Because two of Silence’s grandchildren – Bram and Ben – are directly involved, the reader is pulled into the heart of the action rather than just hearing about events from a distance. This is the first fictional account I’ve read that has gone into so much detail and I found it all fascinating, from the views of the people of South West England and their reasons for supporting (or not supporting) the Duke, to the descriptions of the battles and the fate of the men who fought in them. I have read about the Monmouth Rebellion before, but it has only been touched on briefly in other novels I’ve read. There’s a lot of support for Monmouth’s cause throughout Somerset and its neighbouring counties, but which side will the St Barbes choose?
Outside the walls of Wintercombe, meanwhile, rebellion is brewing as the Duke of Monmouth prepares to launch his attempt to overthrow James II. Unfortunately, Alex does nothing to endear himself to Charles and what begins as a natural resentment quickly develops into hatred. If only Alex had stayed away, Wintercombe could have been his. After all, he had been helping Alex’s father to run the estate for several years, and unless Alex can produce a legitimate child of his own, Charles is the next heir. Another cousin, Charles St Barbe, still hasn’t given up hope of inheriting Wintercombe himself. Not everyone is pleased to have Alex home, though. Alex is presumably not the sort of man her mother has in mind, but Louise is instantly drawn to him and it seems that the attraction is mutual. Louise, who was brought up in France, has been sent to England in the hope that she will find a nice Protestant husband there. Alexander (or Alex as we will now call him) brings with him a reputation for drunkenness and debauchery, but this doesn’t deter his cousin Louise, another new arrival at Wintercombe. It opens with the return to Wintercombe of Sir Alexander St Barbe, who has been living in exile in the Low Countries but has come home to take up his inheritance following his father’s death. Having enjoyed both Wintercombe and Herald of Joy last year, I decided to wait a little while before beginning A Falling Star I think that was the right decision as it meant I could approach it with a mind open to meeting new characters and embarking on new storylines, rather than just wanting more of Silence and Nick.Ī Falling Star is set in the 1680s, several decades after Herald of Joy ended. The third book in Pamela Belle’s Wintercombe series moves on to the next generation of the St Barbe family.
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