There are chilling descriptions of what Puritans in power are prepared to do to women who deviate from social norms-or merely incite envy.

Alinor and the handsome James are instantly drawn to one another, and his vow of chastity falls to the wayside, with rather unpleasant results once he is called back to France. With James’ help, Alinor’s son Rob is assured of a brighter future under Sir William’s patronage. James, a spy from the exiled English court in France, is embroiled in a plot to rescue King Charles. When Alinor meets James, a disguised Catholic priest who has been summoned by Sir William, her fortunes change for both good and ill. Miller, whose family controls the tide-driven mill. Alinor’s brother Ned, a staunch anti-royalist, runs the family ferry business, her daughter Alys, also beautiful, works for the miserly Mrs. Detail abounds about the 17th-century economy of a small island: The local lord, Sir William, still holds sway thanks to a deal with Parliament, and his tenants each have their trade. She also invites scrutiny because her abusive husband disappeared months before.

Extensive atmospherics slow the action but convey a strong sense of place-the Sussex tidelands, where, on Sealsea Island, Alinor earns a sparse living selling herbs and practicing the healing arts. In 1648, the risk of such accusations is even higher, since Alinor lacks Jacquetta’s noble lineage and because an army of Puritan Christians led by Oliver Cromwell has dethroned King Charles, now confined on the Isle of Wight. Alinor, an herbalist and midwife, is reminiscent of Jacquetta ( The Lady of the Rivers, 2011), another Gregory protagonist, foundress of the Woodville dynasty of beautiful and resourceful women who figure in the War of the Roses and attract accusations of witchcraft. The inaugural volume of Gregory’s ( Dark Tracks, 2018, etc.) new series is set during the English civil war.Ī wise woman is at the center of this launch.

Philippa gregory tidelands