By the Sword in Aussie Readers

Dec 13, 2011 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, own-read

In the mid 1600’s, Kate Ashley is a widow with a young son, 9 year old Thomas. She lived near her sister Suzanne, husband William and their children in Barton, Yorkshire where they lived a frugal, but happy life.

One day Kate received a letter from Tom’s great grandfather, Sir Francis Thornton, from whom they had been estranged for many years. The old man was on his death bed, and wanted to ‘clear his conscience’ by meeting Tom and Kate. It had been 30 years since the elopement which had split t ...more

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May 15, 2015 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, own-read, net-galley, first-in-a-series, 2015-release, read-on-kindle, won, historical-fiction, arc

Widow Kate Ashley and her nine year old son Thomas lived a happy and reasonably contented life in Barton, Yorkshire; with her sister Suzanne, husband William and their brood of children close by, Kate had family enough around her. But when she received a summons from Tom’s great grandfather, Sir Frances Thornton to his estate of 'Seven Ways', she had no idea what would be the right thing to do. The Thornton and Ashley families had been estranged for thirty years – Kate had no desire to meet the Widow Kate Ashley and her nine year old son Thomas lived a happy and reasonably contented life in Barton, Yorkshire; with her sister Suzanne, husband William and their brood of children close by, Kate had family enough around her. But when she received a summons from Tom’s great grandfather, Sir Frances Thornton to his estate of 'Seven Ways', she had no idea what would be the right thing to do. The Thornton and Ashley families had been estranged for thirty years – Kate had no desire to meet the old man who wanted to “clear his conscience” before he passed away – but Tom, she found, wanted to meet his great grandfather.

Kate’s meeting of Sir Frances and Nell, his granddaughter was a smooth one; but 'Seven Ways' was in dire straits. The civil war had taken its toll with Nell’s husband Giles and brother Jonathan who were both loyal to King Charles II and away at war. The fortunes of the estate had turned – the once beautiful old home was gradually falling to ruin. But when Kate discovered Sir Frances’ intention, she was shocked. Her future was about to change in more ways than one…

When Jonathan arrived home for a secretive and brief visit to his ailing grandfather, his meeting of Kate and young Tom gave him pause. Jonathan’s life had been one of intense danger – he had no fear of death and had even courted it. But now he wondered; could he put his past behind him? The dreadful secrets of a past that needed to be faced; with a price on his head, he felt he continued to put loved ones in danger…

The deadly Battle of Worcester was one of great carnage to both sides – but Kate’s determination to keep 'Seven Ways' going, along with her worry about the safety of Jonathan and Giles had her doing more than she ever had before. There was evil close to Kate; an evil she was unaware of – would she be safe? Would her future be secure?

Aussie author Alison Stuart is an extremely talented writer of historical fiction. By the Sword was originally published in 2010 and this edition is a "polished up" republication. Therefore it is a reread for me, but I’ve loved it as much, if not more, than I did the first time. Skilfully told, the historical facts are authentic. In the author’s words at the end of the book, and in part; “The battle of Worcester is among the last battles ever fought on English soil and the reminders of that time are still very much to be found around that lovely city.” and “’Seven Ways’ itself bears very close resemblance both in appearance and location to Harvington Hall near Kidderminster in Worcestershire, a place that held a special significance to my grandfather, who took great pleasure in showing me all the priest holes – including the one in the study that is much as described.”

I loved By the Sword and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the author for my copy to read and review.
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Mar 16, 2015 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really enjoy stories set in this era such strong men and their strong heroines they went through so much during the civil war in England family and neighbours against each other but when they fall in love they have a lot to overcome and their journey is a rocky road to that HEA and this one had me turning the pages as Kate Ashley with a loyalty to the Parliamentarians and Jonathon Thornton an exiled colonel for the Royalist a firm believer in The King. Kate has been left widowed by this war an ...more

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