One of the most famous victims of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was the brilliant Dominican monk Giordano Bruno, burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600.

Morris West recreates a diary of Bruno’s intimate thoughts as he languishes in Rome’s worst prison for seven years. Bruno’s reflections and frank memories of his life reveal him to be both a fine thinker and a flawed priest – and a man willing to pay the highest price to be true to himself.

The Last Confession was West’s final novel, published posthumously. Composed with passion and compassion, this is a voice that mesmerises from the start.