It is 1660. The King is back, but memories of the Civil War still rankle. In rural Westmorland, artist Alice Ibbetson has become captivated by the rare Lady's Slipper orchid. She is determined to capture its unique beauty for posterity, even if it means stealing the flower from the land of recently converted Quaker, Richard Wheeler. Fired by his newfound faith, the former soldier Wheeler feels bound to track down the missing orchid. Meanwhile, others are eager to lay hands on the flower, and have their own powerful motives. Margaret Poulter, a local medicine woman, is seduced by the orchid's mysterious herbal powers, while Sir Geoffrey Fisk, Alice's patron and a former comrade-in-arms of Wheeler, sees the valuable plant as a way to repair his ailing fortunes and cure his own agonizing illness. Fearing that Wheeler and his new friends are planning revolution, Fisk sends his son Stephen to spy on the Quakers, only for the young man to find his loyalties divided as he befriends the group he has been sent to investigate. Then, when Alice Ibbetson is implicated in a brutal murder, she is imprisoned along with the suspected anti-royalist Wheeler. As Fisk's sanity grows ever more precarious, and Wheeler and Alice plot their escape, a storm begins to brew, from which no party will escape unscathed. Vivid, gripping and intensely atmospheric, "The Lady's Slipper" is a novel about beauty, faith and loyalty. It marks the emergence of an exquisite new voice in historical fiction.

Lady's Slipper (Macmillan New Writing)

Literature & Fiction

Swift, Deborah

British & Irish

Pan/Macmillan

1660. King Charles II has returned from exile, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. There are old scores to settle, and religious differences threaten to overturn a fragile peace. When Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the Lady's Slipper, growing in a wood belonging to Richard Wheeler, she is captivated by its beauty― though Wheeler, a Quaker, is determined to keep the flower where God intended it to grow. Knowing that the orchid is the last of its kind, she steals the flower, little dreaming that her seemingly simple act will set off a chain of events that will lead to murder and exile, and change her life forever…

The Lady's Slipper: A Novel

Genre Fiction

St. Martin's: Griffin

Rome 1638 
Old sins have long shadows ~ Italian Proverb 
Giulia Tofana never wanted to be a nun, but she is determined to atone for her past misdeeds by making her new monastery a success. 
When an unexpected disaster closes the convent, Giulia is forced to turn to her old friend Fabio Pasello for help. Giulia still has intense feelings for Fabio and Fabio’s passion for her has never diminished. 
But they are not the same people they were before. Giulia has taken her vows, and Fabio is apprenticed to Gianlorenzo Bernini the famous sculptor, and has become one of Bernini’s rakish libertines. They could not be further apart. 
To add to their problems, Giulia cannot escape her reputation as a poisoner, and is soon embroiled in a plot against Fabio’s patron, Pope Urban VIII. Faced with the idea of murder, will Giulia renounce her vows or embrace them? 
Inspired by true stories, this is a novel of nuns and courtesans, artists and priests, in the shadow and splendour of the Eternal City. 
'Swift is a consummate historical novelist, basing her books on immaculate research and then filling the gaps between real events and real people with eloquent storytelling, atmospheric scene setting and imaginative plot lines.' - The Visitor

The Silkworm Keeper: a captivating historical novel of Renaissance Italy (Italian Renaissance Series)

Literary

Quire Books

'captivating...a rich and luscious tapestry. A brilliant book' Karen Maitland author of the Owl Killers Westmorland 1660 When artist Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the lady's-slipper, growing in a nearby wood, she is captivated by its beauty. It is the last surviving specimen and she wants to preserve it for future generations. There is only one problem – it is growing on the land of Richard Wheeler, a newly-converted Quaker, who will not allow her to touch it. Fearing for the flower’s fragility, she steals the orchid, little dreaming that this seemingly simple act will set off an unstoppable chain of events - a web of intrigue that will lead to murder and exile, and change her comfortable life forever. Vivid, gripping and atmospheric, The Lady’s Slipper is a novel of beauty, faith and loyalty. 'Top pick! Compelling and intriguing' RT Book Reviews

The Lady's Slipper (Westmorland)

'Filled with action and sparked with romance' -- BooklistBeauty is skin-deep. Love runs deeper.They tell one sister she's pretty. They tell the other she's plain.Shy Sadie Appleby is the plain one, and has never left her small village. But one night she is rudely awoken by her older and bolder sister, Ella, who has robbed her employer and is on the run. Together they head for a new life in London, hoping to lose themselves in the teeming city. Flirtatious Ella is soon seduced by the glitter and glamour of the city and sets her sights on flamboyant man-about-town, Jay Whitgift. Jay is a member of  Charles II's 'Merry Gang' and owner of 'The Gilded Lily', a beauty parlour for the wives of the London gentry.Ella begins to see Sadie is a millstone around her neck, and as she rises in society, she pushes Sadie down. Soon a deep rift has formed between the sisters.But nothing in the capital is what it seems, least of all Jay Whitgift. And when a desperate danger threatens, will blood prove thicker than water?Set in Restoration London, in the coldest winter of the 17th Century, when the Thames freezes and birds plummet frozen from the sky, The Gilded Lily is a novel about beauty and desire, and how sisterhood can be both a burden and a saving grace. Includes Discussion Points for Reading Groups at the back of the book."It's hard to say why you find a novel unputdownable, but I've just spent about 4 hours curled up with the second half, and there was no way I was not going to finish it today!""The story line, like a meandering river, was full of unexpected twists and turns which enchanted me and made it very hard to put down.""Brilliant. a cracking good read couldn't put it down, exciting from beginning to end the author really brought the characters to life.""I enjoyed this one particularly as it has a different and engaging storyline. It was another book I couldn't put down...read in a day and enjoyed the characters and storyline immensely."But nothing in the capital is what it seems, least of all Jay Whitgift. And when one sister rises in society and the other falls, a rift forms between Ella and Sadie. But when the hangman threatens, and those they trust the most fail, will blood be thicker than water?"It's hard to say why you find a novel unputdownable, but I've just spent about 4 hours curled up with the second half, and there was no way I was not going to finish it today!""The story line, like a meandering river, was full of unexpected twists and turns which enchanted me and made it very hard to put down.""Brilliant. a cracking good read couldn't put it down, exciting from beginning to end the author really brought the characters to life.""I enjoyed this one particularly as it has a different and engaging storyline. It was another book I couldn't put down...read in a day and enjoyed the characters and storline immensely."

The Gilded Lily (Westmorland)

Quire

A Divided Inheritance

'a classy, compelling adventure story and a true journey of discovery.' -- Lancashire Evening Post a family divided by fortune, a country divided by faith London 1609 Elspet Leviston has always managed her father's lace business and expects to continue in his footsteps. So when her hot-headed cousin Zachary Deane appears from nowhere, his arrival in her life is like an earthquake. Zachary is not who he seems, and has no love at all for Leviston's Lace. When her father dies unexpectedly, Elspet is horrified to find her inheritance is tied to her cousin's. But by now, her father has sent Zachary on a Grand Tour, and he is in Spain. Determined to regain her rightful inheritance, she goes to Seville in search of him. Zachary is in training at the sword school of the charismatic Senor Alvarez, and here, in the searing heat and dust of Spain, Elspet's real journey begins. A journey that throws her into one of the most turbulent moments of Spain's history, and leads her to question everything she has ever known about her country, her faith and herself. Epic historical fiction set in 17th Century London and Golden Age Spain. 'I was thoroughly gripped until the end of this exhilarating book. And I would highly recommend this swashbuckling tale of lace, swordsmen, Spanish dancing, spice and romance if you enjoy a historical novel with a difference' - Sixtyplussurfers magazine Reading group questions and historical notes in the back of the book.

Naples 1633 
Aqua Tofana – One drop to heal. Three drops to kill. 
Giulia Tofana longs for more responsibility in her mother’s apothecary business, but Mamma has always been secretive and refuses to tell her the hidden keys to her success. But the day Mamma is arrested for the poisoning of the powerful Duke de Verdi, Giulia is shocked to uncover the darker side of her trade. 
Giulia must run for her life, and escapes to Naples, under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, to the home of her Aunt Isabetta, a famous courtesan. But when Giulia hears that her mother has been executed, and the cruel manner of her death, she swears she will wreak revenge on the Duke de Verdi. 
The trouble is, Naples is in the grip of Domenico, the Duke’s brother, who controls the city with the ‘Camorra’, the mafia. Worse, her Aunt Isabetta, under his thrall, insists that she should be consort to him. 
Based on the legendary life of Giulia Tofana, this is a story of hidden family secrets, and how courage and love can overcome vengeance. 
'Her characters are so real they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf'Historical Novel Society

The Poison Keeper: An enthralling historical novel of Renaissance Italy

GLOW UP

Self-Help

Motivational

Independently published

A spellbinding historical novel of beauty and greed and surprising redemption. England, 1660. Ella Appleby believes she is destined for better things than slaving as a housemaid and dodging the blows of her drunken father. When her employer dies suddenly, she seizes her chance--taking his valuables and fleeing the countryside with her sister for the golden prospects of London. But London may not be the promised land she expects. Work is hard to find, until Ella takes up with a dashing and dubious gentleman with ties to the London underworld. Meanwhile, her old employer's twin brother is in hot pursuit of the sisters. Set in a London of atmospheric coffee houses, gilded mansions, and shady pawnshops hidden from rich men's view, Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily is a dazzling novel of historical adventure.

The Gilded Lily: A Novel

Abigail Chaplin has always been unable to find a position as a maidservant like other girls, because she is deaf. So why do the rich Fanshawes of Markyate Manor seem so anxious to employ her? And where exactly does her mistress, Lady Katherine, ride out to at night? SHADOW ON THE HIGHWAY is based on the life and legend of Lady Katherine Fanshawe, the highwaywoman, sometimes known as The Wicked Lady. A tale of adventure and budding romance set in the turbulent English Civil War, this is a novel to delight teens and adults alike. Includes historical notes from the author.SHADOW ON THE HIGHWAY is the stand-alone first part of The Highway Trilogy.

Shadow on the Highway (The Highway Trilogy)

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

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