'Inventive and original' The Times 'Fans of intelligent historical fiction will be enthralled' Hilary Mantel Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction Three journeys. One road. England, 1348. A gentlewoman flees an odious arranged marriage, a proctor sets out for a monastery in Avignon and a young ploughman in search of freedom is on his way to volunteer with a company of archers. All come together on the road to Calais. In the other direction comes the Black Death, the plague that will wipe out half of the population of Northern Europe. To Calais, In Ordinary Time is an exploration of love, death and power, against the backdrop of catastrophe.