The Stairway Guide's Daughter

In twelfth century Cambodia, a young woman called Jorani earns her living guiding pilgrims up a two thousand-step stairway to the magnificent cliff-top temple, Preah Vihear. One day, she accidentally witnesses the furtive burning of sacred palm-leaf documents, and is drawn into a succession struggle at the temple. She is forced to choose between loyalty to family and to the son of the abbot, with whom she forms an unlikely bond. Set in the golden age of Cambodia’s Angkor civilization, The Stairway Guide’s Daughter brings to life a temple that is one of humankind’s most remarkable creations of faith and architecture and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Also available by John Burgess: A Woman of Angkor ISBN 9786167339252