
A highly entertaining, wonderfully colourful story, now revealed to be written by one of our favourite historical novelists.
In mid seventeenth-century England, the nation was in upheaval. In the Dorset countryside, one sunlit afternoon, a young girl - illicitly bathing in a stream - first fell in love with a passing stranger. Her parents called her Dorcas, but he called her Campion and that's what she longed to be, then and forever.
She had one gift left for her by her unknown father - a pendant made of gold, banded by tiny glowing stones and at its base was a seal engraved with an axe and the words: St Matthew. So when she flees before the unbearable, worthy suitor who is forced upon her after her forbidden meeting, she takes this and the delicate lace gloves with her, and hopes to find her father, and her lover.
There are four of these intricately wrought seals - each owned by a stranger, each holding a secret within. And when all four seals are united, then the holder will have access to great wealth and power. That is Campion's inheritance.
But to claim this and find again her summer love, she must follow the course her father's legacy charts for her. It is a road full of both peril and enchantment.
A Crowning Mercy was first published in 1983 under the name Susannah Kells. It has been out of print for 10 years. HarperCollins are delighted to be able to re-publish it.
Bernard Cornwell (born February 23, 1944) is an English author of historical novels, known for his meticulous research and engaging storytelling. Born in London, England, to a Canadian airman father and a mother in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, he was adopted by a family in Essex belonging to the Peculiar People sect. Cornwell attended London University and worked as a teacher before joining the BBC, where he spent a decade, eventually becoming Head of Current Affairs in Northern Ireland. Bernard Cornwell is renowned for his long-running series of novels, including the *Sharpe* series about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe, the *Saxon Stories* (also known as *The Last Kingdom* series), which explores the unification of England, the *Warlord Chronicles* set in Arthurian Britain, and the *Grail Quest* series, which delves into a 14th-century search for the Holy Grail during the Hundred Years' War. Cornwell has written historical novels primarily based on English history, in five series, and one series of contemporary thriller novels. A notable feature of his historical novels is an end note on how they match or differ from history. He has also written a nonfiction book on the battle of Waterloo. Three of his historical novel series have been adapted for television: the *Sharpe* series by ITV, *The Last Kingdom* by BBC, and *The Winter King* for MGM+. ([Source][1]) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cornwell

by Bernard Cornwell, Susannah Kells
A highly entertaining, wonderfully colourful story, now revealed to be written by one of our favourite historical novelists.
In mid seventeenth-century England, the nation was in upheaval. In the Dorset countryside, one sunlit afternoon, a young girl - illicitly bathing in a stream - first fell in love with a passing stranger. Her parents called her Dorcas, but he called her Campion and that's what she longed to be, then and forever.
She had one gift left for her by her unknown father - a pendant made of gold, banded by tiny glowing stones and at its base was a seal engraved with an axe and the words: St Matthew. So when she flees before the unbearable, worthy suitor who is forced upon her after her forbidden meeting, she takes this and the delicate lace gloves with her, and hopes to find her father, and her lover.
There are four of these intricately wrought seals - each owned by a stranger, each holding a secret within. And when all four seals are united, then the holder will have access to great wealth and power. That is Campion's inheritance.
But to claim this and find again her summer love, she must follow the course her father's legacy charts for her. It is a road full of both peril and enchantment.
A Crowning Mercy was first published in 1983 under the name Susannah Kells. It has been out of print for 10 years. HarperCollins are delighted to be able to re-publish it.
Bernard Cornwell (born February 23, 1944) is an English author of historical novels, known for his meticulous research and engaging storytelling. Born in London, England, to a Canadian airman father and a mother in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, he was adopted by a family in Essex belonging to the Peculiar People sect. Cornwell attended London University and worked as a teacher before joining the BBC, where he spent a decade, eventually becoming Head of Current Affairs in Northern Ireland. Bernard Cornwell is renowned for his long-running series of novels, including the *Sharpe* series about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe, the *Saxon Stories* (also known as *The Last Kingdom* series), which explores the unification of England, the *Warlord Chronicles* set in Arthurian Britain, and the *Grail Quest* series, which delves into a 14th-century search for the Holy Grail during the Hundred Years' War. Cornwell has written historical novels primarily based on English history, in five series, and one series of contemporary thriller novels. A notable feature of his historical novels is an end note on how they match or differ from history. He has also written a nonfiction book on the battle of Waterloo. Three of his historical novel series have been adapted for television: the *Sharpe* series by ITV, *The Last Kingdom* by BBC, and *The Winter King* for MGM+. ([Source][1]) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cornwell