Accidents of Providence - Stacia Brown

Wonderfully detailed and keenly researched, it is a moving portrait of a courageous woman caught between a disastrous affair with a charismatic revolutionary and the draconian laws of the land that would put her to death because of it. Kathleen Kent n nWonderfully detailed and keenly researched, it is a moving portrait of a courageous woman caught between a disastrous affair with a charismatic revolutionary and the draconian laws of the land that would put her to death because of it.--Kathleen Kent n nDangerous Liaisons: A seventeenth-century heroine for our times . .

. [A] delightfully seditious heroine...Proof that a historical novel can be educational and entertaining, and nothing like homework.--O, The Oprah Magazine n nLondon, 1649: King Charles has been beheaded for treason, Cromwell is in power, the Levelers are demanding rights for the people, and a new law targeting unwed mothers presumes anyone who conceals the death of her illegitimate child is guilty of murder. n nGlovemaker Rachel Lockyer is locked in a secret affair.

But while her lover is imprisoned in the Tower, a child is found buried in the woods. Rachel is arrested. So comes an investigation, a trial, and an extraordinary cast of characters all brought to reckon for this one life.

Spinning within is a remarkable love story and evidence that miracles come to even the commonest lives. n nThe best kind of historical fiction--a combination of love story and murder mystery, with a sprinkling of intriguing historical snippets and wonderful writing.--Library Journal, starred review n n[A] marvelous story written in searing prose. Don't miss it!--Sheri Holman n nHeart-poundingly vivid [and] intellectually provocative .

. . A romping good read .

. . Historical fiction at its best.--Kirkus Reviews, starred review nn