Promise of Purity by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1661 – England

Is true purity found in the laws of religion or in the hearts of the faithful?

With the return of the exiled king to his rightful throne, Kate Sinclair’s world of black and white now offers the hope of color. But where does color-loving Kate fit? In the bakery as the daughter of a Puritan or in the palace garden among God’s myriad hues? Certainly not within the palace walls of an immoral court with new friends.

Exiled with King Charles II on the continent, Peter Reresby claims unwavering support of his friend’s regained crown. While fighting for the monarchy against his family’s wishes, his sister disappears, and Peter is determined to find her.

When their opposing beliefs collide, Kate and Peter witness a true test of faith in the ability of mankind to shed the past in order to preserve the future… and perhaps learn that the “greatest of these” truly is love.

The Burning Sands by Carole Lehr Johnson

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1671/Present – England

Can an old tavern’s secrets free two women from their pasts?

After a year, Olivia Griffin still drowns in grief from losing her beloved husband in a tragic accident. To cope with his death, she loses herself in her art and genealogy research that follows her grandmother’s lineage to Trerose, a small fishing village on the Cornish coast of England. In a bid to start fresh, she travels to Cornwall to discover more about her grandmother’s past, where she is captivated by an old tavern and the story of a young woman who lived there in the seventeenth century.

In the autumn of 1671, Grace Atwood and her brother still mourn the loss of their childhood friend while they struggle to protect their mother and siblings from their abusive father, who operates The Burning Sands Tavern. Grace’s life sinks further into turmoil after her father arranges her marriage to a local merchant with secrets of his own. When two strangers arrive in the harbor and the village is set alight with rumors, Grace finds herself caught between her family’s secrets and a romantic interest in Rig, a mysterious young man who is determined to help save her family.

In the present day, Olivia dives deeper into the history of the village, tavern, and young Grace’s story, alongside two eccentric elderly sisters and the handsome vicar. The longer she spends in Trerose the more she is drawn to the village and tavern, which may very well hold the answer to both the past and her future.

Mercy’s Refuge by Rita Gerlach

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1620 – England/Holland

A young woman’s journey to the New World.

Inspired by William Bradford’s ‘Of Plymouth Plantation’, Mercy’s Refuge is a sweeping historical novel of romance and adventure in the year 1620. Mercy McCrea, orphaned as a child and raised by her aging grandparents, lives in poverty. The only thing keeping her and her family from starvation is to work as a kitchen servant for a rich nobleman.

When catastrophe strikes and Mercy’s life is in danger, she flees England for her uncle’s farm in Holland. There she meets Caleb, a carpenter, and finds refuge among the Separatists who fled the wrath of the English King. Beginning in Ipswich, a North Sea port town in Suffolk, England, the novel takes the reader on a voyage across the English Channel to Holland, and then aboard the Mayflower.

When Mercy and Caleb face the dangers of the sea, their faith and love for each other is strengthened by the strong bonds of a people whose courage forged a nation.

The Popish Midwife by Annelisa Christensen

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1678 – England

In seventeenth-century London, thirteen years after the plague and twelve years after the Great Fire, the restoration of King Charles II has dulled the memory of Cromwell’s puritan rule, yet fear and suspicion are rife. Religious turmoil is rarely far from tipping the scales into hysteria.

Elizabeth Cellier, a bold and outspoken midwife, regularly visits Newgate Prison to distribute alms to victims of religious persecution. There she falls in with the charming Captain Willoughby, a debtor, whom she enlists to gather information about crimes against prisoners, so she might involve herself in petitioning the king in their name.

“Tis a plot, Madam, of the direst sort.’ 

With these whispered words Willoughby draws Elizabeth unwittingly into the infamous Popish Plot and soon not even the fearful warnings of her husband, Pierre, can loosen her bond with it.

This novel is the incredible true story of one woman ahead of her time and her fight against prejudice and injustice.

 

The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund

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1659 – England

In 1650s England, a young Puritan maiden is on a mission to save the baby of her newly widowed preacher–whether her assistance is wanted or not. Always ready to help those in need, Elizabeth ignores John’s protests of her aid. She’s even willing to risk her lone marriage prospect to help the little family.

Yet Elizabeth’s new role as nanny takes a dangerous turn when John’s boldness from the pulpit makes him a target of political and religious leaders. As the preacher’s enemies become desperate to silence him, they draw Elizabeth into a deadly web of deception. Finding herself in more danger than she ever bargained for, she’s more determined than ever to save the child–and man–she’s come to love.