A talented book cover designer, Hannah Spencer, designed a new cover for my 2021 historical fantasy and I LOVE it!
Margery Pendele has been cheated by life. Alice Yonge has been cheated by death.
Nestled in the heart of the English Cotswolds lies a village largely unchanged by the passing of time, surrounded by the ancient, haunted forest called Parsonage Wood. In the year 1642, the peaceful existence of Castle Combe’s inhabitants is about to be shattered. King Charles’ soldiers are coming to fight Cromwell and the Parliamentarians. War is coming to Castle Combe.
Alice Yonge, the only child of a poor weaver, lives in one of the cottages with her parents. She has a simple life, a good life. Until it abruptly comes to an end, and she is flown away to the Vale. At only sixteen years, she is torn away from all those she loves.
Margery Pendele is a servant who works in the kitchens of the manor house. When she learns from her mother that the Lord of the Manor is her father, she is determined to get all she feels she deserves. Full of bitterness, she scorns Johnny, the peasant boy who loves her, and lets him leave for war with only her words of rejection.
Alice is given a chance to return to Castle Combe, and Margery’s life becomes intertwined with hers. In her efforts to help Margery, Alice enlists the aid of Antonius, the ghost of the Roman soldier who guards the bridge, and the fearsome ninth-century Saxons and Danes who still fight each other in the Wood. Soon, Alice discovers that her own love has gone missing. This time her only weapons are the white stone given to her by the Seraph and the power of her love.
Inspired by historical author Carol Pratt Bradley’s visit to the English village of Castle Combe, this allegorical novel weaves together vivid historical details of the 17th century English Civil war with the ancient legends surrounding the village. It is also a tribute to the language of Shakespeare, Milton and other authors of the time, as Bradley explores the power of words to lift and change us.
A thoughtful novel about life and loss and the transforming power of hope.