The Bleak and Empty Sea: The Tristram and Isolde Story (Merlin Mystery)

Merlin the magician investigates foul play in the deaths of Tristram and Isolde in this Arthurian mystery novel by the author of The Knight of the Cart. A disturbing report has just come to Camelot: Sir Tristram has died after a skirmish in Brittany, and his longtime mistress, La Belle Isolde, Queen of Cornwall, subsequently died of a broken heart. Hearing this news, Queen Guinevere and her trusted lady Rosemounde suspect that there is more to the story than they are being told. Now, it is up to Merlin and his faithful assistant, Gildas of Cornwall, to find the truth behind these untimely deaths. Taking a ship to Brittany to investigate, Merlin and Gildas are met with an unexpected reception. Tristram’s close friend Kaherdin, lord of the city; his sister and Tristram’s wife Isolde of the White Hands; and Brangwen, La Belle Isolde’s faithful lady-in-waiting, are all surprisingly uncooperative. Entering a world of conflicting alliances and murderous gossip, Merlin and Gildas must work fast—or the next untimely deaths may be their own. When word comes to Camelot that Sir Tristram has died in Brittany of wounds suffered in a skirmish, and that his longtime mistress, La Belle Isolde, Queen of Cornwall, has subsequently died herself of a broken heart, Queen Guinevere and her trusted lady Rosemounde immediately suspect that there is more to the story of the lovers deaths than they are being told. It is up to Merlin and his faithful assistant, Gildas of Cornwall, to find the truth behind the myths and half-truths surrounding these untimely deaths. They take ship to Brittany to investigate, and find themselves stymied by the uncooperative attitudes of Tristrams close friend Kaherdin, lord of the city; his sister and Tristrams wife Isolde of the White Hands; and Brangwen, La Belle Isoldes faithful lady-in-waiting. The case is complicated by the facts that King Mark of Cornwall is Gildass own liege lord, and that Duke Hoel, Lord of Brittany, is King Arthurs close ally and father of the lady Rosemounde, who urges Gildas to clear the name of her half-sister, Isolde of the White hands, whom gossip has implicated in Tristrams untimely death. By the time they are finally able to uncover the truth, Gildas and Merlin have lost one companion and are in danger of losing their own lives. "When word comes to Camelot that Sir Tristram and longtime mistress, Le Belle Isolde, Queen of Cornwall have died, suspicions arise that there is more to the story of their deaths than they are being told. It is up to Merlin and his faithful assistant Gildas to find the truth behind the myths and half-truths surrounding the lover's deaths." -- Page [4] of cover