Cassie McCullagh

Oh, did you?

Oh, there you go.

But this girl came in, I think she was doing work experience or something.

She was about 16 and she sort of, her eyes lit up when she saw it on your desk and said, oh, everyone's reading that at school.

She was so excited.

And you gave her a copy, Kate, you softy.

I did.

So now on the bookshelf, a novel that takes us right inside that conflict.

Not just its policies or even theological debates, but how it played out in the daily lives and in the bodies of ordinary people.

The book is called The Burning Chambers and it's by best-selling English writer Kate Moss.

Back to this new novel, though, Kate, both you and Fiona Lowe have read it for us.

What exactly is going on in France in this story?

It's a tricky thing to do because telling a history like this is complicated and there are sort of basic facts, I suppose, you have to use as milestones.

And others have done this as well, particularly with this part of French history, Ken Follett's most recent book, which the name of which, of course, has just slipped my mind.

But he covers this era too, using a mix of historical figures and fictional ones.

You say that the gore really was difficult for you.

What are we talking about?

I mean, I know this was a very violent period in France's history.

She goes, look, I've got to go back for some more research, you know, another century of French history.

I've got to go to the accountant.