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| Category: Fiction:Historical |
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| About the Book | |
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It is England in 1643, and civil war rages. The affable but conceited cavalier scholar Peregrine rescues a defiant Puritan maiden and her profane cat from an abandoned manor and brings them to royalist Corfe Castle as "enemy guests". They discover on arrival that the entire defense against the armies of Parliament consists of his future mother-in-law the redoubtable Lady Bankes, eleven of her children, and five men at arms! The feisty Verity, who disconcertingly holds loud discussions with God and denies the Divine Right of Kings, compares badly with the lovely, docile and enchanting Elizabeth Bankes, to whom Peregrine is betrothed. Not that Verity cares. God is--she hopes!--on her side, Peregrine deserves such a boringly unintelligent wife, and everyone there is alien to her in religion, politics and upbringing, anyway. She proceeds to engage Lady Bankes on politics, Peregrine on Latin and Greek, and everyone else in the castle and village on matters of religion, ethics and loyalties. (Her cat engages the castle mice.) They hold their own very well, too. Truce is established. Verity becomes fast friends with some of the villagers, and her cat with a cockerel named Dinner. There are several attacks on the castle, sneak and otherwise, culminating with a siege, Verity's capture and harsh questioning by her own side--and ultimately with Peregrine and Verity trying to defend their unintended and scandalous love to six indignant parents and God.
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| About the Author | |
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Born in Seattle, 1924, graduated Reed College. Twelve books published 1954-72. Co-authored Listen & Learn with Phonics. Lived in England '64-87. busy with judo, cats, copper enameling. Now lives in Santa Rosa, CA. Image Cascade republished 7 of the original titles. New titles include Ivory Cat, Missing Queen, Haunted Schoolhouse, Delicate Pioneer,Outrageous Oriel, Loyal and the Dragon. . |