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by Roger Allen (Translator), Zaidan Foundation the (Introduction by), Jurji Zaidan (Author)
It is Christmas Day in the year 710 AD in Toledo, capital of Visigoth Spain. King Wittiza has been dethroned, and the impulsive and tyrannical Roderic has been installed as monarch of Spain with the help of the Catholic clergy. Even so, Bishop Oppas, the deposed king's brother, is to remain as the senior ecclesiastical figure in Spain during King Roderic's reign. The beautiful Florinda is the daughter of Count Julian, the governor of Sabta, a Christian enclave in Muslim North Africa. She is madly in love and engaged to the charismatic and courageous Alfonso, son of the deposed king. But she has been moved into King Roderic's palace where she is the target of the new king's lustful desires, even though he is married. And Alfonso has been kept as a retainer in the palace so that his comings and goings can be monitored. Will Florinda manage to thwart the lascivious advances of the depraved king? Will Alfonso be able to foil the king's designs? And how will Florinda's father, Count Julian, react when he learns of Roderic's evil plans towards his daughter? What role will Bishop Oppas play -- torn as he is between loyalty to Visigoth Spain and faithfulness to his values and his family? The fast-paced story, full of twists and turns, unfolds as the Muslim armies in North Africa are poised to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and gain their first European foothold in what came to be called the land of al-Andalus. The Conquest of Andalusia is also the story of the battle for Florinda's virtue and happiness ....
Author Biography
Jurji Zaidan (1861-1914) was a prolific writer and one of the intellectual leaders of the Arab Renaissance. He wrote twenty two acclaimed novels spanning Arab history from pre-Islamic to modern times. In their unique mix of history and adventure, they have often been compared to the works of Alexandre Dumas and Sir Walter Scott. They have been reprinted every decade or so in the Arabic-speaking world and one hundred translations were made of these novels into nine languages. This is the first translation of any novel into English by leading scholar and teacher of Arabic litterature, Professor Roger Allen of the University of Pennsylvania.
