Orphan of the Pyre

England 1555. A boy watches his parents burn. A man swears revenge.

John Elliot’s parents are sent to the stake for heresy on the command of sheriff Sir Joseph Anstey. John grows to manhood under the shadow of the family that destroyed his own, nurturing a vow of vengeance. Raised alongside Margery, a foundling he rescued as a baby, he loses his heart to a beautiful Dutch girl whose face gazes down from a painting in Anstey Hall.

When a brutal crime shatters his life, and the Ansteys plot against the Crown, John follows them to a continent convulsed by religious war, driven by revenge and the hope of finding the girl in the portrait.

As John discovers that everyone wears their own mask, and reality is rarely as perfect as a painted face, one false step could mean his torture or death. But if John uncovers the Anstey’s secrets, will revenge bring him peace, or cost him everything he loves?

Perfect for fans of Maggie O’Farrell’s ‘Hamnet’, C J Samson, or Hilary Mantel.