Accidents of Providence - Paperback

by Stacia Brown (Author)

"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

"Dangerous 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

London, 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.

Glovemaker 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.

"The 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

"[A] marvelous story written in searing prose. Don't miss it!"--Sheri Holman

"Heart-poundingly vivid [and] intellectually provocative . . . A romping good read . . . Historical fiction at its best."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Back Jacket

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
"Dangerous 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

London, 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.
Glovemaker 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.

The 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
"[A] marvelous story written in searing prose. Don't miss it!" Sheri Holman
"Heart-poundingly vivid [and] intellectually provocative . . . A romping good read . . . Historical fiction at its best." Kirkus Reviews, starred review
STACIA M. BROWN holds graduate degrees in religion and historical theology from Emory University. Accidents of Providence is based on research from her dissertation on seventeenth-century English martyrs.
Author photograph (c) John Scott Randall
Look for the Reader s Guide at www.marinerreadersguides.com

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Author Biography

She began writing "Accidents of Providence" from research conducted for her dissertation on martyrs in seventeenth century England. This is her first novel.