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The Pittenweemers: Outstanding 16th Century Historical Fiction based on real events
From the Winner of the Barbara Hammond Trophy and Amazon BESTSELLING Author
Forty years have passed since Bethia last set foot on Scottish soil and the country she once knew has changed beyond recognition. And it’s not possible for her to live the quiet and unobserved life she seeks – the grand lady, with seemingly untold wealth, arrived from the mysterious land of the Turks accompanied by her handsome grandson, Ephraim, draws the attention of everyone, including the king.
Her brother Will now serves as a minister of the Protestant kirk in the East coast fishing village of Pittenweem. Bethia’s steadfast catholicism and whether Ephraim is a secret judaiser are only some amongst Will’s many fears, for the year 1588 brims with ominous portents.
Then dark rumours of the approach of the Spanish Armada spread like whispers on the wind. The looming menace must be resisted for, as John Knox once proclaimed, Scotland can bear no Cardinals.
"Fact and Fiction perfectly combined" Amazon Review
"These are tremendous novels whose subject resonates with today's world." Goodreads Review
Forty years have passed since Bethia last set foot on Scottish soil and the country she once knew has changed beyond recognition. And it’s not possible for her to live the quiet and unobserved life she seeks – the grand lady, with seemingly untold wealth, arrived from the mysterious land of the Turks accompanied by her handsome grandson, Ephraim, draws the attention of everyone, including the king.
Her brother Will now serves as a minister of the Protestant kirk in the East coast fishing village of Pittenweem. Bethia’s steadfast catholicism and whether Ephraim is a secret judaiser are only some amongst Will’s many fears, for the year 1588 brims with ominous portents.
Then dark rumours of the approach of the Spanish Armada spread like whispers on the wind. The looming menace must be resisted for, as John Knox once proclaimed, Scotland can bear no Cardinals.
"Fact and Fiction perfectly combined" Amazon Review
"These are tremendous novels whose subject resonates with today's world." Goodreads Review
- GenresHistorical Fiction
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 16, 2024
76 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
V.E.H. Masters
5 books35 followersWould you like three free historical short stories which build on the Seton Chronicles? Visit my website https://vehmasters.com and pick up your copies of A Bonny Lass, The Sound of Silence and A Long Wait. Each tell the reader secrets which Bethia and Will do not know.
The final book in the Seton Chronicles is out now.. The Pittenweemers finds the family back in Scotland in a year of dangerous portents when the all of Scotland is in fear of the coming of the Spanish Armada. And then one day the villagers awake to find an Armada ship is here.
All my books are based on real events and follow the history closely.
I grew up on a farm near St. Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. St Andrews is famous as the home of golf but it also was a great religious centre and place of pilgrimage prior to the Reformation in 1560 – all largely disregarded when we were at school. The first time I was in the castle was aged twelve when our teacher took us on a rare visit to it. There was a famous siege there in 1546 and I was captivated when we went down the siege tunnel dug out of rock then and peered into the bottle dungeon where the murdered Cardinal's body is said to have been kept, pickled in salt, for over a year.
The group who took the castle and held it for over 14 months, resisting the many attempts to re-take it, called themselves the Castilians and I remember thinking even then it was the perfect title for a book. I just didn't realise how long it would take me to write it!
Once I'd finished the first book I continued the story of Bethia and Will as they are caught up in the religious turmoil of the Reformation. How does a family of different faiths hold together and survive when your safety depended on both where you were and what faith you adhered to?
Regular posts on my research and the wonderful nuggets of detail I find are on my website and I'd be honoured if you signed up for my monthly newsletter which often offers giveaways.
The Castilians is also available as an audiobook, narrated by the talented actor and voice artist Beverley Wright.
To find out more please go to her website https://vehmasters.com/. A short story telling more about the characters is free to all newsletter subscribers.
The final book in the Seton Chronicles is out now.. The Pittenweemers finds the family back in Scotland in a year of dangerous portents when the all of Scotland is in fear of the coming of the Spanish Armada. And then one day the villagers awake to find an Armada ship is here.
All my books are based on real events and follow the history closely.
I grew up on a farm near St. Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. St Andrews is famous as the home of golf but it also was a great religious centre and place of pilgrimage prior to the Reformation in 1560 – all largely disregarded when we were at school. The first time I was in the castle was aged twelve when our teacher took us on a rare visit to it. There was a famous siege there in 1546 and I was captivated when we went down the siege tunnel dug out of rock then and peered into the bottle dungeon where the murdered Cardinal's body is said to have been kept, pickled in salt, for over a year.
The group who took the castle and held it for over 14 months, resisting the many attempts to re-take it, called themselves the Castilians and I remember thinking even then it was the perfect title for a book. I just didn't realise how long it would take me to write it!
Once I'd finished the first book I continued the story of Bethia and Will as they are caught up in the religious turmoil of the Reformation. How does a family of different faiths hold together and survive when your safety depended on both where you were and what faith you adhered to?
Regular posts on my research and the wonderful nuggets of detail I find are on my website and I'd be honoured if you signed up for my monthly newsletter which often offers giveaways.
The Castilians is also available as an audiobook, narrated by the talented actor and voice artist Beverley Wright.
To find out more please go to her website https://vehmasters.com/. A short story telling more about the characters is free to all newsletter subscribers.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 15, 2024
This is the final entry in a 5 book series from this author. At the beginning it had me a bit off balance because it didn't start where the last one left off, but rather slightly earlier. All the books were well integrated into the historical record, so I was perplexed as to why there was this aberration in the timeline. However, the change is somewhat functional in that I was disappointed by the previous book's account of the Spanish Armada, which, being told from the point of view of a sailor, nevertheless was rather a landlubber's view of the battle and avoided all nautical terms. As one of the characters in "Master & Commander" says, "Could you describe this without using any nautical terms?" Answer: "I really wouldn't know how." (From memory, I didn't look it up, all mistakes are mine and not Mr. O'Brian's.)
This 5th book has totally redeemed the series and actually it's the best one by a long sea mile. Ms. Masters has given us deepened characterization of many of the characters already introduced, like Bethia and her brother, her father, and a surprisingly large cast of relatives that are a little challenging to keep track of, but each one has his or her role to play. She has revealed a surprising fact about Grissel, Bethia's servant, that explains lots of things that happened earlier in the story (best I can do without spoilers).
It was implied earlier in the series there was something going on between Bethia and the gentleman who helped her in the first book, which in this book develops into a courtly romance that is totally believable even though the principals are beyond the age where such things generally take place. This was a wonderful, moving episode.
Indeed, it's a theme that people decide to marry who are disapproved of by parents and other relatives, yet romance has its way in almost every case. So the Seton family gets larger and more complex as the book continues. The ending is entirely satisfying for the reader, even though Bethia has to face the reality that she's never going back to Constantinople and therefore, never going to see the relatives she has there again. There's an appropriate note of tragedy here, since people do make decisions in reality that are irrevocable and cause them distress when it's too late to do anything about it.
The conflicting demands of the different religions on the characters is a theme of the entire series and the author wisely declines to draw conclusions. In human history, religion is just one of the issues that divide people, and historically, one of the most difficult to handle. The fact that Bethia's family has included Moslems, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants of several sects is a demonstration of this truth that leaves the reader, like the people who lived through the Reformation, equally perplexed. But the story does demonstrate for us what happened in that important time period and I think it's helpful and educational, in addition to entertaining, to have this story.
The role of Scotland in repatriating survivors of the Armada is a little known episode that is recounted here. It totally explains why there's that strange hiccup in the timeline.
This 5th book has totally redeemed the series and actually it's the best one by a long sea mile. Ms. Masters has given us deepened characterization of many of the characters already introduced, like Bethia and her brother, her father, and a surprisingly large cast of relatives that are a little challenging to keep track of, but each one has his or her role to play. She has revealed a surprising fact about Grissel, Bethia's servant, that explains lots of things that happened earlier in the story (best I can do without spoilers).
It was implied earlier in the series there was something going on between Bethia and the gentleman who helped her in the first book, which in this book develops into a courtly romance that is totally believable even though the principals are beyond the age where such things generally take place. This was a wonderful, moving episode.
Indeed, it's a theme that people decide to marry who are disapproved of by parents and other relatives, yet romance has its way in almost every case. So the Seton family gets larger and more complex as the book continues. The ending is entirely satisfying for the reader, even though Bethia has to face the reality that she's never going back to Constantinople and therefore, never going to see the relatives she has there again. There's an appropriate note of tragedy here, since people do make decisions in reality that are irrevocable and cause them distress when it's too late to do anything about it.
The conflicting demands of the different religions on the characters is a theme of the entire series and the author wisely declines to draw conclusions. In human history, religion is just one of the issues that divide people, and historically, one of the most difficult to handle. The fact that Bethia's family has included Moslems, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants of several sects is a demonstration of this truth that leaves the reader, like the people who lived through the Reformation, equally perplexed. But the story does demonstrate for us what happened in that important time period and I think it's helpful and educational, in addition to entertaining, to have this story.
The role of Scotland in repatriating survivors of the Armada is a little known episode that is recounted here. It totally explains why there's that strange hiccup in the timeline.
April 13, 2025
interesting take on telling this story
I enjoyed the following of this time period through the story of a family. A fantastic journey for a great character. Well done.
I enjoyed the following of this time period through the story of a family. A fantastic journey for a great character. Well done.
January 4, 2025
Excellent Series
I didn't want this story to end. Pittenweemers was my least favorite, but kept true to the characters and tone of the story. I would like to see how the story evolves.
I didn't want this story to end. Pittenweemers was my least favorite, but kept true to the characters and tone of the story. I would like to see how the story evolves.
January 6, 2026
The Pittenweeners
I have read the other books in this series a while back and wanted to read the final installment for a while. While I enjoyed this book, and the closure of many parts of the story, I didn’t feel as connected to this book as the rest of the series. It may be that it’s been well over a year since I read the other books.
I found the writing as a whole good- though I caught twice a phrase which many readers highlight as annoying - where the character in question releases a breath he or she was unaware they were holding. That phrase, now that I’ve seen it, is unimaginative and trite; it’s beneath the overall quality of writing that I find in this series.
This period of history is one of great significance, and truthfully there’s little instruction in any educational program that I’ve seen on the Reformation, the Inquisition, or of the rise of Islam in this time. Now, I am not a religious student or a student of history- my academic background was science and nursing so I wouldn’t have been exposed to any of these types of courses.
I enjoyed the full circle closure towards the end of the book, the conversation between Bethia and the Spanish captain, as well as the conversation she had with her grandson.
I have read the other books in this series a while back and wanted to read the final installment for a while. While I enjoyed this book, and the closure of many parts of the story, I didn’t feel as connected to this book as the rest of the series. It may be that it’s been well over a year since I read the other books.
I found the writing as a whole good- though I caught twice a phrase which many readers highlight as annoying - where the character in question releases a breath he or she was unaware they were holding. That phrase, now that I’ve seen it, is unimaginative and trite; it’s beneath the overall quality of writing that I find in this series.
This period of history is one of great significance, and truthfully there’s little instruction in any educational program that I’ve seen on the Reformation, the Inquisition, or of the rise of Islam in this time. Now, I am not a religious student or a student of history- my academic background was science and nursing so I wouldn’t have been exposed to any of these types of courses.
I enjoyed the full circle closure towards the end of the book, the conversation between Bethia and the Spanish captain, as well as the conversation she had with her grandson.
December 21, 2024
This book is the last in a series that follows a woman and her family through the religious conflicts during the time of the Protestant Reformation. Various members of the family are staunch Protestants, secret Catholics, and Conversos who have returned to their Jewish faith. In the background of the family story are such historic figures as Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I of England, Sir Francis Drake, Phillip of Spain, and Sultan Suleiman.
I appreciate that the author weaves all of these historic characters and events into one story. It gives a context we often miss.
While it is shocking to read about priests who have to work in hiding and people who have to fear being seen kneeling to pray, seeing people put upholding correct beliefs over actually acting like Christians is not so unusual. This book shows why we should value and preserve freedom of religion.
I appreciate that the author weaves all of these historic characters and events into one story. It gives a context we often miss.
While it is shocking to read about priests who have to work in hiding and people who have to fear being seen kneeling to pray, seeing people put upholding correct beliefs over actually acting like Christians is not so unusual. This book shows why we should value and preserve freedom of religion.
November 16, 2025
Another excellent book by Vicky Masters. Her ability as a historical author is superlative and she knits together exemplary historical research with an absorbing and powerful story. This is the last of her five 'Seton Chronicles' books, which brings us to the end of the tale of a family who have been split up by politics, circumstances and religion and ranged throughout Europe in their efforts to avoid religious persecution and make their way. In the process they give us a window into the different religious turmoils that raged across sixteenth century Europe. I particularly enjoyed the way that Vicky places Scottish religious history into its broader context. But these books aren't historical texts - they are powerful novels with strong characters and fast-moving, dramatic plots.
September 20, 2025
An excellent series
I have read this whole series of books one after the other and enjoyed them all. The family Seton are made up of many interesting and conflicting characters who despite their religous differences have stayed a strong and loving family. This medieval period of history was, in my opinion one of the most fascinating, conflicting and frightening eras in which to live. I gained some new knowledge about that time and recognize too, that is what a really good historical novel if it is successful, is meant to do.
I have read this whole series of books one after the other and enjoyed them all. The family Seton are made up of many interesting and conflicting characters who despite their religous differences have stayed a strong and loving family. This medieval period of history was, in my opinion one of the most fascinating, conflicting and frightening eras in which to live. I gained some new knowledge about that time and recognize too, that is what a really good historical novel if it is successful, is meant to do.
November 25, 2024
Another wonderful book by this author and the last in the series.
It continues the story of Bethia on which she now stays in Pittenweem. Also we see what is happening to Will and his family who stays in Fife.
The book has a bit of everything romance, sadness and I did find it funny in places.
The author has researched this book extensively and it was interesting to read all about the family.
Would recommend this book.
It continues the story of Bethia on which she now stays in Pittenweem. Also we see what is happening to Will and his family who stays in Fife.
The book has a bit of everything romance, sadness and I did find it funny in places.
The author has researched this book extensively and it was interesting to read all about the family.
Would recommend this book.
December 29, 2025
Highly Recommended
I love this type of historical novel. Well researched series covering a broad sweep of factual incidents brought to life by a creative cast of realistic characters and believable personalities drawing the reader in to a past that lives in colourful detail. I read the series as one fulsome novel and will likely reread in the not to distant future with greater interest and appreciation. I will look for more from this author’s pen.
I love this type of historical novel. Well researched series covering a broad sweep of factual incidents brought to life by a creative cast of realistic characters and believable personalities drawing the reader in to a past that lives in colourful detail. I read the series as one fulsome novel and will likely reread in the not to distant future with greater interest and appreciation. I will look for more from this author’s pen.
May 13, 2025
Fan of historical fiction
I love the history of this and enjoy how it fleshed out the terrible times of the reformation. The story of the main characters was not as enthralling as the earlier books in this series. The additional story of the Spanish Armada castaways was the only thing that kept me interested for the last half of the book.
I love the history of this and enjoy how it fleshed out the terrible times of the reformation. The story of the main characters was not as enthralling as the earlier books in this series. The additional story of the Spanish Armada castaways was the only thing that kept me interested for the last half of the book.
October 16, 2025
Buy them all and read them!
A wonderful end to the collection of Seton family chronicles. Masters is excellent at the art of bringing history alive. Better than Rutherford!
All the history and religious themes are very relevant to today’s politics and religions. Highly recommended!
A wonderful end to the collection of Seton family chronicles. Masters is excellent at the art of bringing history alive. Better than Rutherford!
All the history and religious themes are very relevant to today’s politics and religions. Highly recommended!
November 29, 2024
The Seton family represents a mix of many faiths
How do they all get along so well? The Catholics, the Jewish Conversos, the Protestants? All during a time of judgment? I found their story to be provocative and interesting.
How do they all get along so well? The Catholics, the Jewish Conversos, the Protestants? All during a time of judgment? I found their story to be provocative and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews