Murder. Betrayal. Adventure. A Score That Must Be Settled.A tale of twists and turns following the most unlikely of female leads.'How do you know my name?' I asked... 'We will come to that,' he said.'Do you think they meant to kill him?'War between Britain, France and Spain forms the backdrop to Beverley Elphick's much-anticipated second novel, Retribution. Our heroine Esther Coad is looking forward at last to starting a normal family life; but with the town under threat, and plagued by shadows from the past, can Esther reach her longed for happy ever after?This is the second instalment of Beverley Elphick's trilogy set in the eighteenth century when smuggling is rife and a strong female voice rarely heard.At the heart of the story is family; not always the one you are born with, but the one you carve out for yourself.
Esther, as the wife of Dr. Bartholomew Grieve is a contented young woman. The child she raises as her own - Beth - has no memory of her real mother who died by her own hand on the day of her daughter's birth. Beth has witnessed dreadful scenes of murder and kidnap, and the threat from her biological father, a farmer and smuggler, is ever present. It is Esther's hope that she and the child will not suffer the consequences of their past entanglements with the smugglers. But it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain this hope in the face of so many threats. An unknown lad accosts her in a lonely twitten, not quite a boy nor yet a man; he believes it to be Esther's fault his parents died, with all his siblings subsequently consigned to the poor house. He intends to make her and the child suffer as they have suffered.There is no hunger or want in the doctor's household and Esther has the goodwill of many in the town of Lewes; but an unwelcome visitor, in the shape of Dr. Grieve's elder sister, is about to bring discord into the happy home. Enid McGovern disapproves of her brother's wife and her acid tongue soon finds ways of disturbing the harmony and frightening the child Beth.In amongst Esther's fears for her own and Beth's safety she finds fulfilment as a practising midwife in caring for the many pregnant women who cannot afford to pay a physician. She finds great personal happiness in her increasing family and is more than capable of seeing off interference by some of the medical profession, particularly when one of them tries to push her out of her midwifery role - a scenario being played out all over the country as venal physicians try to take the wages that midwives can earn. Esther still dreams of establishing a small house where disadvantaged women can give birth if they have no suitable home. She often loses herself in her herbal preparations and studies the works of Nicholas Culpeper. Her own understanding of herbalism comes through generations of wise women of whom her mother was one.Esther, however, cannot escape the past and when an opportunity arrives to help destroy the smuggling industry in Sussex and Kent, she voluntarily takes part. She does not foresee the consequences and once again her life is held on a knife edge at the will of smugglers who do not realise they are harbouring their bitterest enemy. Esther is trapped as the Excise executes an audacious plan to retrieve England's stolen gold and rid the southern counties of its smugglers once and for all.
It is 1795 and Esther Coad is plunged into destitution when her mother, father and younger brother are taken by the Great Sickness. She is relieved when a distant relative offers her a home at Coad Farm in the tiny hamlet of Hamsey but soon discovers that the offer is not made in kindness but from the desire for cheap labour. She finds her relatives unkind and mean spirited and the work is hard, especially with the lipsy leg Esther has suffered from since birth. Esther’s life improves when a new servant, Becca arrives. Becca is young, vivacious and pretty and in no time the girls become firm friends. One bright Midsummer's day they venture to the hiring fair at nearby Lewes, a decision that will trigger a sequence of events that will test Esther to the limit. A tragedy leaves Esther with a tiny baby and mourning a senseless death. Esther fears for her own life and that of the child and runs away from the farm throwing herself at the mercy of strangers who support her as she fights to prove her innocence in the case she has become entangled in. Can Esther escape the malevolent reach of the Coads and their accusations of murder and kidnap? Can she create a life for herself and Beth and triumph over the smugglers and the press gang who threaten her hard won freedom? And will she find the happiness she deserves at last?
Esther, as the wife of Dr. Bartholomew Grieve is a contented young woman. The child she raises as her own - Beth - has no memory of her real mother who died by her own hand on the day of her daughter's birth. Beth has witnessed dreadful scenes of murder and kidnap, and the threat from her biological father, a farmer and smuggler, is ever present. It is Esther's hope that she and the child will not suffer the consequences of their past entanglements with the smugglers. But it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain this hope in the face of so many threats. An unknown lad accosts her in a lonely twitten, not quite a boy nor yet a man; he believes it to be Esther's fault his parents died, with all his siblings subsequently consigned to the poor house. He intends to make her and the child suffer as they have suffered.There is no hunger or want in the doctor's household and Esther has the goodwill of many in the town of Lewes; but an unwelcome visitor, in the shape of Dr. Grieve's elder sister, is about to bring discord into the happy home. Enid McGovern disapproves of her brother's wife and her acid tongue soon finds ways of disturbing the harmony and frightening the child Beth.In amongst Esther's fears for her own and Beth's safety she finds fulfilment as a practising midwife in caring for the many pregnant women who cannot afford to pay a physician. She finds great personal happiness in her increasing family and is more than capable of seeing off interference by some of the medical profession, particularly when one of them tries to push her out of her midwifery role - a scenario being played out all over the country as venal physicians try to take the wages that midwives can earn. Esther still dreams of establishing a small house where disadvantaged women can give birth if they have no suitable home. She often loses herself in her herbal preparations and studies the works of Nicholas Culpeper. Her own understanding of herbalism comes through generations of wise women of whom her mother was one.Esther, however, cannot escape the past and when an opportunity arrives to help destroy the smuggling industry in Sussex and Kent, she voluntarily takes part. She does not foresee the consequences and once again her life is held on a knife edge at the will of smugglers who do not realise they are harbouring their bitterest enemy. Esther is trapped as the Excise executes an audacious plan to retrieve England's stolen gold and rid the southern counties of its smugglers once and for all.
Murder. Betrayal. Adventure. A Score That Must Be Settled.A tale of twists and turns following the most unlikely of female leads.'How do you know my name?' I asked... 'We will come to that,' he said.'Do you think they meant to kill him?'War between Britain, France and Spain forms the backdrop to Beverley Elphick's much-anticipated second novel, Retribution. Our heroine Esther Coad is looking forward at last to starting a normal family life; but with the town under threat, and plagued by shadows from the past, can Esther reach her longed for happy ever after?This is the second instalment of Beverley Elphick's trilogy set in the eighteenth century when smuggling is rife and a strong female voice rarely heard.At the heart of the story is family; not always the one you are born with, but the one you carve out for yourself.
It is 1795 and Esther Coad is plunged into destitution when her mother, father and younger brother are taken by the Great Sickness. She is relieved when a distant relative offers her a home at Coad Farm in the tiny hamlet of Hamsey but soon discovers that the offer is not made in kindness but from the desire for cheap labour. She finds her relatives unkind and mean spirited and the work is hard, especially with the lipsy leg Esther has suffered from since birth. Esther’s life improves when a new servant, Becca arrives. Becca is young, vivacious and pretty and in no time the girls become firm friends. One bright Midsummer's day they venture to the hiring fair at nearby Lewes, a decision that will trigger a sequence of events that will test Esther to the limit. A tragedy leaves Esther with a tiny baby and mourning a senseless death. Esther fears for her own life and that of the child and runs away from the farm throwing herself at the mercy of strangers who support her as she fights to prove her innocence in the case she has become entangled in. Can Esther escape the malevolent reach of the Coads and their accusations of murder and kidnap? Can she create a life for herself and Beth and triumph over the smugglers and the press gang who threaten her hard won freedom? And will she find the happiness she deserves at last?
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.