Melchior is a scholar trained at Pyongyang University in Korea: a passionate astronomer, who has exhausted his sizable inheritance by building a magnificent observatory from which he can observe the heavens. Most intriguing is Lofts’s vision of the three wise men, who between them span the three known continents of the ancient world. It’s a thoughtful, rich rendition of the Nativity story, in which the familiar events of the bible are set within their historical context at the turn of the 1st century AD. The plan was to finish it last night, on Christmas Day, but what with the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, and the satiety brought on by too much Christmas pudding, I didn’t quite get round to it. How could she make him understand that their destiny was to raise the Christ-child together? Norah Lofts 1965 classic novel weaves together all the characters of the Nativity, from the gentle strength of Mary and the kindness and loyalty of Joseph through the tempestuous journey of the three Wise Men and the tragedy of the shepherds to the misery of the the innkeeper and his wife.I discovered this book during a pre-Christmas exploration of the Book Barn, a few miles from where I live, and decided it was perfect for the festive season. Not only was the child not his but she had never known a man. Just as the three men began their journey, a young girl stood bravely before her betrothed husband in Nazareth trying to find the words to tell him that she was pregnant. It was Balthazar, the escaped slave with a wonderful knowledge of languages, who helped them find their way across hazardous and violent country to Judea. Providence took him to the barbarian king, Gaspar, who wanted to know if this great King in the East would be a threat to his empire. But Melchior was old, poor and unwise in the ways of men. He knew at once that it was his task to find the child and warn its parents. Book Synopsis Melchior had never seen anything like it the star was so bright, so full of tragedy and glory.
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