Few books have captured the atmosphere of daily medieval life as well or as movingly as A Fool and his Money. Rodez, in southern France, was divided for centuries by a fued between two masters. This partitioned town thus acquired two distinct cultures. The story focuses on the strange case of Peyre Marques, a merchant who forgets where he has buried his gold. To read A Fool and his Money is like opening a shutter on to a sunlit medieval street teeming with characters, talk and noise all coloured with the vibrancy of truth.