Sabinus

Sabinus is a novel of homecoming and unease: after roaming the seas for nearly half a century, a man of the sea returns to his native land, among the stone houses of Provence. The novel forms the second part of the Balesta trilogy, begun with Les Balesta in 1955 and completed with L’Épervier in 1963. The Balesta family came from the Piedmont, driven out by the wars between Louis XIV and the Dukes of Savoy, and split into two branches: the mountain Balesta, shepherds rooted in the land, and the sea Balesta, merchants, adventurers and sometimes pirates. After a long journey, a pastoral branch settled in Provence, at Pierrelousse, where it has lived for two centuries. It is into this landbound world that Sabinus arrives, bringing with him a new unease made of rumors from the open sea, memories of piracy and the threat of a forgotten family secret.