Dinah Dean

A history of Waltham Abbey.

"A WHOLE MONTH IN THE COUNTRY, WITH A VERY HANDSOME GENTLEMAN TO SQUIRE YOU ABOUT!" A delightful prospect for Miss Caroline Barnes from Stepney in London. But on arrival in Woodham she found her cousin Julia languishing in a lonely, wretched condition. As for the handsome gentleman...Julia's step-brother Mr. Hartwell was undoubtedly cold, domineering and heartless, wholly lacking in sensibility. As Caroline speculated about the mysterious nature of Mr. Hartwell's travels, and his strange visitors, she became convinced that he was a spy. If he wasn't a spy, what was he? And was he really arrogant and disagreeable ­ or had she perhaps mistaken his character from the first?

FLIGHT FROM THE EAGLE On the run from Napoleon's Grand Army, commanding a pathetic column of wounded men, Major Lev Orlov had the misfortune to discover the Countess Irina Barova sheltering in a desert inn. She was an unwelcome complication, but how could he abandon her? Yet to offer her his protection was a step that would alter his life... THE EAGLE'S FATE Condemned to a life of poverty in the back streets of Moscow, Princess Nadya Serova was forced to walk to safety with her possessions on her back when the French army reached the city. Her only protection came from Count Andrei Valyev - but he seemed to hate her. Why then did he rescue her from a fate worse than death?

England, 1095 Roger FitzHugh is horrified to discover a lady being sold to pay her step-father’s debts. Moved by her plight, he pays what the man owes and offers the penniless young woman—Rohese—the option of paying her entrance to a nunnery or his hand in marriage. He’s delighted when she chooses him, but she has powerful enemies who cast a shadow over their union. Duty, protectiveness, and affection towards his new wife make the threats to Rohese, and the children they hope to have together, all the more painful for Roger, even as the bustle and drama of everyday life demands his attention. Then he is summoned to accompany a Bishop on an essential but dangerous pilgrimage to the Holy lands. He must leave all he holds dear, and the wife he is coming to love, and accept the religious journey. With lively characters, rich historical detail of Christian life in the Middle Ages and what would afterwards be called the First Crusade, this is a thoughtful and charming story that readers of medieval historical fiction and inspirational romance will greatly enjoy.

During the dangerous time of the crusade, noble Roger Fitzhugh travels through England collecting the taxes for the king. When a debtor threatens to sell a young noblewoman living in his household as a slave to pay his taxes, Roger decides on an unusual course. He buys the beautiful young Rohese himself and offers to marry her, so that she does not end up in a brothel. Roger has no idea that there is a dark secret surrounding his young, quiet, wife. An intrigue that leads him all the way to the highest court circles, since Rohese is the granddaughter of one the richest and most powerful men in England - if she could only prove who she really is.

Thanks to her dead brother's reckless gambling, Princess Nadya Serova's life has been a hard one. Condemned by his profligacy to a life of poverty in the back streets of Moscow, she can no longer afford even the price of a horse and cart to flee from Napoleon's invading army. It seems that she must walk to safety with her possessions on her back and her only protection must come from Captain Andrei Valyev, who freezes into icy enmity at the mention of her name. Hurt by his cruelty, Nadya is distressed to find herself falling in love with him, especially when he so clearly loves Tatya, the very friend who has given her shelter!

There was only one man at the court of King Charles II that Miss Mary Hook could contemplate marrying. Prince Rupert was undoubtedly the most interesting, most intelligent, most honourable, chivalrous and handsome man at Court. If only she could find a man like him, but attainable, and country-loving, with no desire to spend his life at Whitehall. Perhaps she had, and thrown away her chance when she had refused to marry Francis Hartwell. He had saved her from the plague, but she would not marry him out of gratitude. Now she realised what she had thrown away, could she, dare she, say to him that she had changed her mind?

It was a cold, dark day in the depths of winter when the Imperial Russian Army, hot in pursuit of Napoleon after his defeat at Leipzig, arrived at a small village in Eastern France. Major Vladimir Karachev billeted himself in one of the better houses in the village and settled down to his first comfortable night for some time. But the night was to bring more than he expected, for hiding in a closet in his room he discovered a young and beautiful woman, Blanche de Marain. Falling instantly and mutually in love, the fate of the pair was to become inextricably entwined in the long months that followed. Blanche was a Royalist with a price on her head, but Vladimir helped her escape to safety in Paris, and when his regiment eventually arrived in the city he sought her out. With Napoleon defeated and the prospect of peace at hand it seemed that there was a bright and happy future for Vladimir and his mysterious Frenchwoman. But Blanche was hiding a dark and bitter secret. On the day when Vladimir's regiment was parading before Talleyrand, an attempt was made on the French statesman's life, only prevented by the brave action of Vladimir himself. It was only as he lay recovering from his wound that Vladimir learned the tragic truth about the woman whose devoted but blighted passion he had inspired. Rich in historical atmosphere, this novel by a new and exciting writer carries the reader across Europe in a masterly evocation of a campaigning army, with all the passions, jealousies and sorrows that come from a love affair beset by the troubles of two countries at war.

He was acting like a jealous man. But the moment the thought entered her head, Tanya dismissed it as utterly impossible. A person had to have feelings in order to be jealous, and Prince Nikolai hadn't earned the name Ice King for nothing. He seemed devoid of all emotion ­ particularly love. What had happened to him, wondered Tanya, to turn his heart so cold that no woman had been able to thaw it? The answer to the question was shocking, and it turned Tanya's feelings into a confused mixture of pity...and love.

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Asked to act as chaperon on a long and difficult journey across Russia, the widowed Mila de Romarin willingly accepts the chance to escape her life of penury … and in Moscow she once more meets Igor, the man who loved her twelve years ago, and who she naively refused. Now his kindness overwhelms her, but how can she expect him to forgive her youthful folly? For a long while it looks as if time has taught them nothing, and all their old mistakes must be repeated…

Mary Burns is travelling through Europe with her friends when war resumes between Britain and France in 1803 and Napoleon orders the arrest of all British subjects on French territory. Their fate is to be decided by Captain Armand Dufour, who has bitter personal reasons for taking vengeance on the English. He offers safe passes for the whole party ­ on condition that Mary remains behind as his wife. With internment as the alternative, what choice has she? Yet cold, sarcastic and disfigured as he is, she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Captain. If her situation is so terrible why does she fail to take advantage of the opportunity to escape?

Travelling to a new position as governess in Cockermouth, Miss Dorcas Minster views with dismay the bleak, snowy fells of the Lake District. When an accident forces the passengers of the stage-coach to seek refuge in a lakeside inn over Christmas, she surprisingly finds herself wishing she could stay there indefinitely. For so stimulating are her fellow passengers, particularly the dashing Colonel Sir Richard Severall, en route to stay with his sister after being wounded on the Peninsula. Sir Richard's thoughtful consideration is an entirely new experience for Dorcas, used to being treated as little better than a servant. But do his natural good manners really mask more serious intentions?

Gytha is the daughter of ill-fated Harold Godwinsson, elected King of England only to suffer defeat and death at the hands of William the Conqueror. Her youngest brother Ulf is taken to France; her mother Edith becomes ill and mute with grief. Gytha herself is ordered to a nunnery, a chilling prospect for a young girl who longs to know the love she has witnessed in her parents. Now she is consumed by a new desire, to have sons who will one day redeem the honour of their noble grandfather. Escaping to Denmark she finds refuge at the court of Svein, the Danish king, whose marriage to Elisev of Norway has sealed the peace between those warring countries. But Gytha learns that the beautiful new queen was once married to Harold Hardrada, who was killed in battle by Gytha's father... Uncertain of Elisev's friendship and without an acceptable suitor, Gytha becomes a pawn in the game of diplomacy and is despatched to the alien lands of Kievan Russia as the intended bride of the Grand Prince Vladimir. Far from everything she holds dear, she must use all her wits to survive in a country where any man or woman may be her enemy, and where the ruling families are in a constant state of rivalry. Vladimir, her new husband, seems cool and aloof, and Gytha is uncertain whether she will find with him the passionate fulfilment she has always wanted. Together they are beset by treachery, and Gytha, brought up to be independent by her loving father­ must learn to find a place and purpose for herself in a very different society from the one she has known.

As the Grande Armée of Napoleon pushed the Russians back towards Moscow, Major Orlov, a handsome, aristocratic Staff Officer, knew that the wounded would be abandoned in Smolensk to certain captivity and even death. Although badly injured himself, Orlov's sense of duty impels him to lead a company of wounded Russian soldiers away from the battle-scarred city under cover of night. They leave Smolensk burning in the distance and start their perilous journey to Kaluga and safety. They have not gone far when they come on a deserted inn - deserted except for a young woman, the Countess Irina Barova. She accepts Orlov's offer of help and soon Orlov finds that he has involved himself in something which will change the entire course of his life. Together the band of wounded Russians face problems of disease, of extreme weather conditions, of villages deserted and bridges destroyed and, above all, they face the constant threat of French attack. In this highly readable historical romance, Dinah Dean conveys the spirited air of camaraderie which develops among the wounded men and the growing love of Orlov and Irina Barova in the midst of the vividly recreated horrors of the Napoleonic War.

On the run from Napoleon's Grand Army, commanding a pathetic column of wounded men, Major Lev Orlov, has the misfortune to discover the Countess Irina Barova sheltering in a deserted inn. The fate of one woman, however helpless, is trivial compared to the Major's need to outpace Napoleon and reach the safety of Kaluga with his men. Yet how can he abandon the gentle Irina? When he reluctantly offers her his protection, he realises that he has taken a step that will alter the rest of his life - unless the French cut it short.

Countess Tatya Kalinskaya resigns herself to a bleak future as she watches her friends one by one fall in love and get married. She is still beautiful, but who would want a widow who is unable to walk or dance? Then Vassily Karachev returns to St. Petersburg and suddenly Tatya finds a kindred spirit. He tells her that she needs a lover, someone to talk with, to bring her flowers and gifts and a little excitement, perhaps, even a few kisses... What possible harm can there be in this innocent game ­ unless one of them should really fall in love?

Born into a family of Norman aristocrats, the Lady Elys has been raised by her pious mother as a candidate for the religious life. Though her lively spirit rebels against the tedium of the cloister that seems to be her destiny, Elys' sheltered upbringing has left her unfitted for any independent path — the only alternative to the convent is marriage. And Elys' dowry, all-important if she is to attract a suitable husband, has already been paid to the nuns. Returning from pilgrimage under the patronage of her formidable uncle Richard, Elys makes the acquaintance of the eligible Norman, Fulk, and his quiet companion, the Saxon master mason, Aylwin of Winchester, who encourages her struggles for a life of her own choosing, to the fury of her uncle. At home in an England divided by the civil war between Stephen and the Empress Matilda, Elys' own rebellion against her family takes shape as she determines to escape the convent, using her considerable skills as a needlewoman to become a professional broideress for the great church at Waltham Abbey. But her chosen road is a hard one. Her family's disapproval and the reluctance of the Canons at Waltham to employ a laywoman combine with the problems of working in a world where a woman unprotected by either husband or the Church is considered to be beyond the pale. Only Aylwin, himself a master craftsman, has some understanding of Elys' plight. The story of a woman struggling to assert her independence in a hostile world, Silk and Stone is a marvellously evocative novel which will delight all readers of historical fiction.