One afternoon during the 1640's when King Charles I of England's Royalist forces are at war with Parliament's Roundheads a pretty young girl, illicitly swimming naked in a stream, is surprised a passing stranger. Her parents call her Dorcas, but he calls her Campion and she immediately falls in love with him.

So when an unbearable prospective husband is forced upon her, Dorcas flees to seek her lover, taking with her the one gift left to her by her unknown father- a golden seal.

There are four of these jewels, each owned by a stranger. If one person can gather them all then that person will have access to great wealth and power. This is Campion's inheritance.

I am normally a great fan of Bernard Cornwell's books and this one was supposedly written in collaboration with Susannah Kells (which I believe is the pen-name of Cornwell's wife). I rather suspect that it was she who did most of the writing and the publishers cynically exploiting her husband's fame. The historical background was well researched and the plot if rather absurd moved along at a decent pace, but the characterisation was poor and stereotypical, whilst I wasn't ever tempted to throw in the towel the final supposed twist so transparent I found it laughable.

All in all I found this one a dud and I won't be rushing out looking for any more in the series. ( )

I had read this before so I knew were things were going.

Dorcus/Campion annoyed me sometimes at the beginning.

I loved Lady Lazender. ( )

17th c. Puritan England - Dorcas Slythe - "Campion" + Toby - covenant +seals
Enemies all want seal - very good.

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.

Set during the 1640s when King Charles I of England was at war with his own people, this story follows the up and downs of a beautiful woman with an ugly name: Dorcas Slythe. Not surprisingly, when she meets her dream man, who adores her but hates her name, she readily agrees to being called Campion after a beautiful flower.

Campion is raised as a Puritan. Her unloving father beats her with his belt whenever she does anything he considers as sinful. Yet he’s hiding something from her; something that holds great riches and a means of escape from her miserable home.

At length Campion discovers her father’s secret and leaves for London. For the rest of the story she experiences a mixture of great happiness and humiliating horrors.

The two authors have done a good job of intermixing themes. Some readers won’t like this whilst others – including me – will appreciate the blend of different tones. In some instances they do this in the same scene.

For example, early on in the book Campion’s enemies are trying to force her to marry an ugly man. During the service, while she’s being manhandled by someone she knows would rape her with pleasure, there’s also a comedy being acted out with the drunk priest. Again, some readers may not like this, but I found it high entertainment and cleverly written.

I did consider some sections as dull but these were few. On the whole I thought this was an excellent tale, well-plotted, blending humour and horror to great effect, featuring a likeable heroine along with several strong characters. ( )

A good little page turner set in Puritan England during the reign of Oliver Cromwell. ( )