Paperback. White title and William Black detail on the black and cream cover.

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The story of Abelard and Heloise remains one of the world’s most celebrated and tragic love affairs. Through their letters, we follow the path of their romance from its reckless and ecstatic beginnings when Heloise became Abelard’s pupil, through the suffering of public scandal and enforced secret marriage, to their eventual separation.

Review: Need summer reading but want something with substance? I’m not a fan of romances, but after the tale of Abelard and Heloise was mentioned on a TV show, I performed a Google search and became fascinated with their hapless love story. The story of Romeo and Juliet pales in comparison to the saga in which a teacher falls in love with his much younger pupil, his pupil becomes pregnant out of wedlock, the lovers marry in secret, her uncle finds out and castrates the teacher, and finally both lovers take an oath of chastity with the Church. The letters were written some years later when Abelard and Heloise caught sight of each other again.

It is tragic that the social and religious circumstances at the time separated these two lovers. The letters spill with their unbridled passion for one another, yet one can tell they are trying to restrain their affections at the same time. Heloise was a feminist of her time, speaking her mind and heart. Some may criticize Abelard for being more cold and distant with his subsequent correspondence, but one has to remember he was acting within the constraints of being a renown philosopher while being supported by the Church.

Peter Abelard was a French philosopher and the greatest logician of the 12th century. He taught in Paris, where Heloise was his pupil. After the tragic end of their marriage, she became a nun & he a monk. Betty Radice was the editor of the Penguin Classics during the 1960-70s & an acclaimed translator from Latin, Greek & Italian. Michael Clanchy researches at the Institute of Historical Research UCL & the Warburg Institute.