Minnette Walters successfully captures the tense and uncertain time of 17th-century England. Having been a Protestant country for just over a century, the reader finds England back in the grasp of Catholicism, under the strict rule of James II. The story begins with a failed uprising at Lyme Regis led by the Protestant illegitimate son of Charles II, James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth. Anyone seen to have had the slightest association with him is now being tried for treason, with a barbaric death awaiting them, should they be found guilty. Neighbour turns on neighbour as people from all classes are being accused of connection to Monmouth. Most of the accused are innocent. But with fear of being charged with treason, who will stand up for the people of Dorset? Enter Elias Harrier, the Duke of Granville.
Charismatic and empathetic, and luckily very rich, Elias and his mother, Lady Jayne, who is also a self-made physician, try to outmanoeuvre Lord Jeffrey, the frighteningly grumpy Chief Justice, to help free those wrongly accused. Help is also on hand from the young and fiercely intelligent Lady Althea and her father, the Lord Shaftesbury. Can this group of forward thinkers help change the judgment of a corrupted justice system and free innocent lives?
This is a thrilling and exciting story that will have all lovers of historical fiction hooked from the opening page.
Reviewed by Larissa (Retail Supervisor)
