A Bridge to the Sky — Margaret Ball

Born in a poor Suffolk fishing village, young Stephen of Dunwich was branded a witch by an ignorant peasantry frightened of his remarkable gift. He and his mother Maud were exiled and forced to seek shelter from the Black Monks of Ely where Stephen would become the apprentice of a cruel, cold-hearted monk whose true ties to mother and son were carefully guarded. Under Brother Daniel's harsh tutelage, Stephen would acquire the basis of the education he needed to become a brilliant architect; under the spell of a beautiful peasant girl, he would forsake his vows and seek his destiny as a master builder in the greatest cities of the East and the West.

A rich, compelling blend of history and drama, this book is a magnificent record of Europe's first great burst of creative light after the Dark Ages, and the haunting, fascinating story of a man who dared to dream--and built his dream in stone and mortar to last a hundred lifetimes.