Against a backdrop of wars and dissension, Isolde, faces a challenge that no child should have to face. Barely out of childhood, she is to marry a man old enough to be her grand-sire. Dismayed and defiant, she realizes she has no other option but to obey, and thus begins her journey from childhood.
However, Isolde's elderly husband dies not long after the wedding but that is not the end of her troubles. She successfully defies her brother-in-law, who tries to seize control of the household and claims her rights as a widow, aided by her loyal companion Ela. The following year, Isolde marries Hugh de Audley, the youngest son of James de Audley and Ela Longespé. She believes her circumstances to be much improved but her hopes are dashed. She soon discovers that Hugh is a spoilt, selfish young man and her dreams of a loving marriage founder. Disappointed and despairing, she meets her new brother-in-law, Nicolas - and at last finds a man whom she both trusts and admires. Her emotions threaten to rule her head.
In Fran Norton's new book, we return to an age when knights rode into tournaments and wars bedecked in colourful plumes on prancing, powerful destriers, and ladies in magnificent gowns fought their own, more subtle, battles. We follow Isolde’s eventful life, through the trials and tribulations of marriage and motherhood, and watch as her husband claims his place as a loyal and respected member of the royal court through his valiant actions in Scotland. Finally we witness how, for the sake of her children, Isolde buries her pride when she discovers her husband’s infidelity.
Dr Alison Harrop Fran Norton knows her period intimately, so we are in safe hands here.
Isolde is a bastard child who is nonetheless brought up by Lady Maud Mortimer, the subject of Ms Norton’s (stand-alone) earlier book: The Twisted Legacy of Maud de Braose. She has inherited the strength and quick temper of her baronial father and consequently has lessons to learn to master herself. She might have become unlikeable as a result, but we are skilfully led to understand her struggles. Like most mediaeval gentlewomen, she must accept loveless marriages but still manages to assert herself to survive.
The book is set against a background of war and authentic Scottish politics but never loses sight of its human aspect and strong central character. An enjoyable read with the hint of another tale to come as Eve is introduced in its final chapters. So I suspect we may look forward to a third book with keen anticipation!
On a bleak November day in the year of Our Lord, 1307, Eve de Clavering rode away from the Staffordshire Castle of Heleigh into an uncertain future. Wracked by grief at losing her young husband, Thomas de Audley, Eve carries a guilty secret, one which will affect the rest of her life.
When she arrives back in Essex, the home of her dominating father, Sir John de Clavering, Eve discovers her future has already been decided. No time for grief, Eve reluctantly meets Sir Thomas de Ufford, the second son of a kinsman to the Earl of Suffolk. Infuriated by her father's insensitive behaviour, it sparks a rift between father and daughter which will never be resolved.
However, against all odds, Eve discovers an ally in her second husband but will the chance of happiness be overshadowed by her secret? Meantime, Thomas introduces her to court life where she meets the powerful and colourful characters surrounding the Edward II and his queen Isabella of France, but Eve hates the hypocrisy and underlying tensions.
In 1314, Thomas joins the knights and earls of the king to face the Scots at the fateful Battle of Bannockburn where the English suffer an ignominious defeat and where the king even loses the Great Seal of State.
Once again Eve finds herself a widow but this time, she has three young sons to protect. A proposal of marriage from James de Audley throws her into a quandary, beset by guilt, Eve refuses. How will she overcome her emotions and will she now seize the chance to marry her girlhood love?
When her brother-in-law, Hugh de Audley escapes from Nottingham Castle, Eve finds herself in danger as the king's treacherous favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, sends troops to search her home at Stratton.
Set against the dysfunctional reign of Edward II, Eve's destiny unfolds against a backdrop of civil wars, through a time of desperate poverty and the unending struggle with the Scots, in a period of history which is filled with treachery, intrigue, and controversy.
Come, let us accompany Eve through the years of her eventful life; meet the four men who play a intrinsic role in her destiny and watch, as the terrible fate of a king's favourites unfolds. These are the years of 'The Secret, the Sword and the Seal'.
In 1230 William de Braose , Lord of Abergavenny, is hanged on the orders of Llywelyn ap Iowerth, Prince of Wales for adultery with his wife. William’s widow, Eva Marshal, daughter of the legendary knight, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, decides to keep the true facts of his death from his favourite daughter, Maud. Nonetheless, the little girl finds her life has changed forever, due to the sin of her father. Subsequently she inherits the twisted legacy of pride and shame; a legacy from which there is no escape.
As Maud grows towards adulthood she falls in love, but her forbidden love only complicates her efforts to fulfil her family duty as she faces the fact she is expected to marry the young Roger Mortimer, heir to the Marcher barony of Wigmore.
Maud, feisty, fearless and shrewd, plays a unique role in the history of England during the disastrous reign of Henry III: a period, riven by wars and dissent. Troubles in Wales and Gascony, and eventually civil war, see the nation fall into poverty and unrest. The loyalties of the magnates are tested when the charismatic leader of the Barons’ party, Simon de Montfort, challenges the authority of the king. It is a time when friends become enemies and families are divided by their loyalties, as warring factions fight for democracy.
Roger Mortimer is immortalised for slaying de Montfort on the bloody field at Evesham, a place where honour and friendships are sacrificed and where the future king, Edward Plantagenet, gives the fateful order of ‘no quarter’, heralding death to anyone who dares oppose him. Edward orders de Montfort’s head to be sent to Maud at Wigmore Castle in recognition of her part in his victory.
Factual events are woven with fiction to bring the eventful life of this extraordinary woman to the reader. Now let us step back into the thirteenth century and meet Lady Maud de Braose, daughter of the March.
There’s trouble brewing in the Yorkshire Dales when the natives of Richmondshire start behaving out of character. It just so happens that a local pub is trialling a new organic cider – and it’s going down a treat.
Cider should make people merry but this normally docile community of Yorkshire folk finds itself in the grip of paranoia, fear, and confusion. That’s when casual boozer, Lenny Plant, discovers that the disruption is down to something far more sinister than a glass or two of an apple beverage: lying dormant in the corner of his best friend’s garage there lurks a threat to humanity deadlier than a thousand nuclear wars. The cider is almost an innocent bystander.
Against his better nature, Lenny decides to take matters into his own hands, only to find himself up against the KGB, a psychotic war veteran and, perhaps worst of all - his affection for the cider.
Andrew Price was born ages ago in Saltburn by the Sea. He didn’t write for forty-nine years – much too young.
Andrew allows that, although the British are useless at most things, sport in particular, their fluency in humour is without equal.
His novels “Poor Enid” and “Poor Ronnie” are humble contributions to the cause – a manifestation of all that has inspired him. For every sentence is etched onto the hard drive with stubborn purpose, goaded by a duty of care, to celebrate, perpetuate, and create.
Reviews...
Roger Ordish, TV Producer and Director Remarkable imagination. As a retired piss artist, I laughed most at the wonderful pub scenes.
Willie O'Kane
Andy Price does it again! Just when you thought things in Yorkshire couldn't get any worse, along comes Lenny Plant and his cohort of assorted wasters to foil another evil plan to take over the world.
The story ties in (and picks up from) where 'Poor Enid' left off, as centenarian monomaniac Art Schitthelm locks horns with Russian spies and local winos in a bid to control the entire world. In a plot that defies description, Andy deploys his wide-ranging knowledge of quantum physics, time-travel and the workings of the human alimentary canal to create a truly madcap story where nothing is as it seems. In a dim-lit world where gargantuan guzzling of alcohol truly makes a man, Lenny and co prove that it takes more than scientific know-how to take over the world, and once again our heroes win out despite the odds and without their even really trying.
A tale for our times, 'Poor Ronnie' will make the reader marvel at the dexterity with which the main players face up to fate - and despite the occasional jolt to one's digestive system it has to be recommended for its raucous energy and imaginative spirit.
John Vickers, Amazon Review “Intricately funny. A very enjoyable read which complements the first book.
Funny, dark and twisted; you can really relate to the piss-heads in the book.”
Peter Ullathorne, Amazon Review “It is always said the measure of a good book is if you cannot put it down.
This one is so entertaining and funny that you always have that ‘just another chapter’ thought.
Peggy's Life Falls Apart when her husband, Eben, is brutally beaten to death on a winter’s night in 1932.
As he’s bleeding in the freezing mud, he beseeches her to tell everyone that he was trampled by the horse, everyone, that is, except his older brother, Larcey. With
his last words to her, Eden extracts a promise from Peggy that she will tell Larcey the name of his killer.
The killer is Rapley, the game keeper.
Left alone with only a gypsy caravan to call her own, and with three young children, Peggy seeks refuge at her brother-in-law’s small-holding.
Custom in the travelling community dictates that Larcey look after his brother’s widow and children. But because Larcey knows that his brother’s death was no accident, his grief turns to seething hatred.
The funeral provides another opportunity for him to show his generosity with the promise of free food and flowing liquer, and a large number of mourners turn up at the holding. However Peggy is shunned for ‘speaking posh’ as are her children who are teased. Danny has stayed at the small-holding to support Peggy and to help Larcey with the funeral. Whilst the funeral is in full swing, Larcey, with murder on his mind, confides to Danny that he plans to kill Rapley.
This is a story to chill the blood.
Jack Worsfold Snr. was born in Surrey in 1924, the son of a coal merchant. At nineteen years old he joined the RAF as a rear gunner on Lancasters under the command of Flight Lieutenant John Keards, flying out of Ludord Magna with 101 Squadron. On the 3rd May they were one of twenty one Lancaster bombers ordered to participate in a raid on Mailly-Le-Camp, intended to be an attack on the German depot, south of Reims in France. 340 Lancaster bombers took part in total, forty-two were shot down including Jack's. They had only bombed once when they were attacked with cannon fire. At that point the Lancaster broke up and Jack fell to earth, trapped in the tail section and with his parachute was on fire. He heard himself say; " Make it quick," and he passed out.
He spiralled to the ground 7.500 feet, crashing through a power line and fir trees before coming to rest in gorse near the village of Aubeterre, ten miles south Mailly. Jack was too badly injured to escape but was rescued by the French resistance. They put him in the woods but were rumbled by the Germans which actually turned out to be fortunate because he was taken off to Paris where his broken leg was expertly fixed by a German doctor. He was then transported to a pow camp in Poland and held for one year until the war had finished. The rest of Jack's crew mates died in the crash.
In the summer of 1936 a young Englishman is sitting in a Siena café when he is approached by a stranger. It is an uncomfortable encounter but the man’s words draw him inexorably into the lives of a writer, his wife and their immediate friends. Eventually their identities become clear to him but he keeps this to himself at further, seemingly chance, meetings. Overtaken by events in Europe and the war that is to come he can eventually return to his notes.
After the success of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D.H. Lawrence is able to travel from Italy to France no longer beset by a lack of money. His friendships and the relationship with his wife are tested as, increasingly constrained by ill-health, he is beset with reminiscences, regrets, and contradictory emotions about his past and present life.
With thanks to John Farrington for the cover image.
The author was born into a Fife mining community in 1938. After Grammar School he worked briefly in banking until joining the Royal Air Force and subsequently entering college. Following a short teaching career and a post-graduate course at Reading University he again changed course to gain a Masters degree, lead an economic research team in the Midlands and was invited to the Triplex Lloyd Chair of Management in Brno a few months after the 1989 Czechoslovak revolution.
Now retired, he lives in Shrophire and walks, writes and plays golf, both at Crail Golfing Society on the banks of the Firth of Forth and at Ludlow. He also travels frequently through central Europe by car and is familiar with some of the locations in which the Ashes of D.H. Lawrence is set..
Reader Reviews
Amazon Reader Lovely read, heard about the book thanks to local newspaper.
Read in a day - could not put it down.
Characters were believable. Liked the time hopping element.
The Untimely Demise of Friday the Pig
Irish Tales from Coolshannagh
Coolshannagh is an ordinary Irish village situated on the coast halfway between Dublin and Belfast.
The villagers are pretty ordinary too; Father Joe, a clubfooted priest who likes to dance; Duffy the bar owner who runs a great pub; Stochelo a Gypsy bandolier and his mighty son Miquel; Eamonn McGarvey who loved his pet pig; Ludmilla the one handed Ukrainian Headmistress who escaped the anti-Jewish pogroms of 1881; Mary-Ellen the village elder, wise-woman, and nurse in the Crimean War; Vincenti Quilto the Italian Matchmaker and teller of unlikely fables; Father Dan, a guilt ridden whiskey priest decorated for bravery in the First World war and The Diabhal (Devil) also comes calling intent upon mischief.
So, just an unremarkable Irish village going about its daily business; hum-drum times punctuated by birth, death, love, not much hate (except the Devil for whom hate is his only purpose).
And every word is true…
at least according to my father who came from Coolshannagh and passed these tales on!
Reviews...
Debbie Turfrey - Authorised buyer
5 out of 5 stars Beautifully written Irish tale This is a wonderful book, a whimsical yarn which flows beautifully!
In true Irish story teller style, the author weaves the threads of the story together.
I would highly recommend it to anyone!
Healing Hearts and Apple Tarts and a totally demented dalmatian
When Hetti returns home to discover that the locks have been changed she soon realises that her boyfriend, Daniel has absconded with one hundred-thousand pounds of trust fund money left to her by her parents.
Hetti isn’t the sort to let him get away with it and sets about trying to find him and recover her money. She turns to her gay godfather, Oscar, for emotional support. Oscar’s go-to comfort food and remedy for all ills is homemade apple tart.
Hetti finds a housesitting job and moves to Wisteria Cottage, in the Norfolk countryside. What she doesn’t realise is that the job involves taking responsibility for Tosca, a totally demented adolescent Dalmatian. Hetti has no experience of dogs, especially crazy ones.
Nathan runs a smallholding in Norfolk, close to Wisteria Cottage. He has been nursing a broken heart following a tragedy five years earlier.
Will Hetti find Daniel and retrieve her money? And will Nathan’s heart ever heal? Can Hetti and Nathan learn to trust again? Annie Beaumont takes us through a rollercoaster of emotions, dramas and comedic situations before we find the answers to these questions.
Published:
Nov 2019
Paperback:
282 pages
Price:
£9.99
ISBN:
9-781913-425005
Paperback edition (UK only)
£9.99 (+ £2.50 postage)
Number of copies:
Annie Beaumont was born in Scotland and left before her first birthday. She was brought up in various places around England and the Far East. At 47, she began her Bachelor’s degree at Sussex University and went on to complete a Master’s at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and a PhD at Essex. She has taught sociology at Essex University and social sciences at The Open University. Annie is currently a student at the Unthank School of Writing in Norwich. Set in Wymondham, Norfolk, the county she made her own, Daughters of Hamilton Hall is Annie Beaumont’s first novel.
Reader Reviews
Amazon Reader Healing Hearts and Apple Tarts is set in Wymondham, Norfolk, and is Annie Beaumont’s second novel.
Her first novel, Daughters of Hamilton Hall is also set in Wymondham and has received five-star reviews.
When you have produced the final draft of your book, it is always advisable to have the text read and checked by a professional editor or proof reader.
You may have friends that are willing and competent to do this and we can advise you on the type of editing that is required.
We can offer four levels of editing as well as proof-reading.
You choose which, if any, are appropriate in your case: 1. Edit of sample pages and short report (£30)
We will edit a few pages to highlight editorial issues so that you can look for similar problems throughout the book.
This will reduce the amount of further copy-editing required when the book is finished. 2. Broad structural editing and criticism (£5 per thousand words)
A structural review is particularly relevant for works of fiction.
The structural reviewer will address the following main areas and produce a short report for the author ” Read More 3. Copy editing (£10 per thousand words)
A copy-editor takes a close look at your text, line by line, with an eye to grammatical errors, repetition, inconsistency and lack of clarity. The copy editor will make changes to the text, with suggestions for rewriting, grammar, and punctuation. When you receive the edited version, you have the final choice about accepting of rejecting the individual changes. 4. Proof Reading (£8 per thousand words)
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication. Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself. 5. Consistency Scan
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we offer an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies. This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling and inconsistencies of hyphenation and capitalisation.
We can also identify inconsistencies in the spelling of proper names. 6. Cover text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we can work with you to make sure that these are correct and effective.
Copy Edit
Copy-editors get the raw material into shape for publication i.e they edit the copy.
When they have finished, the designer can lay out or typeset the book and produce a proof.
It is quite normal for the author to make additional changes after a book has been copy-edited.
Working through the material, the copy-editor may identify errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, style and usage, but also very long sentences and overuse of italic, bold, capitals and exclamation marks.
They should correct or query doubtful facts, weak arguments, plot holes and gaps in numbering.
In fiction, they should also check that characters haven’t changed their name or hair colour, look for sudden changes from first to third person among other things.
The Copy-editor is not a proof reader and should not be expected to find all of the errors in the text particularly if the text is badly written to start with.
This is the job of the proof reader.
The final proof should be checked by a proof reader or an experienced reader friend before going to print.
It is almost inevitable (and acceptable) to miss a few errors which can be corrected in a later edition.
Proof Reading
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication.
Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself.
If you have decided to complete this stage of the process yourself, we will send a detailed check-list to help you.
We ask you to try and ensure that the book is completely ready before we start the layout.
Once the layout has started, we expect that you might want to to make a small number of amendments but
if there are a significant number, we may need to charge for the extra time it takes to change the layout
so best to discuss this with us first.
Structural Review
In fiction, the main areas that a structural editor will address are:
Plot: Does the plot make sense? Is it believable? Is it satisfying or does it leave the reader frustrated? Themes: Are the themes effectively handled? Are there so many that the book lacks focus? Do they interfere with the plot or complement it?
Characterisation: Are your characters well developed and believable? Are they cast in a role that fits their personality? Do they sometimes behave out of character? Point of view/voice: Is the voice consistent or is it sometimes confused? Is the voice authentic? Are you using too many or too few POVs? Pace: Does the plot move forward at an appropriate pace? Should you cut that preface? Should the action happen sooner or should the tension build more slowly? Dialogue: Do your characters sound real when they speak? Is your dialogue cluttered with adverbs and beats? Do you use clunky dialogue to move the plot forward? Flow: Is the narrative interrupted by dead-ends and tangents? Is there so much back story that the main plot is dwarfed? Are there missing plot points that would give the narrative greater integrity?
In non-fiction, the principle is the same, but the specific issues are slightly different:
Thesis: Is your thesis relevant? Is it clearly defined or is it lost among marginal issues? Exposition: Are your arguments clear and cogent? Are they well researched and properly supported? Do they have a clear relationship with your thesis? Content: Are all the necessary topics sufficiently dealt with? Are the chapters weighted correctly? Is there superfluous content? Organisation: Is the information organised logically? Are tables and illustrations used appropriately? How many levels of subheads do you need and how should they be arranged? Tone: Is the tone appropriate for the audience? Do you need to eliminate jargon? Is the text accessible? Pace: Are there passages that are bogged down in detail? Do you spend too long on detail irrelevant to the main thesis? Are there areas that need further exposition lest they be skipped over?
Cover Text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we work with you to make sure that these are as effective as possible.
Consistency check
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we can run an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies.
This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation.
It also checks for consistent formatting of numbers and dates as well as undefined abbreviations.
Subsequent Script Edit
It is very normal and generally beneficial for the script-editing process to go through at least a couple of cycles
i.e. the rewritten draft to be worked through once again by an experienced script practitioner – though this would be entirely at the discretion and behest of the writer.
Full Script Edit
The script that you deliver to us will probably constitute what the industry would classify as the ‘Initial Rough Draft’, i.e. a full screenplay written without any other professional input or advice, and probably without a great deal of rewriting. We work through your draft, line by line, scene by scene, and come back to you with a comprehensive set of notes from which you can then work towards the official ‘1st Draft’. Some of our notes will be broad and general, dealing with such areas as the overall shape and structure, pacing, plot and character development; others will be far more specific, with corrections, clarifications and suggested cuts etc. It is of course entirely up to you whether or not to take these suggestions on board, and to what extent.
Ongoing Support
We aim to make your self-publishing venture an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Publishing is a complex business and we treat every book as a separate project.
We explain all of the stages at the outset and we manage the project schedule for you. This will include all of the expert services you have requested for editorial, design, printing, distribution and collection of royalties, keeping in close contact with you throughout the process.
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