Maureen Cashman
The Roland Medals
For Pity Sake, 2021
In 1593, a wandering monk, Carmelo, creates a series of medals featuring Roland, celebrated in the medieval epic poem, The Song of Roland. In 2012, Armi, a young Finnish Border Guard, flees a murderous partner and sets out to walk the Camino. Although separated by five centuries, their journeys and stories converge at a ruined monastery on the Camino.
Carlo Fontal, one of the monastery’s owners, is restoring it, but it is unclear where the money for the project is coming from. Armi, her suspicions aroused, is torn between her growing attraction to Carlo and her reluctance to repeat past mistakes.
What secrets connect the medal, the monastery, and the deceased billionaire who owned the Roland Medals? And what does a predator from Armi’s troubled childhood know about them? As Armi strives to find the truth, can she trust her feelings, vanquish her demons and take back the happiness that was stolen from her so long ago?
“Maureen Cashman has written a deeply satisfying novel, in which the byways of the heart occupy a central place. It’s also a story that will take readers a long way from the comforts of their own homes, and then, possibly, return them again.”
About the Author
Maureen Cashman is the author of the memoir, Charlie & Me in Val-Paradis, short stories and travel articles. Her writings draw on her experience of teaching in England and Australia, her work in education policy, and her love of animals, the environment, music, books, travel and different cultures. She has a special attachment to France where she has many friends whom she visits frequently. Born and raised in Australia, she lives in Canberra.
