A Wayside Tavern

By Norah Lofts

Book Overview

The little tavern seemed abandoned when Paulus and his men arrived; Roman soldiers desperate for food and shelter were grateful for what they found. There was more: a female slave left behind, sick unto death and hidden behind the cellar. Paulus kept her secret from the others and when he was injured as the soldiers moved on, Gilda in turn saved his life.

So began the saga of the Gildersons, hosts of the One Bull Inn for fifteen hundred years. From wine shop to ale house to secret club and facing transformation again in the twentieth century, the One Bull saw love and happiness, sacrifice, murder, suicide-and miracles. Next to it stood a chapel where lay the body of an ancient and holy British king. It was said that no one who asked for help in prayer at Cerdic's tomb came away without their miracle and it was true- though often the miracle was what was truly needed, not what had been requested. Woven together through history, the Inn and the chapel guided the Gildersons' lives until the day when one final choice had to be made; to dispose of the past or to rebuild it in hope just one more time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1915816041
• ISBN13: 9781915816047
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Tree of Life
• Length: 390 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

My favorite author!

I just reread this book and enjoyed it as much as the first time I read it several years ago. I started reading her books as a teenager and have always loved them. Norah Lofts is by far my favorite author and I collect her books. I envy those who have just discovered her because you have so much to look forward to! You really feel her characters could be real people and she weaves the historical details into her stories so wonderfully. I have read most of her books at least twice and they are like visiting with old friends. She is one person I really would have loved to have been able to meet. This book is a particularly good example of what she does best - use a place to tell the story of a family throughout a long period of history. Read this book - you won't be disappointed!

A Wayside Tavern (Mass Market Paperback) by Norah Lofts

Ordered for wife she loved it . Fast Shipping and in perfect condition excellent seller .A Wayside Tavern (Mass Market Paperback) by Norah Lofts

Woven like a fine tapestry

This was my first venture into a Norah Lofts novel - what a terrific find! The book begins in the 4th century as the Roman army begins to pull out of England. Wounded and unable to continue with the troops, Paulus remains behind at the "deserted" wayside tavern they had stumbled across. One act of kindness begets another and soon Paulus has unknowingly started a family and a story of a family home to reach through the centuries. Ms. Lofts brilliantly and seamlessly weaves each generation of her story into the next, culminating with a single reminder back to the days of Paulus which I think wrapped the story beautifully back to it's beginning. Along the way, however, you will enjoy stories of historical interest, religion,love, loss, and the simple human characteristics that create great human drama. I thoroughly enjoyed each step along the way and I highly recommend this book.

one of her best historical novels

this is a great story of a wayside tavern in England, from Roman times until the present....Norah Lofts tells a story that keeps your interest from page one until the end...the way the histories of the people running the tavern merge and the history of England as time goes on, is fascinating!!