Whitechapel Autumn of Error by Ian Porter - #bookreview #blogtour

 Many of the women employed in the world's oldest profession were part-timers, spending much of their lives earning a pittance for long hours of tortuous work in other industries. Some attempted to live a double life of apparent respectability, keeping their night work a secret.

Maud Nash was such a woman...

***

Whitechapel 1888; a killer is on the loose and the newspapers are ensuring the nation knows all about not just the crimes but the terrible living conditions in which they are being perpetrated.

Nashey, a tough, scary yet charismatic man of the night, whose mother had to prostitute herself when he was a boy, knows the identity of the killer but keeps it a secret. He believes the publicity generated by the murders is forcing the authorities to address the poverty and degradation in the area. He allows the killer to remain free (whilst ensuring no more women are attacked) so the unsolved murders continue to dominate the headlines. He meets Sookey, an eccentric middle-class slummer and civilising influence. The two of them share a mutual friend, Mary Kelly, a fiery young prostitute whose back-story tells of how she was reduced to such a life.

To fund his surveillance of the killer, Nashey agrees, against his better judgement, to assist an old adversary to commit a daring night robbery under the noses of the huge police presence in the area.

Is it too late for Nashey and Mary to correct their mistakes?

***

Set in London's East End during the late 1880's when Jack the Ripper was a name on everyone's lips, the author has done a great job of capturing the menacing atmosphere in which people lived.

It has been well researched and there is more emphasis on the victims rather than Jack the Ripper himself.  The author demonstrates the poverty that Whitechapel's inhabitants lived vividly. It is obvious why so many people turned to crime and prostitution.

I liked the main characters of this book, namely Sookey, Nashey and Mary. Three very different individuals whose lives become intertwined as they experience the squalor of the area. They were well fleshed out and easy to engage with, although I did find Sookey's character took me a while to understand. However, there were women like her, Beatrice Webb/Potter springs to mind. Women who were committed to researching the lives of the poor.

The author describes the degradation and terror of living through such a time extremely well. A lifestyle that is fuelled by poverty, worry over where the next meal or nightly roof over their heads is coming from, coupled with the fear experienced of being on the streets after dark and becoming the Ripper's next victim.

Nashey discovers the Ripper's identity fairly early in the book, which gave this story a slightly different edge to the norm. The reader is let into this secret, and we follow Nashey's journey as he plots to reveal the Ripper's identity.

It is a moderately paced novel with a sufficiently interesting plot to keep the reader engaged. I think anyone who likes fiction set during this period will enjoy this book.

ISBN: 978 1805143987

Publisher:  Matador

Formats:  Paperback

No. of Pages:  384

***

About the Author:

Ian Porter is a historian, lecturer, public speaker and walks guide. He has a particular interest in women's history and social history. His novels are renowned for being extremely well researched and historically accurate. Whitechapel Autumn of Error is a typically feminist, social history novel that brings the dark streets of the East End 1888 to life. He has written several other novels including the highly acclaimed Suffragette Autumn Women's Spring, set during the fight for the vote for women, and a Plague On Both Your Houses, set in both London and Berlin in 1918/19 during the final months of the Great War and the Spanish Flu. Ian is getting on a bit (well, aged 69). His grandparents were young adults living in East London at the time of the Whitechapel Murders.

(book and media courtesy of Random Things Tours)

(all opinions are my own)

Red Runs the Witch's Thread by Victoria Williamson - #bookreview #blogtour

 

The skein of thread that lay in the merchant's beefy hand was white against his mottled flesh, the twisted fibres spun fine as silk and bleached over many months. As she watched the linen dealer hold the strands up to the light, testing their strength by pulling them between his stubby fingers, Christian felt suddenly queasy...

***

Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too.

But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions.

As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path. In the end she must make a terrible choice: her mind or her soul? Poverty and madness, or a devil’s bargain for the bleaching process that will make her the most successful businesswoman Paisley has ever seen?

Her fate hangs by a thread. Which will she choose?

An eerie tale of lies, deception and the supernatural from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

***

I have read several of Victoria Williamson's books now and I have enjoyed every one. I will put some links at the bottom of this review if you would like to read my reviews of those books.

The narrative of Red Runs the Witch's Thread moves between 1697 when the main character, Christian, was a child who claimed to have been cursed by witches. She went on to accuse and ultimately help condemn several people of being witches. Several of them were sentenced to death because of her allegations.  The story also takes place during 1722 where the villagers still think of Christian in terms of the role she played in the so-called witches being executed. 

What we witness as readers is Christian's mental unravelling. She is dubious of her own memories and questions them, haunting her into her adult life. There are several flashbacks to the past in the parts of the story which is set in the later time period.

Personally, I was more attracted by the historical aspect of the book that it's dark theme. The book has an extremely eerie, creepy feel to it and I found witnessing Christian's mental struggles uncomfortable and claustrophobic; just as it should do in a book of this genre. It has all of the elements expected in a supernatural novel, and this short book will appeal enormously to lovers of the genre.

***

Books by Victoria Williamson

Please click on the title to read my review:

The Haunting Scent of Poppies

War of the Wind

The Whistlers in the Dark

The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

Norah's Ark

ISBN:  9781738436422

Pubisher: Silver Thisle Press

No. of Pages: 250

***

About the Author:

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)

Dangerous Times on Dressmakers' Alley by Rosie Clarke - #bookreview #blogtour

 

"I have a task for you," Mary Winston announced to her young friend, Winnie, that springlike morning in March 1923. "It is something that should suit you because you like making clothes and you're good at it..."

***

Welcome to Dressmakers' Alley, a twisted place filled with dark and deadly secrets 

London’s East End 1923

In the heart of Dressmakers' Alley Madame Pauline’s sweatshop is rumoured to be a particularly unpleasant place to work. Filled with seamstresses paid a pittance who turn a blind eye to what darker activities are hidden behind locked doors.

Young Winnie Brown is keen to prove her value to the Women Movements and secures a job as a seamstress to investigate the whispers of some unsavoury goings on. Her concerns are soon justifiedwhen she discovers that there are terrible things afoot, as she hears a desperate cry for help.

Meanwhile, happily married, Lady Diane Cooper is the darling of London’s high-society. Beautiful and talented, she seemingly has it all. But the strict constraints society assigns her leaves her frustrated, she craves more freedom. With the help of her devoted dresser Susie can she realise her dream?

What is the connection between Lady Diane's world and the poor exploited young women of Dressmakers' Alley?

Can the two worlds come together for the good of all? 

***

This is the first book that I have read by Rosie Clarke, although I have had The Girls of Mulberry Lane on my TBR pile for a while now. She is an author that I have wanted to try so when this first in a new series came up I jumped at the opportunity to read it, and I was not disappointed.

The book had everything that you would expect to find in a book of this genre; strong characters, drama and ultimately a feel-good factor. 

Set in 1923 in London's East End we meet Winnie Brown who is the main character in this book. She is a compelling character who has committed a minor criminal act in her past. We meet her when this is behind her and she is working for The Women's Movement. She has had a difficult life growing up with a mother who blamed her for everything and is now estranged. She is taken under the wing of Mary, and her policeman husband, who help her to see her true worth. I loved Winnie as a  character, and watching her develop was a pleasure to read.

My only criticism of this book is that it ended quite abruptly, and I did not feel that all my questions were answered. However, I suspect that this was a deliberate ploy on the part of the author because it has left me wanting more. I can hardly wait for another book in the series to be published. In the meantime, I should find a copy of The Girls of Mulberry Lane to tide me over until then.

Having grown up in the East End myself, I love books which are set there. Obviously, I wasn't around at the time in which the book was set (even my mother had not been born then) but I recognise something of the place in this book. Stories my mother told me of my grandmother growing up during that time period caused the book to resonate with me and make this even more of a gripping story for me. Of course, it is not necessary to have this background in order to enjoy this story. I think anyone who enjoys reading sagas will lap this book up. I enjoyed it very much and I wholeheartedly recommend it to lovers of the genre.

ISBN: 978 1785131394

Publisher:  Boldwood Books

Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback

No. of Pages:  328 (paperback)

About the Author:

Rosie Clarke is a #1 bestselling saga writer whose most recent books include The Mulberry Lane series. She has written over 100 novels under different pseudonyms and is a RNA Award winner. She lives in Cambridgeshire.

(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

Wise Up! Wise Down! Poems by John Agard and JonArno Lawson - Illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura - #bookreview

 

Two sharp-fanged fawn-coloured 

messengers stand ready

at the bars of my back gate.

What news have you brought me, wily duo?

***

Funny, thought-provoking and bursting with curiosity, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a lively conversation between two internationally renowned poets, illustrated by treasured artist Satoshi Kitamura.

How can laughter be more powerful than a sword? Why do days have names but not weeks? And do pigeons ever get a craving for cake? Two friends, internationally acclaimed poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson, take us on an inspiring, hilarious and wonderous journey through poetry, asking questions and attempting answers as they discover that life really is a forever and ever adventure.

***

This is a fun collection of poetry aimed at a middle grade audience.

Each of the poems have been illustrated in black and white, free hand style drawings and are every bit as fun and quirky as the poems.

Many of the poems are thought provoking causing the reader to ask questions such as:

"Do do-gooders do what's truly good?"

"How very bad is it to slouch at the dining room table?"

"What would a bald man want with a comb?"

Additionally, there are poems which encourage the reader to think about themselves, such as in the poem titled Don't Forget Yourself.

This is a lovely collection of poetry that children around the ages of seven to twelve years will enjoy.

***

ISBN: 978 1529501520

Publisher: Walker Books

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  144 (paperback)

About the Authors:

John Agard was brought up in Guyana, moving to Britain in 1977. He writes with his partner Grace Nichols, and both are well known as writers and performers of poetry for children and adults. They live in Sussex.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, and raised in neighboring Dundas, children’s poet JonArno Lawson earned a BA from McGill University. He is the author of more than ten books of poetry for children and adults, including Think Again (2010), Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box (2012), Enjoy It While It Hurts (2013), and Sidewalk Flowers (2015), a wordless picture book. As a nonsense poet, Lawson’s poems feature clever rhymes, whimsical images, and wordplay.

Lawson is a four-time winner of the Lion and Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Children’s Poetry. His books have received an Alcuin Award, a Prix Libbylit Award, and a Governor General’s Literary Award for Illustrated Children’s Books, among other distinctions. He has taught children’s poetry in the Children’s Literature Program at Simmons College and regularly facilitates workshops for children and adults. Lawson lives in Toronto with his family.

About the Illustrator:

Satoshi Kitamura is both an author and illustrator. He was born in 1956 in Tokyo. He says that when he was young he read comics and admits that these have had a great influence on his style. He says he was also influenced by anything visual from a tin of sardines to the fine art of the East and the West. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work. He moved to London in 1979 and worked mainly designing greeting cards. He started illustrating for Andersen Press in 1981. At this time he had an exhibition of his work at the Neal Street Gallery in Covent Garden, which Klaus Flugge visited and showed him the text of Angry Arthur.

Angry Arthur, written by Hiawyn Oram, was published in 1982 to great acclaim, winning the Mother Goose Award in 1983 and the Japanese Picture Book Award. In 1989, UFO diary was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, an award he later went on to win for Me and My Cat, which was also shortlisted for the Kurt Mashler Award. In 2006, Satoshi’s collaboration with Colin McNaughton, Once Upon an Ordinary School Day, won The Japan Picture Book Award for best translated book. Satoshi’s book, Millie’s Marvellous Hat, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award in 2010.

(book and author media courtesy of Walker Books)

(author media courtesy The Poetry Foundation)

(illustrator media courtesy of Book Trust)

(all opinions are my own)

Floored by Chrissie Harrison - #blogtour #excerpt

 

Hello. Today I have an excerpt for you of the lovely romantic comedy, Floored by Chrissie Harrison. 

This looks like a fun read. Let me tell you a little about the book...

The Blurb

FLOORED is a charming romantic comedy guaranteed to give you a lift.

Hannah and Drew work in the same office.

Hannah and Drew use the same elevator.

Hannah and Drew aren’t looking for love.

They haven’t even met.

Yet something is happening

...

Amiable TV production accountant Drew has turned his back on love after the death of his fiancée, an incident which cemented his longstanding elevatophobia. When Drew moves towns and jobs for a fresh start, he hears a voice in the office lift telling him to “be careful”.

Is it his fevered imagination, the ghost of his fiancée, or someone playing a cruel prank? Quickly, he becomes desperate, foolish... and unexpectedly smitten.

Sweet and sassy Hannah wouldn’t mind finding love, but keeps choosing the wrong boy friends. Her innate social anxiety, deepened by bad experiences with a preying boss, is a huge barrier to dating anyone new.

Yet, to expose her boss’ antics, she needs to be lucky as well as smart. However, talking to a sweet but hapless co-worker isn’t the answer... is it? After all, she could never imagine meeting him in person.

When Drew discovers the adorable girl behind the voice, a relationship blossoms alongside a shared determination to bring justice to their workplace, risking everything.

Will their daring plan succeed or will it jeopardize the happiness they’ve found with each other?

***

The Excerpt

Our delightful, sparky but shy MC, Hannah, is considering meeting Drew, who she’s been talking to in the office lift. However, she’s massively resistant to meeting men, and very out of practice with dating.

Her best friend and neighbour Amy, a ballsy Welsh firefighter, agrees to an evening out to celebrate Hannah’s tentative steps towards romantic involvement. Cue a very odd “fake dating”…

Amy refilled her glass, drank, and then bit her lip, thinking. ‘You know what you need? Practice.’

‘Eh?’

‘Date practice. Now, here, with me.’

Hannah laughed. ‘Ames, we’re mates. We’re not on a date.’

Amy coughed, shuffled her shoulders, and put on a deeper voice. ‘The name’s Drew.’

Hannah darted glances around the sparsely populated Italian restaurant. ‘Stop it,’ she hissed. ‘You’re embarrassing me.’

‘Oh,’ Amy continued, contralto. ‘I thought you wanted to come on a date with me, Elle.’ She pushed her seat back, preparing to stand.

Hannah tugged Amy’s hand. ‘Shhh. Sit down.’

The strapping firefighter—unusually feminine in a low-cut maroon blouse and long navy skirt—smiled contentedly and sat.

‘Anyway, it’s Hannah, not Elle,’ Hannah snipped.

‘You’ll have told him your real name?’

‘Of course. I’m not trying to be fucking Banksy.’

Amy tutted. ‘Bit sweary, isn’t it, for a first date?’

‘Fuck off,’ she chided quietly. ‘Besides, what happened to you being Drew?’ She shot a pointed look and sipped her fizz.

Amy put on a serious face. ‘So, Hannah, how many other men have you slept with?’

Hannah sprayed Prosecco across the table. ‘He’d never ask me that!’

Amy wiped droplets from her chest, holding in a laugh. ‘You should tell him the worst stuff up front, not waste more time by having a short relationship that didn’t go anywhere.’

‘You mean scare him off quickly?!’

‘No, but you want marriage and babies and stuff, right? No sense in wasting a ticking clock with the wrong person.’

‘What about having fun? Huh? Or using this as a test to see if I can start dating again?’

Amy pointed. ‘There you go, tell him he’s a dry run for Mr Right.’

‘Ha fucking ha.’

Amy tutted, waggling a finger. ‘Sweary Mary get no pokey-pokey.’

She slapped the hand away playfully. ‘I know you’re a “no fear, run into burning buildings” kind of person, but I might tread a bit more cautiously if that’s okay?’

Amy looked hard, then sighed. ‘I suppose. Sorry.’

Hannah pensively drew circles on the table mat with her fingertip. ‘Besides, it’s not how many men. It’s what they’ve done to me.’

Amy laid her hand on Hannah’s. ‘I know, Han. And that’s what you—and Drew—have to get past.’

‘Yeah, thanks.’

Amy brought the glass to her lips. ‘But, you know, for completeness, how many?’ She drank, raising a single eyebrow.

Hannah scowled and pulled her hand away. ‘I’m not getting into competitive bedpost-notching with you, Ms Jones.’

‘Sorry. But, serious for a moment, what was the worst?’

‘I’ve got a bloody roll-call, Ames.’

‘Would you tell him? You’ve heard his Katie story—and that’s pretty horrendous.’

‘Yeah, I’ll tell him. The Z-list he’s got to avoid appearing on if he wants access to this temple to female wonderment.’ She gesticulated at herself. 

It triggered a thought about the prospect of relations with Drew, and her tummy went a little skippy.

‘Fire away, then. I mean, I know about Stuart.’

Hannah snorted. ‘The straw that broke the camel’s back.’ She gazed at the restaurant’s appalling faux Sistine Chapel ceiling. ‘Ben wanted me to throw out my chick-lit collection. Bad idea. Hugh slept with my best mate at Uni. Peter wanted me to stop speaking to all other men, including my mates. Jon wanted to do it on the first date. Charlie didn’t want to do it on the first date. Or even the tenth date. Shame, because it felt like he was hung like a racehorse.’ She sighed. ‘I think he was gay. What a waste. Anyway.’ She drummed her fingers on the table. ‘I voted Remain, and that was enough for Simon to drop me like a hot EU regulation. Oh, and you met Ollie, remember? You happened to pop over when he was at mine.’

‘Oh, yeah. Great stubble, bad shoes.’

‘After you left—like immediately, he asked about a threesome.’ Hannah gave a humungous eye-roll.

‘And you didn’t think to run that past me?’

Hannah slapped Amy’s hand.

Mercifully, at that point, the server arrived with their dinner.

***

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1738447008

Publisher:  Valericain Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  372 (paperback)

Series:  Book 1 in the Cathedral City Comedies

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

(all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources and the author's website)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods - #bookreview

 

When I first arrived at the redbrick Georgian house on Ha'penny Lane that cold, dark evening with rain dripping from my jacket, I hadn't planned on staying. The woman on the phone sounded less than friendly, but I had nowhere else to go and very little money...

***

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

***

This book is charming, delightful and any similar adjective that you can think of. It had me gripped from the very first page and I loved it. Let me tell you why...

It was chosen by somebody at my Book Club for this month's read. In all honesty, I had never heard of it before and thus had no expectations. What I found though was a book that I could not put down. It called to me constantly when I was away from it and I picked it up at every opportunity. 

All three characters, Opaline, Martha and Henry were well portrayed and came alive on the page. The chapters are told from the perspective of each of them, and from their respective time periods. I liked the way that Martha and Henry are set in present time and the blossoming romance between them was all the better by being able to read what they were thinking about the other.

The chapters of Opaline begin in 1921 and the setting moves between England and Paris. She was an astonishinly brave character; at times she suffers heartbreak through loss and her living condiditions but she was a pioneering woman who showed fortitude and self-expression during a time when a woman was not expected to make her own choices as she was considered property of a man. In this case, her older brother Lyndon.

The titular bookshop is almost a character in and of itself and has a huge role to play in the story. It links all three of the characters which the author does marvellously. Coupled with an ending which made me sigh with satisfaction, this is an excellent book to read.

This book will be adored by book lovers everywhere, particularly if you like a bit of mystery and magical realism thrown in. I have read some fabulous fiction this year and this is up there with the others. I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978 0008609214

Publisher:  One More Chapter

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  442 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Evie Woods is the author of The Lost Bookshop, the #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon Kindle bestseller, which has now sold over half a million copies. She is also the author of The Story Collector, The Heirloom and The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris under her real name, Evie Gaughan.

Living on the West Coast of Ireland, Evie escapes the inclement weather by writing her stories in a converted attic, where she dreams of underfloor heating. Her books tread the intriguing line between the everyday and the otherworldly, revealing the magic that exists in our ordinary lives.

(author media courtesy of Harper Collins)

(all opinions are my own)

The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs - #blogtour #excerpt

 

When I was offered the opportunity to take part in this blog tour I leapt at the chance. Had time permitted, I would have loved to have read this book and brought you a book review.

However, my diary was pretty full at the time but I could not resist being part of the blog tour in some way. So, I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt today of The Dartington Bride by Rosemary Griggs.

First though, a bit about the book...

The Blurb

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven...

Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.

After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.

Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.

After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path...

***

The Excerpt

Chapter Eleven - Mistress of Dartington Hall

Spring 1572

My mouth fell open and I froze on the threshold, letting my eyes drink in the splendour of Dartington Hall. A soaring forest of carved oak beams supported the huge span of the roof high above my head. I slowly let out my breath as I watched the banners fluttering gently from the beams and took in the stone corbels, each with an angel bearing the arms of some great knight on a painted shield. Wispy tendrils of smoke rose from a fire smouldering in a fireplace even larger than the one Papa had at Ducey and long tables stretched the length of the hall, enough space to seat a multitude. I could see why Sir Arthur was so proud of this place. It was as splendid as the queen’s Great Hall at the Palace of Westminster.

Lost in wonder, at first I did not notice Gawen. My husband was well built and tall. He looked over the heads of most men. But he faded to insignificance in the grandeur of that lofty hall. He had almost reached me before I realised he was there, a sharp-featured little man hovering at his elbow.

I thought I caught a momentary flicker of recognition, even of welcome, in Gawen’s steel-grey eyes when he paused in front of me. But if I did it was gone as soon as it came. His fingers felt cold as he took my hand, as courtesy demanded, but he turned quickly away so I could no longer see his eyes.

‘My wife is tired from her journey,’ he announced in a lordly voice. ‘Rist, will you see my lady to her chamber. Father, we must speak. There is news from France.’ Undeterred, I put my hand on his arm.

‘Is there news of my family? I have heard nothing since they left me in London months ago. Did you bring letters from my mother?’ He shook my hand away as a horse shakes to rid itself of a fly and rapped out a short reply.

‘I did not. Go with Rist, if you please. I must speak with my father.’

Such a curt dismissal quenched all my hopes, all the joy I might have taken in my new home, as surely as if he had thrown a pail of water over me. My head dropped and I came within a hair’s breadth of meek obedience before a vision of my mother rose up in my mind; Isabeau, Countess of Montgomery, mistress of her household, imperious and commanding. I’m her daughter. I’m mistress of this household now. I’ll not be told when I’m tired and sent to my room!

I threw back my head, drew myself up in imitation of Maman at her formidable best, forced my lips into a smile and whirled around. ‘How kind and considerate you are, husband,’ I said, honey- sweet, but firm. ‘But I am not at all tired and would see more of this household which is now mine to manage. Master Rist, is it?’ I favoured the rodent-faced servant with a withering stare. ‘If you please, conduct me to the kitchens and the storerooms. I take it they lie beyond the passage?’ I’ll swear I heard Sir Arthur stifle a chuckle, or perhaps it was Bess. Rist looked questioningly at Gawen.

‘As you wish,’ my husband ground the words through clenched teeth, then recovered himself a little. ‘Yes, Rist, off course, you must do as your mistress orders. Bess, will you go with them?’

‘Oh yes, brother, I wouldn’t miss this for anything,’ she chortled as we passed through the opening.

‘Do the gardens lie that way?’ I asked brightly, pointing to a door that stood ajar. Rist grunted in reply. As I stepped forward I felt a rush of wings over my head. A swallow was making a nest high on the wall just within the door lintel. ‘Well, well. I see others are making a new home under this roof,’ I laughed. ‘Be sure not to close this door, Master Rist. Some say birds in a house bring bad luck, but I deem it an honour to share my home with this pretty fellow.’ Bess gave me another encouraging smile, but Rist looked at me as though he thought me mad.

I stepped outside and found myself in a second courtyard to the rear of the hall. Mellow grey stone walls enclosed a pretty knot garden with beds planted with flowers. The far range of buildings looked neglected, but the effect was rather charming. To the left of the door an area had been left unplanted, save for an apple tree. Away to the right, past the hall, I could just see a church tower rising up in the shadow of an enormous yew tree.

I walked a few paces enjoying the sweet, lemon-tinged fragrance of early apple blossom. Out of nowhere, two boys came hurtling along the path, giggling and laughing, egging each other on to run faster. They veered sharply into the doorway and nearly knocked Rist off his feet.

‘Scurvy little imps!’ he growled, as they ducked under his flailing arm. 

‘Now, Rist,’ said Sir Arthur, who had ignored Gawen and come to stand beside us. He watched the boys’ retreating figures as they burst out through the other door and raced across the courtyard. ‘Let ’em be. Boys will be boys! They’re the cook’s lads, aren’t they? As likely a pair as you’ll ever find! Good for them to let off steam a bit. They already practise at the butts every Sunday. Soon they’ll be put to work or to fighting for the queen.’

Rist grunted and Sir Arthur gave me a searching look.

‘It would do my heart good to see another Champernowne youngster running through these gardens,’ he said with a sigh. I felt my cheeks flaming and suddenly found the flagstone path beneath my feet fascinating.

***

ISBN:  978 1805142997

Publisher:  Troubador Publishing

Formats:  e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages:  288 (paperback)

***

About the Author:

Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country and loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history – the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.

Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places.Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.

Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology and social justice.

(all media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)

(all opinions are my own)