Overview

A brilliant, stylish novel encompassing the robust life of Boston and London, just at the time of greatest resentment and rebellion by the colonists against the British Government, and displaying the remarkably contemporary prejeudice shown by people on both sides. Makepeace Burke, keeper of a tavern on the waterfront in Boston, could no more watch a fellow creature drown than she could stop the wind blowing. But the price she paid for rescuing an English aristocrat after he had been attacked by the mob was high. She might be a supporter of the more reasonable colonists but she had committed an apparently unforgiveable sin. So her inn became deserted, her brother was tarred and feathered, and her respectable fiancee and his family deserted her. When the Patriots turned to burning her home, she knew she had to take the offer of the much despised Englishmen and so, saved by the Navy and accompanied by her remarkable retinue, she sails for London. She marries her Englishman as his second wife but finds that English society does not easily accept uneducated, colonial, ex-tavernkeepers – and the first wife, well connected and refusing to acknowledge a divorce, proves a dirty fighter. But Makepeace, having been chased out of one town by intolerance, is not going to let that happen again. And the reader is rooting for her all the way. Diana Norman has written an unusual, sparkling novel, truly unputdownable – she is an addictive taste.

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9780007105441

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Reviews

Praise for earlier writing: 'Drama, passion, intrigue and danger, I loved it and didn't want it to end ever.' Maureen Waller, Sunday Times 'Quite simply, splendid' Frank Delaney 'She captures the feel of the period, with wit, verve and emotion. I hated coming to the end of the book.' Woman's Own

In this novel by Diana Norman, author of Blood Royal and The Vizard Mask, the heroine is lively, flame-haired Makepeace Burke, darling of Boston's waterfront. The year is 1765 and all is not well between the Bostonians and the British. In particular the crippling Stamp Tax, imposed by Britain to recoup money expended during the Seven Years' War to secure the American colonies, causes distress to the locals and discomfort to those with divided loyalties. Makepeace finds her loyalties are put to the ultimate test when she rescues Sir Philip Dapifer from drowning. This is an act which changes her life forever, taking her across the Atlantic to London and the challenge of dealing with the English aristocracy with all their whims and fancies. Brought up as a Puritan, Makepeace is shocked by the antics of the upper classes. These antics, in turn, are beautifully satirized by the Grub Street hacks with whom Makepeace strikes up an unlikely friendship. Later she follows her ambitions from London to Newcastle, where she meets the equally ambitious mining engineer, Andra Hedley. Norman's attention to historical detail is meticulous. Makepeace is a feminist ahead of her time, representing the new order, where hard work and determination override inheritance. When tragedy happens, she determines to avenge those who have damaged her life. Although these are difficult times, there is also excitement as the Industrial Revolution begins to open doors for those prepared to risk life and limb in the name of progress. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Having worked on local newspapers in Devon and the East End of London, Diana Norman became at twenty years of age the youngest reporter in what used to be Fleet Street. She was married to film critic Barry Norman with whom she settled down in Hertfordshire to become a writer of biographies and historical novels.

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