Fortune's Wheel
The First Meonbridge Chronicle
Published on 28. September 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
324 pages
978-1-9160598-2-5 (ISBN)
Description
How do you recover when half your neighbours are dead from history’s cruellest plague?
June 1349. In Meonbridge, a Hampshire manor, the Black Death has wiped out half its population, among them Alice atte Wode’s husband and Eleanor Titherige’s entire family. Even the manor’s lord and his wife, Margaret de Bohun, have not escaped the horror.
Now the plague is over, it's a struggle to return to normal life, with so much to do and so few left to do it. Tensions mount between the de Bohuns and their tenants, as the workers realise their scarceness means they can demand higher wages, dictate their own lives.
When the tensions deepen into violence and disorder, and the men – lord and villagers alike – seem unable to find any resolution, the women – Alice, Eleanor and Margaret – must step forward to end the conflict that is tearing Meonbridge apart.
"A thoroughly researched book, with care given to ensuring that the characters have 14th century attitudes and knowledge…gives a strong sense of the reality of the past." Catherine Meyrick, author of Forsaking All Other
If you enjoy well-researched, immersive historical fiction, set in a turbulent and challenging time, with strong but credible female characters, you’ll love Fortune’s Wheel, the first of the MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLES. Discover for yourself the compelling story of Meonbridge’s survival.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
528 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9160598-2-5 (9781916059825)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
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 instruments manufacturers.Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in fourteenth century rural England... Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she could learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune's Wheel, was under way.Six published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn't have it any other way...Carolyn has a Master's in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.