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| Boldwood Books 31 July 2024 My thanks for the copy of the book and the invitation to the tour |
1648 - Hertfordshire
Thirteen-year-old Katherine Ferrers is in despair at being betrothed to arch-Royalist Thomas Fanshawe whose family are hellbent on plundering her family’s fortune to champion the exiled Charles. As her unhappy marriage stretches before her, her only comfort is her beloved childhood home The Cell. But as the years pass and Kate grows restless, a new passion, a new love and a dangerous calling threaten to upend everything she’s ever known.
Present Day - Hertfordshire
Charlie Wolfe jumps at the chance to help his uncle renovate a tumbledown cottage overlooking Nomansland Common. Number One Constable’s Cottages was once the home of the man charged with ridding the common of the highwaymen who terrorised travellers. But it’s the story of The Wicked Lady, the notorious female highway robber, that captures Charlie’s imagination, and some long winters’ nights he’s sure he can the hoof beats of her horse echoing across time.
What drove this mystery woman to risk everything for a life of crime, and why is she still restless, wandering the common in grief? It seems only Charlie can finally uncover the secret Katherine Ferrers has kept for hundreds of years; a secret of a terrible betrayal and a tragic love that was never meant to end this way…
📖 My review..
Married at fourteen Katherine Ferrers knows that there will never be any love lost between herself and her profligate young husband who is determined to spend her considerable fortune supporting the anti-royalist movement in the years following the English Civil War. With her inheritance dwindling Katherine embarks on a dangerous venture which will see her life, and that of her friends, placed in great danger.
In the present day, Charlie Wolfe is renovating an old cottage in Hertfordshire when he senses the ghostly presence of a woman on horseback and with the help of a friend, Charlie is determined to discover more about the mysterious wicked lady who once roamed the countryside and whose troubled spirit still remains.
Based on the true story of Katherine Ferrers, an English gentlewoman, who became a highwayman, this beautifully written time-slip novel is an atmospheric and evocative story which blends past and present, myth and legend together, capturing the imagination right from the start. I enjoyed piecing together all the pieces of the puzzle, whilst at the same time wanting to know more about this fearless young woman who was involved in such a dangerous activity. The modern day element is done well, and there's enough jumping at shadows to appreciate the eeriness of the story whilst also enjoying Charlie's transition from being somewhat lost and lonely to finding out so much about himself and the enigmatic wicked lady in the process.
About the Author
Elena Collins is the pen name of Judy Leigh. Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens, A Grand Old Time and The Age of Misadventure and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.
Twitter @JudyLeighWriter #TheWickedlady
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Thank you for your lovely review. J x
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