It’s an absolute pleasure today to be helping launch the blog tour and sharing my review of Squire’s Hazard by Carolyn Hughes: the fifth Meonbridge Chronicle, it was published as an ebook for kindle by Riverdown Books on 6th October (discounted to £1.99 for a short time, or free via Kindle Unlimited), available via Amazon in the UK and US. The paperback will follow in late October. My thanks to Carolyn for inviting me to be part of her launch tour, and for my advance reading ecopy.
You won’t find many reviews of books set in the fourteenth century here on Being Anne – when my usual reading tends towards contemporary romance, my continuing love for Carolyn’s books really did rather take me by surprise too. In fact, back in 2017, I didn’t read the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel – not really one for me, I thought – and Carolyn wrote an excellent guest post instead about the creation of historical authenticity (you’ll find it here). Intrigued by her post, I did decide to read the second (in June 2018), A Woman’s Lot – you’ll find my review here, and you’ll see that I soon realised that I’d discovered something particularly special. De Bohun’s Destiny followed (you’ll find my review here) – then Children’s Fate (review here), and the series just got better and better with every book. I never thought I’d be so totally captivated – the writing is simply wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoy every moment I spend in her vividly created world.
So, let’s take a closer look at her latest…
How do you overcome the loathing, lust and bitterness threatening you and your family’s honour?
It’s 1363, and in Steyning Castle, Sussex, Dickon de Bohun is enjoying life as a squire in the household of Earl Raoul de Fougère. Or he would be, if it weren’t for Edwin de Courtenay, who’s making his life a misery with his bullying, threatening to expose the truth about Dickon’s birth.
At home in Meonbridge for Christmas, Dickon notices how grown-up his childhood playmate, Libby Fletcher, has become since he last saw her and feels the stirrings of desire. Libby, seeing how different he is too, falls instantly in love. But as a servant to Dickon’s grandmother, Lady Margaret de Bohun, she could surely never be his wife.
Margery Tyler, Libby’s aunt, meeting her niece by chance, learns of her passion for young Dickon. Their conversation rekindles Margery’s long-held rancour against the de Bohuns, whom she blames for all the ills that befell her family, including her own servitude. For years she’s hidden her hunger for revenge, but she can no longer keep her hostility in check.
As the future Lord of Meonbridge, Dickon knows he must rise above de Courtenay’s loathing and intimidation, and get the better of him. And, surely, he must master his lust for Libby, so his own mother’s shocking history is not repeated? Of Margery’s bitterness, however, he has yet to learn…
Beset by the hazards triggered by such powerful and dangerous emotions, can Dickon summon up the courage and resolve to overcome them?
Secrets, hatred and betrayal, but also love and courage –
Squire’s Hazard, the fifth Meonbridge Chronicle
Secrets, hatred and betrayal, love and courage – the context might be different, but human nature is certainly a constant. The bullying that Dickon de Bohun experiences won’t be unfamiliar to any reader – although some, at first, might not know his story – but if this is the first Chronicle you’ve read, you’ll soon understand how his journey to becoming a knight has followed a rather different path from that of the more privileged boys who make his life a misery. The prime mover, Edwin de Courtenay, is a particularly nasty piece of work – and in a setting where they’re involved in learning swordsmanship and engaged in boar hunting, the extremes of his bullying don’t only threaten Dickon’s future, they also endanger his life.
On Dickon’s visits to Meonbridge – visiting his grandmother, Lady Margaret de Bohun and getting used to being the future Lord of the Manor – he’s able to conceal the extent of the problems he’s facing at Steyning Castle. The challenges he encounters there are rather different – feeling his way into a role that he finds distinctly uncomfortable, reconciling his humble upbringing with his new position in society, achieving the right balance between facing his future responsibilities and the memories of a carefree childhood within a loving family. Libby Fletcher, now his grandmother’s lady’s maid, was his closest childhood friend – now they’re a little older, they find they’re still attracted to each other, but with the gulf of their different positions in society making a future together impossible.
One of Libby’s biggest mistakes is in confiding in her aunt, Margery Tyler – she’s now a lowly dairymaid in an atrociously abusive household, who blames the de Bohun family for the loss of her family’s livelihood and for her current suffering. At first, her bitterness only colours the advice she offers Libby – but over time, her hatred grows to a point where it surpasses reason as she awaits the means and opportunity to wreak revenge.
The story itself is absolutely gripping – I found myself reading into the early hours – drama-filled and with a powerful emotional impact. The author’s ability to draw her readers into this unfamiliar world really is quite exceptional – although the rules and conventions might be unfamiliar, the authenticity of the historical setting makes it entirely easy to feel part of. Much of that is achieved through the quite wonderful characterisation – whether a member of the nobility or one of the lowliest labourers, every single individual is an entirely real person, someone you feel you know, whose emotions you share, whose actions you understand. But there’s also a remarkable level of detail to the creation of both the era and the setting – this isn’t a book you simply read, you become part of it.
This is an age when the spread of the plague and its many losses is still a very recent memory, when skirmishes between noble families can totally change their fortunes, when belief is strong in folk remedies and superstition, and an accusation of witchcraft is something to strike fear – and within the nobility, when life has precious few freedoms when set against society’s expectations and the demands of responsibility. But amid that unfamiliarity, there is so much in their day-to-day lives that’s entirely recognisable and so very easy to identify with – the strong friendships, the power of love and attraction, the loyalty and bonds of family, the moments of sheer joy and abject sorrow.
I can wholly understand if some readers might just be worried by the whole idea of the fourteenth century – I certainly was – but I absolutely guarantee that you’ll find it as familiar as home before the end of the prologue. And, although I’d recommend reading the books in order – but just because I’ve read them that way, and my enjoyment increased with each one – you wouldn’t have any problem trying this one as a standalone (there’s a useful character list at the book’s start, and a link to a glossary of unfamiliar terms in the author’s note at its end – but you won’t need either).
When I read the last book in this excellent series, I declared it my favourite so far – but this one really was even better, and I couldn’t recommend the author’s writing more highly. To think I thought the Meonbridge Chronicles might not be quite my kind of read – this is one of my books of the year, and it might just prove to be one of yours too.
About the author
Carolyn Hughes has lived most of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, as she wrote and edited material, some fascinating, some dull, for an array of different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.
Having written creatively for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest several years ago that writing historical fiction took centre stage, alongside gaining a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.
You can connect with Carolyn through her excellent website: you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
