In The Shadow of Lady Jane (Richard Stocker) - Tapa dura

It is April 1551. While the family of Lord Henry Grey are visiting their Devon estate, the Grey sisters are saved from drowning by a local medical apprentice, Richard Stocker. Little does Richard know that this single act will plunge him into a tide of religious and social upheaval which will change not only his own life but the course of British history. In gratitude for saving his daughters, Lord Henry agrees to employ Richard in his household. Lady Katherine has already fallen for her father's handsome new employee, while Richard is in thrall to the intellect of her troubled but brilliant sister, Lady Jane, with whom he forms a close friendship. Following King Edward's death, the teenaged Lady Jane is proclaimed Queen. Soon, however, she is deposed and put to the axe. The woman Richard has grown to love as a friend, confidante and adviser is dead. Bereft, he abandons the intrigues and deceptions of Court life, resolving to resume his medical apprenticeship. In the Shadow of Lady Jane is a memorable and richly imagined work of historical fiction - at once a gripping political thriller and a compelling love story.

Edward Charles Townsend is an economist with a finance PhD from Manchester Business School. He has been a university lecturer and a City and international businessman and has published widely in his specialist subjects. He currently lives in Devon where he writes, paints, and tends his vineyards.