Anyway, many many thanks for Pagan. I’m grateful to find this chance to send this message to you and hope you get to pick it up at some point. Maybe it won’t be for several decades so I hope my message is timeless, like Pagan.
All best wishes
Stephen
- Catherine Jinks
  
  Hi Stephen – it’s certainly NOT going to take me decades! How lovely to hear from you – and such a heart-warming message. You are absolutely right – Pagan retains a special place in my heart. In fact he’s more of his own person than ever, in my mind, because I don’t think I could write him again; I’m too old, and he’s still young! (I hope he still is a 21st century youth – that was part of the trouble when he was published – some people thought he was too contemporary, but they tended to be the ‘old guard’.) The good news is that he still seems to be selling (a bit), which is unusual for a book that old. And I’m still talking about him occasionally on my YouTube channel, ‘Storybook Cottage Writer’. So the flame still flickers. A bit.
  
  I’m so grateful to hear that you still love him. As I do get old, it’s nice to think I’ve created something that’s lasted ….
  - Stephen
    
    Hope you aren’t feeling old – because I suspect that might also put me in the same bracket!!! My wife says she predicted correctly that all three of our sons would pass through adolescence before me. HOOOOORAYYYYYY!
    Thank you so much for your prompt reply, meaning I didn’t even have to wait a day!!!

Pagan’s Crusade

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