Polarized political groups vie for power. Religious leaders push for harshly intolerant rules. Lies and "cancellation" hound those who don't fit in. A small minority suffering from inherited trauma are especially targeted. A charismatic outsider spreads conspiracy theories. A wise woman with influence but no power fights to do damage control behind the scenes.

Welcome to Norwich, England, 1413, and an old/new story of the struggle for faith in a complex, flawed world, the triumph of love over dogma, and the resilience of oppressed minorities in the face of abusive power.

In his newly published historical novel, The Ram in the Thicket, David Townsend recreates the political and religious turbulence of medieval England's second largest city. There, two rival factions struggle for control. The kingdom's bishops are bent on stamping out religious dissent. Those who stand out from the mainstream risk malicious gossip, hostility, and possible denunciation. One small group of townspeople are most vulnerable of all: the descendants of Jews who, generations earlier, chose conversion--or pretended conversion--over banishment from England.

An elderly mystic, Julian of Norwich, is drawn into this turmoil, despite her withdrawal from the world. Complicating it all, an outlandish, theatrical woman from a provincial town begins stirring up a storm of suspicion. When these two women first meet, Julian struggles simply to understand Margery Kempe. But soon enough, she's desperate to contain the damage Margery has unwittingly done--all from within the cell to which Julian long ago vowed herself.

Join us as David discusses his book's historical background, his writing process, and what connects the early fifteenth century to our own times. And set the stage in advance by subscribing to David’s Substack about the book:

Co-sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church, Sag Harbor, and Canio’s Books.

David Townsend is a retired professor and translator of medieval literature. For twenty-five years, he has obsessed about what Julian of Norwich would have made of Margery Kempe--and about the memory of Norwich's Jewish community in the generations after its expulsion from England. With no historical source available to answer these questions, he decided to create one.  He lives with his husband Jonathan Silin and their cat, Violet,  in Toronto and Amagansett, NY. The author of numerous academic studies, this is his first novel.