A Crowning Mercy

Fleeing from her strict Puritan household and an odious arranged marriage, a young woman seeks her fortune in 17th century London and falls in love with a charming aristocrat. As the fragile peace between the Puritan Roundheads and Royalist aristocracy crumbles, however, it becomes apparent that this young woman is not at all what she seems.

Beautifully written, this novel set during the English Civil War has everything: a heroine with a mysterious past, an engaging hero, an intricate plot, and some truly loathsome villains.

Its companion novel, "The Fallen Angels," is every bit as good.

Romance, adventure and a bit of mystery thrown in too. Set in 1640's England, Bernard and Judy Cornwell give the reader a good feel for the puritan era sweeping through London and of the English rebellion. A story of faith in God and in love. It stays exciting 'til the very last page.

I loved this book....a real page turner! It was well written, fast paced and believable, cover to cover. This book was not about war or romance but about people's lives. My first Bernard Cornwell book. I will definitely look for more.

Cornwell manages to integrate history into the web of his fiction in very managed, intricate stages. The isolation of the Oxford Regency cast against the fanatical characters of Puritan England and civil war is a marvelous painting; Lady Margaret Lazender, Samuel Scammell, Faithful Unto Death Hervey and Vavasour Devorax are all characters who come alive (or dead, as the case may be) in credible ways. A delightful dose of fictionalized history, however, I found the water scenes too biblical and forced in allusion as the character of Dorcas was "reborn" in the novel. As with all other Cornwell, very graphic descriptions of the fetid side of imprisonment and torture befitting the seventeenth century.

I will continue to read and purchase this writer as his insight within specific historic periods is a continuing delight to me.

This book was a "keep you on the edge of your seat" story. I really LOVED the ending...similar to what I expected with a "twist" !!!