A Crowning Mercy: A Novel [Paperback]

Bernard Cornwell (Author), Susannah Kells (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

The civil war that is tearing England asunder in the year 1643 has not yet touched Dorcas Slythe, a secretly rebellious young Puritan woman living in the countryside south of London. She aches to escape the safe, pious tyranny of her father—and the opportunity appears with the arrival of Toby Lazender, dashing scion of a powerful royalist family, who awakens her to her passionate destiny. Her adventure truly begins with the discovery of an intricately wrought gold seal—one of four that, when joined, will reveal a great secret. Suddenly grave danger lies before her—not from Cromwell's advancing armies, but from relentless enemies who covet the great treasure to which she now holds the key.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Agincourt and The Fort; the bestselling Saxon Tales, which include The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song, The Burning Land, and Death of Kings; and the Richard Sharpe novels, among many others. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061724386
• ISBN-13: 978-0061724381
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting writing exercise from a good craftsman, August 17, 2004

By 

Smithroz "smithroz" (Western NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Crowning Mercy (Mass Market Paperback)

I heard about this book years ago. Cornwell mentioned on a fan website that he once wrote a romance novel under the pen name Susannah Kells to win a bet made over some Jameson with his mates when he was a journalist in Northern Ireland.

I located a copy and found it a most credible example of the genre.

It has all the proper elements of a historical romance, a heroine who feels alienated from her family, forbidden romance, the presence of titled families, physical danger, secret pasts and great fortunes plus a few unique twists of its own. Romance novelists usually don't write about how the point beats the edge in a sword fight.

The original liner notes said that the author, like the heroine, was raised among members of a very strict religious sect that she rebelled against as an adult. That is true, as Cornwell himself was adopted shortly after birth into an offshoot of 18th century Methodism that called themselves the Peculiar people. As I read A Crowning Mercy, I got the distinct impression this was a more personal books than the author's other works. For that reason alone it is a must read for the true Cornwell fan.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful combination of historic detail and romance., October 6, 1999

By 

Karen Guest (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Crowning Mercy (Hardcover)

Fleeing from her strict Puritan household and an odious arranged marriage, a young woman seeks her fortune in 17th century London and falls in love with a charming aristocrat. As the fragile peace between the Puritan Roundheads and Royalist aristocracy crumbles, however, it becomes apparent that this young woman is not at all what she seems.

Beautifully written, this novel set during the English Civil War has everything: a heroine with a mysterious past, an engaging hero, an intricate plot, and some truly loathsome villains.

Its companion novel, "The Fallen Angels," is every bit as good.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archetypal Cornwell, June 21, 2005

By 

Susan L. Leach "litteacher135" (Western New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Crowning Mercy (Mass Market Paperback)

Cornwell manages to integrate history into the web of his fiction in very managed, intricate stages. The isolation of the Oxford Regency cast against the fanatical characters of Puritan England and civil war is a marvelous painting; Lady Margaret Lazender, Samuel Scammell, Faithful Unto Death Hervey and Vavasour Devorax are all characters who come alive (or dead, as the case may be) in credible ways. A delightful dose of fictionalized history, however, I found the water scenes too biblical and forced in allusion as the character of Dorcas was "reborn" in the novel. As with all other Cornwell, very graphic descriptions of the fetid side of imprisonment and torture befitting the seventeenth century.

I will continue to read and purchase this writer as his insight within specific historic periods is a continuing delight to me.