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Forced by Sir Robert Walpole into a distasteful marriage and then ruined by her husband, Lady Cecily Fitzhenry vows revenge on the Prime Minister and the creaking Hanoverian court. Lady Cecily turns her hand to highway robbery and spying for the Old Pretender while transforming her sole remaining asset, a ruinous tavern on the Great North Road, into a great coaching inn. But in trying to save her people from the notorious Black Acts and encroaching slavery laws, Cecily finds a new cause to fight for and she begins to doubt if the restoration of the Stuarts is really the answer. And eventually, Cecily saves her country and herself in ways she had never imagined... This gripping historical saga of intrigue and bravery is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Chadwick and Kate Mosse. ’Diana Norman always strikes gold’ The Times
Set in medieval England, this chilling novel combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the drama of historical fiction, as a mistress of the art of death--an early version of a medical examiner--arrives in Cambridge from Italy to investigate the suspicious deaths of four children.
A brilliant, stylish novel encompassing the robust life of Boston and London, just at the time of greatest resentment and rebellion by the colonists against the British Government, and displaying the remarkably contemporary prejeudice shown by people on both sides. Makepeace Burke, keeper of a tavern on the waterfront in Boston, could no more watch a fellow creature drown than she could stop the wind blowing. But the price she paid for rescuing an English aristocrat after he had been attacked by the mob was high. She might be a supporter of the more reasonable colonists but she had committed an apparently unforgiveable sin. So her inn became deserted, her brother was tarred and feathered, and her respectable fiancee and his family deserted her. When the Patriots turned to burning her home, she knew she had to take the offer of the much despised Englishmen and so, saved by the Navy and accompanied by her remarkable retinue, she sails for London. She marries her Englishman as his second wife but finds that English society does not easily accept uneducated, colonial, ex-tavernkeepers -- and the first wife, well connected and refusing to acknowledge a divorce, proves a dirty fighter. B
The compelling story of a medieval monastery in Glastonbury, the young monk who tries to bring its treasure to the king, and the companions he meets along the way. The cowled figures which stood around the open grave in the moonlight at Glastonbury in the year 1189 were used to mystery, but even they were overawed by what was in the coffin. Their ancient monastery was in trouble and if this sword was really King Arthur’s, then they had a great relic to send to their king. However, their king is in France, fighting his son, Richard Coeur de Lion. Getting the sword to him will be a perilous business for the monk entrusted with the task. And can the companions he picks up on the way, a formidable Prioress and a Crusader haunted by the massacre in the Holy Land, be trusted with the secret? What’s more, the king he seeks, Henry II, is mortally ill. Not only must the young monk successfully evade all enemies, but he also finds himself in a dangerous race against time. A historical adventure full of sharp medieval detail and lively wit, Diana Norman’s second novel is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Chadwick and Kate Mosse.
A light-hearted medieval fantasy adventure about English common law and its beginnings in the reign of Henry II. Three English teenagers, Pete, Sal, and Len, break into a mysterious old woman’s cottage, who vows that justice will be brought on them for their crime. Shortly after, they have an unusual accident and find themselves in 12th-century England during the reign of Henry II. Len is now Aluric, a Hertfordshire peasant. Sal is the orphaned Hawise of Redbourne, imprisoned in a convent by her father-in-law who broke her marriage contract. And Pete finds himself in the mail of Sir Roger of Mardleybury, who has lost his land and is travelling with a band of knights. Each of the time travellers must adjust to their new medieval life. And as time runs out for all three, they must plead their cases at the newly established King’s Court - for freedom, for land and for marriage - and they witness a new justice system in the making. Diana Norman’s compelling first novel is a unique medieval adventure, rich in historical detail and perfect for fans of Elizabeth Chadwick or Kate Mosse.
Siena, Florence and Padua were all major centres for the flowering of early Italian Renaissance art and civic culture. The three communities shared a common concern for the embelishment of their cities by means of painting, sculpture and architecture. The eleven papers in this volume re-examine and re-assess the artistic legacy of the three cities during the 14th century amd locate the various works of art considered within their broader cultural, social and religious contexts. Contributors include: D Norman (Patrons, politics and art) ; C Harrison (Giotto and the `rise of painting') ; C King (The arts of carving and casting) ; T Benton (The building trades and design methods) ; D Norman (Art and religion after the Black Death) ; C King (The trecento: New ideas, new evidence) .
The city of Siena, one of Italy's major artistic centers, was home to many celebrated painters, among them Duccio, Simone Martini, Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti, Sassetta and Beccafumi. This generously illustrated book provides a survey of Sienese painting from 1260 to 1555, an era of extraordinary artistic creativity in the Tuscan city. Art historian Diana Norman addresses the style and artistic technique of Sienese painters throughout the three centuries and explores why paintings were made, where they were originally seen, and how they were used and enjoyed by their audiences. The book focuses on works of art made for Siena itself, many of which are still to be seen within the city. Norman organizes the discussion around types of commissions and throughout the book situates the paintings within the context of the political, social, and religious circumstances of late medieval and renaissance Siena.
Celebrating the Virgin Mary as both an object of religious affection and a focus of civic pride, artists of fourteenth-century Siena established for their city a vibrant tradition that continued into the early decades of the next century. Such celebratory portraits of the Virgin were also common in Siena's extensive subject territories, the contado. This richly illustrated book explores late medieval Sienese art--how it was created, commissioned, and understood by the citizens of Siena. Examining political, economic, and cultural relations between Siena and the contado, Diana Norman offers a new understanding of Marian art and its political function as an expression of civic ideology. Drawin...
The powerful story of a woman and country struggling for survival, set against the splendidly drawn background of Ireland in the Middle Ages Educated in the sophisticated confines of the Abbey of Fontevrault, young Finn has only the barest memories of her Irish past. She is destined to return to her native land as Abbess of Kildare - one of the most influential positions in the Church’s gift. However within months Finn is an outcast, brutally raped by a powerful warlord and publicly humiliated by the Church she had served so faithfully. She seeks refuge on the islands of Lough Mask, a place of healing for women. Here, she begins to piece together her shattered life, fired with determination to stay independent of all ties. But Finn finds that the plight of her beloved country still has the power to command her loyalty... Daughter of Lir is a superb historical saga, perfect for fans of Reay Tannahill’s A Dark and Distant Shore. Praise for Daughter of Lir ‘Rich and entertaining’ The Times
A remarkable, sparkling historical novel by the author of A Catch of Consequence.