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This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country. As a way to whittle down the thousands and thousands of authors who live in the UK to just ten, I’ve selected British authors who’ve appeared over the years at my local literary festival, Henley Literary Festival. (This year’s festival takes place between 4th and 12th October.) In most cases I’ve read more than one book by the author but I’ve selected a single title for each of them. Links from the title will take you to my review.
Robert Harris, author of Precipice (lives in Berkshire)
How can you rescue what you hold most dear, when to do so you must break your vows?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
I’ve been a fan of the Meonbridge Chronicles ever since the first book, Fortune’s Wheel. Follow the links from the titles to read my reviews of A Woman’s Lot, De Bohun’s Destiny, Children’s Fate and Squire’s Hazard. You can think of Meonbridge as the medieval equivalent of Ambridge in the long-running BBC Radio 4 drama, The Archers. This ‘everyday story of farming folk’ is interspersed with the usual life events – births, marriages, deaths – and the goings-on that occur in a small community such as disagreements between neighbours, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. The changing of the seasons bring challenges and from time to time events in the outside world imposes themselves. People depart for pastures new and there are occasional new arrivals. And Meonbridge is not free from crime… even murder.
Sister Rosa’s Rebellion is the sixth book in the series and, as in previous books, the author has plucked one or two characters from the large cast she created in the first book (and their descendants) to be the focus of the story. In this case, it’s Johanna de Bohun, now known as Sister Rosa since her departure from Meonbridge for Northwick Priory, and Meonbridge bailiff, John atte Wode, still a bachelor living with his aged mother.
The reason for Rosa’s flight? Well, that’s a secret burden she carries. Of a shameful act in her past and guilt at its tragic consequences. Initially, she saw cloistering herself away from the outside world in Northwick as a way to atone for her sins but over the years she’s come to appreciate the simplicity and fulfilment of religious life under the wise and gentle guidance of Mother Angelica. Now that’s all at risk, and so is her secret. Will her fellow nuns think differently about her if they discover her past?
The story moves at a gentle pace but is not without moments of drama, especially in the storyline involving John atte Wode. Along the way we learn just how stratified medieval society was with most eking out a living from the land whilst a few wield power and influence, and live a life of luxury. It’s that sense of entitlement that drives Sister Evangelina who, if not exactly an out-and-out villain, certainly puts her own interests above those of others. The story also demonstrates how life in a convent might be the only option for certain young women, such as those widowed or unable to make a favourable marriage.
I loved Rosa as a character. She has immersed herself in a life of prayer and service, and possesses a strong sense of justice. But she’s also resourceful and not averse to a little subterfuge if she believes it’s for the greater good. You can’t help rooting for her and feeling empathy with her struggles to do the right thing even if that means breaking her vows. I was glad she finds out her feelings of guilt may be misplaced and I rejoiced in her role as matchmaker.
I also enjoyed catching up with other characters and seeing how the ‘wheel of fortune’ has turned for them over the years.
Sister Rosa’s Rebellion is another excellent addition to the Meonbridge Chronicles series and we are promised that more stories about the folk of Meonbridge will follow. That’s great news.
My thanks to Carolyn Hughes for my digital review copy.
In three words: Gentle, engaging, authentic
About the Author
Carolyn Hughes has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instrument manufacturers.
Although she has written creatively for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.
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