The Hand of Fatima

The new historical blockbuster from the internationally bestselling author of The Cathedral Of The Sea.

Ildefonso Falcones' first novel, Cathedral of the Sea became a publishing legend with over a million copies sold in Spain alone. It has since been published in over forty countries, becoming a European bestseller. In his latest blockbuster, The Hand of Fatima, Falcones is marking the four hundredth anniversary of the expulsion of the Moors from 17th Century Spain. Falcones is a practising lawyer in Barcelona where he lives with his wife and four sons.

Snared between two cultures and two loves, one man is forced to choose... 
 
1564, the Kingdom of Granada. After years of Christian oppression, the Moors take arms and daub the white houses of Sierra Nevada with the blood of their victims. 
 
Amidst the conflict is young Hernando, the son of an Arab woman and the Christian priest who raped her. He is despised and regularly beaten by his own step-father for his 'tainted' heritage. 
Fuelled with the love of the beautiful Fatima, Hernando hatches a plan to unite the two warring faiths - and the two halves of his identity...

Ildefonso Falcones

1748, Seville: Caridad, a recently freed Cuban slave, wanders the streets of the city. Her master is dead and she has nowhere to go. When she meets Milagro Carmona - a young, rebellious gypsy - the two women are instantly inseparable. Milagros introduces Caridad to the gypsy community, an exotic fringe society that will soon bring them love and change their life forever. 
 
From the tumultuous bustle of 18th-century Seville to the theatres of Madrid, THE BAREFOOT QUEEN takes us into the murky world of tobacco smuggling and ther persecution of the gypsies. 
 
Showing us the birth of Flamenco, it is a historical fresco filled with characters that live, love, fight and suffer for what they believe.

The Barefoot Queen

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

prhuk-authors

Penguin Shop: 3 Clothbound Classics for £33

Ildefonso Falcones

Books by Ildefonso Falcones

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter