About the Book
Set in seventeenth century England against a backdrop of civil war, witch hunts and religious upheaval, this historical romance tells the story of Anne Somerton, a respected noblewoman with a passion she dare not admit and a secret she must never confess. At the age of eleven, Anne's friendship with a village wise woman causes her to be examined by the witch finders, an experience that leaves her with deep emotional scars, not least guilt when her mentor is put to death. Soon after, her father comes into money and she marries into the aristocracy, but her husband is thirty years her senior and they have little in common. When he leaves to fight for King Charles, she is left to run the family estate. Soon the country is ravaged by war and Anne turns to her old mentor's skills for guidance. Enemy forces surround her home and she is trapped along with her household and two dangerous clergymen. Every day her affiliation to the dark arts grows closer to discovery, but it is not until a wounded Parliamentary officer comes into her care that the scene is finally set for her dénouement.
About the Author: I live in a tiny, ancient cottage close to woodland, near Newbury, Berkshire, and I work part-time in a specialist autism school which every day delights and surprises me in equal measure. Anna Nagel lives in a tiny, ancient cottage close to woodland, near Newbury, Berkshire, and she works part-time in a specialist autism school which every day delights and surprises her in equal measure. Anna decided to become an author at about age 7 when sh discovered Narnia (sadly not in the back of a wardrobe but on a bookshelf in the school library). Always a daydreamer, Narnia became her secret haven. C S Lewis led her to Kenneth Graham and then Enid Blyton, until a teenage diet of Errol Flynn movies and Jean Plaidy novels inspired her love affair with history. Her first published novel, Fair Game came about by accident; 'I was writing a book which involved flash-backs to the seventeenth century, which I sent to a literary consultancy for help with editing. They loved the historical element of the story and suggested it could hold its own as a novel in its own right, so I set about a new draft.'
