Vanitha Sankaran Author Site
Novels
Watermark: A Novel of the Middle Ages
La hija del hereje
France, 1320. The daughter of a small village papermaker, young Auda is mute from birth and forced to shun normal society. Those who embrace ignorance and superstition believe her to be cursed, so she finds solace and escape in the wonder of the written word.
Audra’s very survival is a testament to the strength of her spirit. But this is an age of Inquisition and intolerance, when difference and defiance are punishable "sins" and new ideas are considered damnable heresy.
When darkness descends upon her world, Auda—newly grown to womanhood—is forced to flee. Setting off on a remarkable quest, she will soon discover love, forge a new sense of self, and reclaim the glory of her father's art.
Booklist
Sankaran deftly illuminates a time of intellectual darkness in this superbly rendered debut.
NYT Bestselling Author,
Sharon Kay Penman
Watermark is a powerful novel about the destructive forces unleashed by ignorance and superstition. Readers will care deeply for the courageous Auda, who finds love where she least expects it, in the shadow of the Inquisition.
Bestselling Author, David Liss
Watermark is a stunning debut –moving, compelling and illuminating. Vanitha Sankaran has magically captured the lost world of medieval France in all its social, religious and philosophical complexity, and done so with an admirable verve.