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Coming soon -- available for pre-order
A fresh perspective on "Kat Ashley, the woman Queen Elizabeth I valued so highly.
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In 1587, the people of Dartington Hall turn to Roberda, a young Huguenot woman who married into one of Devon's most prestigious families, for guidance during troubled times. Her world is thrown into confusion by the unexpected return of her estranged husband, Gawen Champernowne.
Later Roberda will have to fight to remain Mistress of Dartington Hall and secure her children’s inheritance. Can she ever truly find fulfilment for herself?
Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Armada in a well known Devon location, this is a woman's story during wartime and beyond.
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The Dartington Bride tells the extraordinary story of Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery, a woman who, after a childhood in war-torn France, came to England to marry into one of Devon’s most prominent and well connected families. Like most women of her time Roberda must be a good wife, run a large household and produce a son and heir.
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Few women of her time lived to see their name in print. But Katherine was no ordinary woman. She was Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and she inspired her sons to follow their dreams.
As the daughter of a Devon family with close connections to the glittering court of King Henry VIII, Katherine’s duty is clear. Still a girl, she starts a new life at Greenway Court on the River Dart. She settles into the life of a dutiful wife and mother until a chance shipboard encounter with a handsome privateer, turns her world upside down.…..
Learn MoreSir Walter Raleigh’s mother and me. by Rosemary Griggs
The 16th century woman who took over my life — the ‘other’ Katherine Champernowne
Read on SubstackA Woman’s lot — Daughter, Wife, Mother, Widow by Rosemary Griggs
Elizabeth Champernowne c.1555 -? Wife of Sir Edward Seymour of Berry Pomeroy.
Read on SubstackIt’s not hard to understand why the ruins at Berry Pomeroy Castle are listed among the most h…

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I recently had a wonderful opportunity to explore a room in Exeter Cathedral I had not seen before …
Devon, 1587: News arrives at the remote manor house of Gawen Champernowne that the Armada is on its…
In this detailed and fascinating historical fiction novel, readers follow Roberda Dartington as she…