The Reformation of Lady Elinor

by Darryl Harris

Note from the publisher: this book is based on Latter-day Saint theology.

The Protestant Reformation has brought turmoil to England, as well as to the life of Lady Elinor Green Marbury. Oswyn Pygott, a commissioner for the king, desires to marry her. With the backing of King Henry VIII, Oswyn enlists Elinor to spy on Garrett Bloxham, a wealthy merchant and former Catholic priest. Bloxham is suspected of a capital crime—smuggling William Tyndale’s illegal English Bibles into the country.

Accepting the spying mission because of her devotion to the Church of Rome, Elinor is thrust into a world of reformist thinking. She believes a pilgrimage to Rome, to pray over the bones of St. Peter and St. Paul—and to catch a glimpse of the pope—will bring the miraculous healing of her blind daughter, Margery. Garrett Bloxham takes Elinor on the pilgrimage, and sparks fly between them.

This story features a vivid mixture of fictional characters and real ones such as King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, and Pope Paul III. A jousting tournament, a hawking expedition, and a sword fight spice up the action. Amid all this, a romance blossoms between Elinor and Garrett. But only time will tell if they can overcome their differences and pursue a future together.

Genres: Historical Fiction

290 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2018

Reviews

[Melissa]

This is also called "The Lady and the Knight" This is more a historical fiction with some religious Christian ideas that everyone won't agree with. I enjoyed all the historical aspects of this book. It is a good story set in the time of Tyndale and the sharing of the bible to the common man. Lady Elinor is a staunch believer in her religion. It is her journey as she falls in love and begins to see her church as a corrupt institution. It was pretty fascinating to me to learn about more of this time period. It has some violence, attempted rape and scenes of torture.

[Ariell]

This author did his research. There was a lot of detail about religious relics and catholic history at the time of King Henry VIII and Martin Luther and William Tyndale. There was a lot of info along with the story. It was sometimes a little dry and slow paced, somewhat preachy for a novel. It was clean, a bit of light kissing. There was some description of torture in the dungeons and a sword fight.

[Sydney]

Author Darryl Harris brings to life the Protestant Reformation in turmoil of England in his story The Reformation of Lady Elinor. Although a bit of a disappointing read, with the back and forth between the main lead male and female a bit hard to follow, Harris has obviously taken great care in researching the historical details of his story. Harris’ story takes place during an interesting time of England’s history, bringing to life the Protestant Reformation. Readers of historical, clean romance will find this story interesting and enjoyable.

Genre: historical, clean romance
Publisher: Walnut Springs Press
Publication date: March 8, 2018
Number of pages: 290

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

[Lydia]

An intriguing book that did a very detailed job of describing the time period and its affects on different individuals. I enjoyed the religious debates, but like the note from the publisher, it does reflect modern LDS theology. My only complaint was that the details tended to mire the storyline.

[Wanda Luce]

The Reformation of Lady Elinor drew me in from the first page and held me captive until the last. Darryl Harris does an outstanding job weaving together romance, drama, suspense, adventure, and in-depth historical and sensory details. His knowledge of the Middle Ages, early Renaissance, and Protestant Reformation is exceptional and captivating. He takes the reader on a mesmerizing excursion into England and Europe during the early 16th century while building a beautiful romance between Sir Garrett Bloxham and Lady Elinor Marbury. I savored all of it and highly recommend this book without reservation. It kept me the turning pages.

[Jaycee Limutau]

There was a lot I learned about this era and Martin Luther and William Tyndale (I’m already forgetting the spelling... my brain) I’ve read books about Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boylen and of course Henry Vlll but from the reformers and papist point of view and actual historical records of what was going on in the Catholic Church etc etc. I’d be interested in reading the authors recorded sites where he found his information. The story was good, a little slow, nothing riveting but still a good read.

[Kari Garrett]

I bought this book at a library sale. The cover looked like the type of books I usually read, so I bought it. It wasn't quite the style I thought it would be, but it was pretty good. It was written about the 1500s when William Tyndale and Martin Luther were making big strides in reformation. It was actually quite interesting. And yes, there was some romance, although not really a strong focal point.

[Anna Jewkes]

I randomly picked this book off the shelf at the library from the romance section. It doesn’t belong there. It should be in the historical fiction section. There was hardly any feelings even mentioned. Also, it was very preachy and doctrinal.

[Daisy Dandelion]

A very informative religious/history book disguised as a novel. I have never read so much about the reformation in one book before. Very interesting.
The research that went into this book was impressive. I learned a lot from this Idaho Falls author.

[Cindy]

Good for the history side, but otherwise just OK. Not great writing.

[Kimberly]

3.5. Fun way to approach the Reformation.

[Deon]

Warning: Contains Mormon's doctrine of Trinity

*Mormons believe that the Trinity consists not of three persons in one God but rather of three distinct gods.