James Hutson-Wiley

The Travels of Ibn Thomas James Hutson-Wiley

'There's just so much to like in The Travels of ibn Thomas that I consider it a favorite and would definitely love to read it again.'

Readers' Favorite

'A very well-tailored and put together work of historical fiction.' BooksGoSocial

'Teeming with vividly-drawn characters, among them pirates, assassins and crusaders, and driven by Thoma's desire to discover what became of his father, and by his identity struggles, this is alive with intrigue and pacey adventure.' LoveReading

'The narrative of this novel swept me away. Hutson-Wiley's crystalline prose and his intuitive understanding of what makes history worth reading made this book unputdownable. This is a story that not only captured my attention from the opening sentence but continued to hold it until the final full stop. This book is, in all ways, a Historical Fiction triumph.' The Coffee Pot Book Club

Thoma, the son of Thomas, the Sugar Merchant, born in Egypt but raised in England, is sent to the famous Salernitan Medical School to train as a physician in the early twelfth century. In Sicily, he saves the life of a prince and becomes court physician. But disaster strikes; escaping from Sicily, he is captured by pirates, befriends an assassin, and is plunged into political and religious turmoil in the Holy Land following the first crusade.

The adventures of a man torn between religious and political loyalties, and embroiled in international conflict and intrigue, The Travels of ibn Thomas, the second book in the series that began with The Sugar Merchant, is a gripping story of one man's life, and a fascinating glimpse into the tumultuous twelfth century commercial and scientific revolution when the three Abrahamic faiths meet in both cooperation and deadly conflict.