Roundheads & Cavaliers Series

By July 1639, England has become a simmering cauldron of discontent. Less concerned by this than by his ailing finances, King Charles seeks ways of filling his empty treasury. Enter Luciano Falcieri del Santi - master-goldsmith and money-lender; a man known to London as The Italian ... and possessed of a hidden agenda. From his seat in the House of Commons, Richard Maxwell watches the inexorable approach of Civil War. His eldest son, Eden, struggles to save his marriage to Royalist-bred Celia whilst taking up his sword for the Parliament; and daughter, Kate, vows to hold their home against both Cavalier and Roundhead should the need arise. A spirited red-head, Kate takes most things in her stride. The only thing she finds impossible to handle is her involuntary and growing attraction to the razor-tongued, magnetic and diabolically beautiful Luciano del Santi. The paths of Richard Maxwell and Luciano cross by chance one dark night and a friendship is born. But while, on the surface, Luciano merely operates his business from Cheapside, he actually has a much darker purpose; that of learning the truth behind his father's execution. This, with the country becoming a battlefield is difficult - but it is not Luciano's only problem. Soon, he also begins to realise that unless he is extremely lucky his quest will cost him his life. His own safety and that of everyone he cares about rests on success. Only this will allow him to reclaim the Black Madonna and offer his heart to the girl he loves. From the machinations within Parliament to the last days of the King's cause, The Black Madonna is an epic saga of passion and intrigue at a time when England was lost in a dark and bloody conflict.

The marriage of a well-bred Royalist lady and an illegitimate Roundhead Colonel is less a match made in heaven than a union doomed to hell. Unfortunately, Sir Robert Brandon's last will and testament leaves Venetia Clifford and Gabriel Brandon with little choice in the matter - deeply though they both resent it. Their tempestuous relationship is reflected in the stormy events buffeting the nation as England slides inexorably into a second Civil War. Gabriel continues to serve in the New Model Army while, behind his back, Venetia engages in clandestine activities on behalf of the King; and the lives of both are further complicated when Gabriel's legitimate half-brother - to whom Venetia was formerly betrothed - returns from exile abroad. While the Army and Parliament argue over the fate of the King, Gabriel realises that he has a dangerous anonymous enemy and Venetia finally begins to see the man rather than the Roundhead Colonel. As events gather pace, bringing the King to trial, the tangled web of danger and deceit surrounding both Gabriel and Venetia slowly tightens its grip. Set against the compelling times which led to the execution of Charles 1, Garland of Straw is the story of a seemingly impossible love and also provides further chapters in the lives of characters previously encountered in The Black Madonna and A Splendid Defiance.

Following his coronation in Scotland, Charles ll leads an army south to reclaim his throne but the dream ends in a crushing defeat at Worcester, leaving no other choice but flight. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, Ashley Peverell and Francis Langley manage to reach Paris where Ashley, known to some as The Falcon, resumes his covert and unpaid work for the King. Beautiful and street-wise, Athenais de Galzain has risen from the slums of Paris to become the Marais Theatre's leading actress. Unfortunately, this brings her to the attention of the Marquis d'Auxerre - an influential nobleman of unsavoury reputation who is accustomed to taking what he wants. While a recurrence of the Prince's Fronde turns the city into a battle-ground, Francis is bullied by his sister, Celia, into helping her obtain a divorce from Eden Maxwell. Working as a cryptographer in the Commonwealth's intelligence service, Eden watches Oliver Cromwell creating a king-sized space for himself and begins to question the cause to which he has devoted a decade of his life. From the first, Ashley and Athenais are drawn together with the force of two stars colliding; a force which Ashley, lacking both money and prospects and conscious of the frequency with which he is required to risk his life, cannot deny but resolves to conceal. He has only two priorities; his work for Charles ll and his determination to protect Athenais from the Marquis. Both are to test him to the limits. The King's Falcon follows the Cavaliers' last crusade and the bitter, poverty-stricken exile that followed it, whilst also taking us back-stage at the Theatre du Marais. There is danger, intrigue and passion in this sequel to The Black Madonna and Garland of Straw.

Still tied to his desk in the Intelligence Office, Colonel Eden Maxwell has become increasingly disenchanted with both Oliver Cromwell and his own daily existence; and with the advent of new Royalist conspiracies, he despairs of ever getting away. Then a brick hurled through the window of a small workshop sets in motion a new and unexpected chain of events. After all, who would want to hurt Lydia Neville – a young widow, giving work and self-respect to maimed war veterans considered unemployable elsewhere? But when the assaults in Duck Lane escalate, threatening the life and remaining limbs of some of Eden’s former troopers, finding the culprit becomes personal. At their first meeting, Lydia finds Colonel Maxwell annoying; by their second, having discovered that he had arrested and questioned her brother in connection with the Ship Tavern Plot, she mistrusts his motives. On the other hand, it swiftly becomes plain that she needs his help ... and has difficulty resisting his smile. Solving the increasingly hazardous mystery surrounding Lydia is not Eden’s only task. Between plots to assassinate the Lord Protector and a rising in Scotland, he must also mend the fences within his own family and get to know his son. Life suddenly goes from mind-numbing boredom to frenetic complexity. With reckless Cavaliers lurking around every corner and a government still struggling to find its way, Lords of Misrule is set against a time of national discontent and general failure. But readers of the previous books in the series can look forward to catching up with old friends as well as meeting new ones ... while, against all the odds, Eden and Lydia find danger and reward in equal measure.