Wintercombe (Wintercombe Series Book 1)

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Set in 1644, during the English Civil War, Wintercombe is no longer just the St. Barbe family home and estate. Occupied by enemy soldiers, Lady St. Barbe (Silence) must keep the household together and protect her people and land from the callous Cavaliers while her husband is fighting for his King, but she is still considered an outsider, someone not born and bred in Somerset, and the staff don't fully trust her. It will take everything she has to keep her children safe, and in the meantime she herself is blossoming, as if until now she had lived only in a dim light.

Wintercombe (Wintercombe Series Book 1) eBook : Belle, Pamela

I really enjoyed this. Pamela Belle is one of my favorite authors in general, but hands down my favorite author of historical fiction. It's really a shame her books are out of print, and also that it seems they get marketed so often as romance novels. While there is a love story involved, they are definitely a lot more than romance novels. Her portrayal of the these fictional families that struggle through real-life historical events seems so true to the time period and so detailed that it makes me feel I'm looking through a portal into actual events. When her house is taken by the soldiers, with the leadership of Lieutenant Ridgeley, she and her five children starts to suffer with the soldier's brutality and harassment. The intense love that Silence had for each of her children and how beautifully it was written. She truly knew her children and their characters, weaknesses and strengths and loved them as only a mother could love. As Jayne commented, I’m currently writing a modern novel (with 17th century interludes) as a blog, issued in instalments, and I also have three unpublished novels, one set in 18th century London, one in Elizabethan England, and the other at the time of Alfred the Great, which I hope will see the light of day sometime, even if I have to do it myself! Unlike many such books, there's obviously been copious research by the author who manages not to strew details haphazardly but instead make every scene incredibly rich visually. Her foreword confirms that most of the characters actually existed, and as they were portrayed, which makes this quite unusual, and the portrayal of both armies - and then the New Model Army - clearly shows the harsh reality for the people torn between the armies of King and Parliament.Thank you for the glimpse of the old covers. I do believe that the copy I read had the one featuring Silence. I was a little nervous when I received this book from Interlibrary Loan. It looked like a bodice ripper, judging from the cover, the title, and the author's name (I don't know, the name sounded bodice-ripping to me). What I found instead was a thoughtful, carefully crafted tale, bringing me out of my world and into the time of the English Civil War. I would have appreciated the novel much more had this author used the events in Silence's life rather to display opportunity for growth in her character. How much more I would have enjoyed seeing Silence finding contentment and happiness within the constraints of her marriage vows, home, family and children (certainly her garden has brought her much joy, and poverty is not a problem for Silence, although she must find creative solutions to feed a household of servants, family and fifty-plus soldiers). I love to read novels that illustrate personality change and watch the characters mature through their life lessons and circumstances. Remaining steadfast within challenging, difficult or even insurmountable situations, while modelling qualities such as faithfulness and building stability within one's household, (especially in front of young, impressionable children), would have made for me, a much more enjoyable story. The main character Silence who had survived a controlling and abusive Puritan father and upbringing and was married at 19 to a widower, who was old enough to be her father, with three children. She was such a strong character who would not let her true self be broken and held her ground in the face of fear to protect the ones she loved. WARNINGS: The villain of this book is truly despicable. There is a plot point involving Silence’s 15 year old stepdaughter whom the villain threatens with rape. It doesn’t progress beyond the threat but readers with triggers will want to be aware of this.

Pamela Belle - Fantastic Fiction Pamela Belle - Fantastic Fiction

Wintercombe is the first in a series written about a beautiful home in Somerset and its inhabitants during the Civil Wars that ravaged England. It’s a story of a woman taken for granted by all who know her who discovers an inner strength that is honed to fine steel over the course of a year. And how she discovers love with a most unlikely man, the Cavalier captain of the troop of horse which comes to garrison it. I do have to say that even if I love the cover, it’s hardly anything I can see Puritan Silence wearing though to quote Silence’s lady’s maid Mally the woman she do look “tarblish fine.”As the ugliness of war continues, Silence must learn to shed the submissive nature that life has forced her to assume and draw upon the inner strength that she has always possessed.

Wintercombe by Belle Pamela - AbeBooks

Married and a teacher of a class of six-year-olds, she wrote in longhand and, while publishers made encouraging noises, no one was prepared to risk publishing a large book by an unknown author. Eventually the agent Vivienne Schuster was wonderfully enthusiastic about it and found a publisher. During this time Silence – now Mistress of Wintercombe – has enjoyed a harmonious time with her children. Civil war has raged and her sombre husband has been away for two years. During this time Silence – now Mistress of Wintercombe – has enjoyed a harmonious time with her children. Yet this sheltered world is shattered when enemy Cavaliers invade, causing havoc in the town. Wintercombe, once a tranquil bastion of family virtue, is transformed into an unruly, drunken, and licentious garrison.Her eventual marriage does not offer her the escape that she longs for and she craves some semblance of autonomy. Jayne, thank you so much for the wonderful review! It’s been great knowing that my books are being reissued digitally for not only my previous fans, but hopefully new ones as well. I know some find them a bit slow to get going, but I like to set a scene, build up characters, and let the reader get to know and care for them, before getting bogged down in matters of plot. That way, hopefully, you’ll be desperate to know what happens! Tortured by a cold, Puritan father, Silence has learned to conceal her passionate nature inside a prison like shell of passivity. This is one of my favorite novels of all time. I love Silence, Lady St. Barbe. I love the description of beautiful Wintercombe, a fictional place based on an actual house. I love the details about the domestic arrangements of the estate, about how a lady was supposed to behave, about life during the English Civil War. Now, however, he has returned to Somerset to claim Wintercombe as his inheritance — but his arrival is greeted with trepidation and foreboding. Bitter quarrels break out on his first night home and soon, the old fires of family passions and religious contention are raging.