An epic, heart-breaking novel about a woman caught up in the horrors of war and suffering (originally published as The Summer Fields)

1704. Farmer’s daughter Elen Griffiths has a gift. She is immune to smallpox, but that gift becomes a curse when she is plucked from her warm and loving family and forced to nurse the heir to the local estate, Viscount Mordiford, through the brutal disease. If he dies, her family will lose their farm and livelihood. Locked away with her patient in the sinister Duntisbourne Hall she makes a friend of Ned Harley, the Earl’s charming valet. However, sinister forces lurk in the corridors of the vast building, threatening Elen’s life and honour. Rescued by the man she has grown to love, she flees the country with the English army, not knowing if her affections are returned.

Across the Channel, Elen finds purpose serving as a nurse during the Duke of Marlborough’s campaign. Surrounded by the horror and confusion of the brutal war against the French, Elen is reunited with her love on the eve of the Battle of Blenheim. She learns that his feelings mirror her own, but that moment of joy may be all they ever know. Even if he survives the battle, a figure from the past threatens to destroy Elen’s freedom, her happiness and her life.

Praise for The Red and the Scarlet

“A gloriously original tale, based on historical truth, about a girl with an 18th-century superpower and a heart to match. You will ache for her to make it through the battlefields and win her love.” James Hawes

“The writing draws you in and immerses you in a time and place which luckily we have no experience of today. A battle fought many years ago. What the novel allows to linger however, is the human angle, the people who nursed the soldiers and those on the front line. It reminded me a bit of the TV drama The Crimson Fields and I would like to see this one on the small screen!” Reviewer 144074, NetGalley

“There are some lovely descriptions I must share, ‘the mist sucks up the smell of winter vegetation, rotting and black around the edge of the water.’ Anyone who has spent a few winters in the countryside will recollect the smell a second after reading that. This little snippet too, ‘You look as miserable as a wet bee.’ Absolutely spot on and I can never pass a forlorn wet bee without picking it up and placing it somewhere dry.” John V, Reviewer

You can order The Red and the Scarlet from Amazon