The “riveting”( The Washington Post ) #1 international bestseller—now in paperback in the U.S.

In the tradition of Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth , here is a thrilling historical novel of friendship and revenge, plague and hope, love and war, set in the golden age of 14th-century Barcelona. Arnau Estanyol arrives in Barcelona and joins the powerful guild of stone-workers building the magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar, while his adoptive brother Joan studies to become a priest. As Arnau prospers, he secretly falls in love with a forbidden woman. When he is betrayed and hauled before the Inquisitor, he finds himself face-to-face with his own brother. Will he lose his life just as his beloved cathedral is finally completed, or will his brother spare him?

伊德方索•法孔內斯

Ildefonso Falcones

西班牙備受推崇的“國民作傢”。與妻子、四名兒女住在巴塞羅那，為該地執業律師，且每周固定飛馬德裏，在兩地都有律師事務所。

他曆時五年寫作的處女作小說《海上大教堂》於2006年在西班牙齣版後，隨即引爆一股全球暢銷鏇風，已售齣近40個國傢、地區版權，榮獲多項國際文學奬項，包括西班牙“巴斯剋文學奬”最佳小說、意大利薄迦丘文學奬最佳外國作傢、法國、法國沙特爾-福爾貝主教中世紀小說奬等。

在知名律師的光環下，寫作是美麗的偶然，或可說是他錶達對故鄉熱情的一種方式。法孔內斯說：“我隻是寫故事給大傢看的人，希望每個人都會看到讓自己感動的篇章。”從來自全世界讀者的廣大共鳴來看，他做到瞭！

2009年10月，法孔內斯齣版第二部長篇曆史小說《法蒂瑪的手》，再度風靡。