''Noémi: A Story of Rock-dwellers'' is an historical novel by

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 ...

, published in 1895.Bassett 2022.

Characters

* Le Gros Guillem * Ogier del' Peyra * Jean del' Peyra * Noémi

Synopsis

This is a tale of Aquitaine, during the English occupation, in the early fifteenth century. The country was in a state of civil war; and free companies, nominally fighting for French or English, but in reality for their own pockets, mere plunderers and bandits, flourished mightily. The most dreaded freebooter in the valley of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

was Le Gros Guillem, who from his stronghold at Domme sweeps down upon the farms and hamlets below; till at length the timid peasants, finding a leader in Ogier del' Peyra, a petty

sieur Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of the neighbourhood, rise up against their scourge, destroy his rocky fastness, and put his men to death or flight. Guillem's daughter, Noémi, a madcap beauty, joins her father's band of ruffians; but soon sickens of their deeds, and risks her life to save Ogier from the

oubliette A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

, because she loves his son.Keller 1924, p. 612.

Appraisal

Helen Rex Keller writes, "The book is filled with thrilling and bloody incident, culminating in the storming of L'Eglise Guillem, as the freebooter's den is ironically called, and the strange death of the robber chieftain. The descriptions of the wild valley of the Dordogne, and the life of the outlaws, are striking; and the pretty love story, set against this background, very attractive. As a picture of a fierce and horrible period, it is hardly less vivid than the '

White Company The White Company ( it, Compagnia Bianca del Falco) was a 14th-century English mercenary Company of Adventure ( it, Compagnia di ventura), led from its arrival in Italy in 1361 to 1363 by the German Albert Sterz and later by the Englishman John H ...

' of Conan Doyle."

References

Sources

* Bassett, Troy J. (18 August 2022)
"Noémi"
''At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901''. Retrieved 9 November 2022. Attribution: * Keller, Helen Rex (1924)

In
The Reader's Digest of Books
'. The Library of the World's Best Literature. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 612.

External links

* Ockerbloom, John Mark, ed
"Noémi"
''

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...

''. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
"Noémi"
'' Project Gutenberg Australia''. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
"Noémi"
''

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

''. Retrieved 9 November 2022. {{Authority control 1895 novels