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Peter Ransley

The first instalment of a page-turning trilogy set against the backdrop of the English Civil War.

September 1625: Plague cart driver, Matthew Neave, is sent to pick up the corpse of a baby. Yet, on the way to the plague pit, he hears a cry – the baby is alive. A plague child himself, and now immune from the disease, Matthew decides to raise it as his own.

Fifteen years on, Matthew’s son Tom is apprenticed to a printer in the City. Somebody is interested in him and is keen to turn him into a gentleman. He is even given an education. But Tom is unaware that he has a benefactor and soon he discovers that someone else is determined to kill him.

The civil war divides families, yet Tom is divided in himself. Devil or saint? Royalist or radicalist? He is at the bottom of the social ladder, yet soon finds himself within reach of a great estate – one which he must give up to be with the girl he loves.

Set against the fervent political climate of the period, 'Plague Child' is a remarkable story of discovery, identity and an England of the past.

Gordon Griffin

William Collins

Tom Neave Trilogy

Plague Child

The price for a country. The price for a King. The price for a marriage.

The second book in the Tom Neave Trilogy

1647. The King has surrendered to Parliament. Lord Stonehouse, to show his loyalty to Parliament, has named Tom as his successor. But Lord Stonehouse’s son, Richard, is also Tom’s estranged father and a fervent Royalist. If the King reaches a settlement with Parliament Richard will inherit…

Parliament itself is deeply divided with those demanding a strict Puritan regime pitted against more liberal Independents like Cromwell. King Charles, under house arrest, tries to exploit the divisions between them. When Richard arrives from France with a commission from the Queen to snatch the King from Parliamentary hands, he and Tom are set on a collision course. Caught between his love for his wife Anne and their young son, and his loyalty to the new regime, Tom must struggle to save both his family and the estate.

Cromwell’s Blessing is the dramatic story of Tom Neave’s fight for the principles which he holds so dear – democracy, freedom and honour – and his young family, set against the backdrop of the violent conflict of the English Civil War.

Cromwell’s Blessing

What price betrayal? The bloody saga of revolution and republicanism reaches its climax in the final instalment of the Tom Neave trilogy.

1659. Tom Neave, now Lord Stonehouse and feared spymaster for the republic, must do what he can to maintain the reins of power. With Oliver Cromwell dead, a ruthless struggle for control of the country begins.

A Royalist rebellion is easily put down, but is of concern for Tom – his son Luke is among those imprisoned. Having been freed by his father and back with his family, Luke claims he is disillusioned with the Royalist cause. But can Tom trust him? Pre-occupied by his son’s uncertain allegiance, by the distant, manipulative behaviour of his beloved wife Anne, and by rumours of his treacherous father Richard, Tom is ill at ease. His own long-buried secrets threaten to erupt, with irrevocable consequences.

As the struggle for power in England becomes more urgent, rumours abound of the return of the exiled king. Copies of the ‘King’s List’ are in circulation – the names of those who signed the death warrant of the late king, of which Tom is one. While an army marches on London, the fate of the nation – and that of Tom and his family – lies at stake.

The King’s List