Women of Courage (Cat and Mouse; The Blood Upon the Rose; The Monmouth Summer)

Three quality historical novels, all featuring women who displayed extraordinary courage in difficult, dangerous situations. In Cat & Mouse, British suffragette Sarah Becket faces prison for demonstrating for women's right to vote. When her sister Deborah comes to rescue her, the sisters expose a serious sexual scandal at the heart of the British political establishment, which Sarah's husband, Jonathan, is determined to keep secret at all costs. It is 1914, and the threat of the Great War rumbles closer. Five years later, in The Blood Upon the Rose, the young Irish aristocrat and medical student, Catherine O'Connell-Gort , fights for an end to British rule in Ireland. She is in love with a young IRA Volunteer, but her father, a senior officer in British military intelligence, insists that she marry a scarred war veteran, a dangerous assassin on a secret mission to murder the IRA leader Michael Collins. What secrets can she keep, and who will she betray - her family or her lover, her country or her class? And what results will flow from her dreadful decisions? In The Monmouth Summer, young Ann Carter is torn by equally agonizing choices. In 1685 the Puritan people of her Devon village rise up in revolt in support of the Duke of Monmouth against the Catholic king of England, James II. They are hugely determined, but poorly armed and led. Ann's father, Adam, fears if he dies he will leave his wife and daughters destitute, unless Ann marries her solid, dependable childhood sweetheart, Tom Goodchild. But although Ann loves her father, she is dazzled by the rich Royalist officer, Robert Pole. She knows this love is sinful, but when her father is captured and sentenced to death, she can think of only way to save him ... Each book is based on careful research. These three women - Sarah Becket, Catherine O'Connell-Gort and Ann Carter - are all imagined characters, but the historical events in their stories really happened, and women like Sarah, Catherine and Ann faced real choices every bit as dramatic and difficult as those described in these stories. 'Cat & Mouse is a well written and researched epic drama with great historical merit wrapped around a fascinating web of characters and interwoven diverse plot lines ... which provides something for everyone: riots, romance, mystery, intrigue and crime all the while depicting lies, deception, betrayal and political struggles complete with a climatic ending - what more could you want from a novel?' Andrea Saxelby for the Kindle Book Review. 'First and foremost Cat & Mouse is a novel and about people, a mixture of romance and thriller. First it engagingly explores its characters' very different worlds. Then it carefully brings them together for a shattering conclusion. You won't forget this book!' Moorsman 'The Blood Upon the Rose is a masterfully written historical romance that places the reader in Ireland during the aftermath of World War I ... I enjoyed this book so much, that I look forward to reading it a second time.' Alle Wells, author of Railroad Man. The Blood Upon the Rose: 'One of the most poignant love stories I have ever read' Jenny Twist, author of Domingo's Angel 'In a nutshell, I thought that the Monmouth Summer was a masterpiece ... I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Seventeenth Century and looking to read a well researched, action packed story of an incredibly famous rebellion in English history.' Samantha J. Morris, 'A superb historical novel.. Not only is the read compelling as great fiction, it provides the reader with a strong sense of the social and cultural milieu of late Seventeenth Century England. ' Howard Wolf 1685. King Charles II dies unexpectedly, and is succeeded by his brother James II, England's first Catholic monarch since Bloody Mary. English Protestants feel threatened, and King Charless illegitimate son, the handsome young duke of Monmouth, rises against his uncle in armed rebellion. The rebellion turns young Ann Carters world upside down. Eighteen years old, she is betrothed to Tom Goodchild, a Protestant shoemaker; but secretly loves Robert Pole, an officer in King Jamess army, who offers to take her to London as his mistress. Ann knows it is her duty to marry Tom, but does not love him; so when he marches away with the rebels, she imagines him being killed which would set her free. But she knows such thoughts are wicked; her father is a rebel soldier too, like all the men of her village. So who should she pray for, when musket balls start to fly? What matters most love or loyalty? If God could see into my heart, she wonders, what would He tell me to do? Her father, Adam, is a brave man tormented by fear. He has two fears: first, that he may be a coward, and run from the enemy; and second, that he is not one of Gods Elect, and will go to Hell when he dies. But like all the men of Colyton, Englands most rebellious town, he marches to war, risking his life for what he believes. When Englands most notorious judge, Judge Jeffreys, is sent to punish the rebels, Ann and her father are faced with the hardest choices of all. Ireland in 1919 is seething with violence, tension and divided loyalties - and so is the heart of the beautiful, wilful heiress Catherine O'Connell-Gort. For Catherine, by heritage, is a glittering symbol of British rule and oppression - yet by inclination she is a traitor to her class. A fervent supporter of Sinn Fein, she is also the secret lover of Sean Brennan, an IRA volunteer who is being hunted by the police for terrorism and murder. When the British government decides to meet terror with terror, Catherine finds herself in a position of even greater conflict. Her father, a colonel in British Military Intelligence, recruits Major Andrew Butler, battle-scarred war hero and Irish landlord, to assassinate IRA leader Michael Collins. He also decides that the dashing major would make the perfect husband for his headstrong daughter ... In a violent climax of passion, guilt and betrayal, while her country hurtles towards civil war, Catherine faces and a agonising choice as she makes her final, fateful decision.