Son of the Morning

Silence And Shadows #4

by Dodie Bishop

England, 1685. In the wake of King Charles II’s death, the crown passes to his Catholic brother, James, despite Protestant unrest. Hal Bartholomew, envoy with ties to both court and country, is dispatched to Holland to dissuade the exiled Duke of Monmouth - Charles’s illegitimate son - from rebellion.

But Monmouth’s plans are already in motion. Wounded and on the run after the disastrous battle at Sedgemoor, Hal finds an unlikely sanctuary with Penny the childhood friend who has always loved him. For Hal, a man who never believed in love, Penny’s devotion begins to reveal what he never thought he needed.

Their escape to Florence offers a fragile peace, but dangers from the past cast a long shadow. As letters from home carry grim news and long-buried secrets resurface, Hal and Penny must face the cost of loyalty.

A sweeping tale of rebellion, redemption and love, SON OF THE MORNING is the fourth book in Dodie Bishop's Silence And Shadows series of historical novels.

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2025

About the author

Author of STILL LIFE and the SILENCE AND SHADOWS series, English Literature graduate Dodie Bishop's love of history pushed her towards writing historical fiction, starting with a dual time-line novel for an MA in Creative Writing with the Open University. After discovering how much more she enjoyed researching and writing the historical strand, she abandoned the second plot, so finding her writing genre.
Dodie first encountered STILL LIFE’S Clara Peeters in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, drawn by a female name amongst so many men from an era when they were not expected to stray beyond the home. Yet here was a woman whose paintings had survived for 400 years. Though Clara left behind a body of work, no record of her life remains, giving Dodie space for her fiction.
In THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE – the 1st book in the SILENCE AND SHADOWS series – Susannah and Raphael are inspired by married couple Susan and Michael Rosse, a portrait miniaturist and jeweller to King Charles II’s court who lived and worked in London’s Henrietta Street in the 17th century. While researching this novel, Dodie came across the practice of spiriting. ‘Spirits,’ often illegally employed by legitimate shipping companies, were responsible for ‘spiriting away’ (kidnapping) people into servitude, many of whom were then ‘barbadosed’ or sent to the West Indies prompting the 2nd book OUR LITTLE LIFE. The 3rd novel A SLAVE TO KINGS moves the action to Florence, Rome and back to London.

Praise for STILL LIFE from the Historical Novel Society … an absorbing portrait of a time and place and of a talented woman’s struggle against convention.

Praise for the SILENCE AND SHADOW series from the Historical Novel Society … Bishop’s characters are plausible and vulnerably human, her descriptions of time and place vivid without ever becoming unwieldy.

Dodie lives in the Devon Blackdown Hills with husband and cat. She has sons in London and Sydney.

Reviews

[Zoë Routh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to read about this period of British history, not having come across many novels of this period.

Rich world building plunges us straight into the period, including trips to the palace to visit with the King.

The failed rebellion is dealt with nimbly and quickly and I got a real sense of how tumultuous religious politics was during that unstable time of the monarchy.

Good writing and interesting characters brought this novel to life.

What tarnished it a bit for me was the narrative choice: two first person voices (husband and wife), then a third person account of the third main character. Why? The story experience moved around too much for me as a result. Another detractor was the use of the F- bomb a few times and fairly graphic sex scenes. I’m not sure the profanity was typical of that time? In any case it felt wrong, as did the sex scenes. Maybe I’m just used to Jane Austen!

All in all, an interesting exploration of the time period.

[Melissa Cavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Son of the Morning: Silence and Shadows without reading the first three books, but I didn’t feel lost. I was comfortable reading this as a stand alone novel. Dodie Bishop’s writing has a quiet intensity that that I really enjoyed. There’s something atmospheric about the way she builds tension through silence, memory, and shadowy moments. I didn’t always know the full backstory, but the emotional weight of the characters was enticing and exciting.

This book feels like a slow burn, very introspective at time, the sort of book I like to read late at night when I'm the only one awake. The writing is poetic without being too flowery. If you like stories that simmer with emotion and leave space for reflection, this one’s worth a look—even if you’re jumping in mid-series like I did.

My review is based on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) which I received free of charge. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read a book of Dodie Bishop is to live history in the making, and this book is not an exception, there's so much historical details and detailed descriptions of places and situations that you feel you are living the dangers, adventures, love and every day lives of Hal, Penny and their families.
We live the change of regime in England from a Protestant King to a Catholic One, the unrest that this changes provokes in the country, but in a personal sphere how this change affects the lives of Hal and Penny and how it finally made them realized their love for each other.
This is a story of love, family, loyalty and the fight for survival.
I truly enjoyed reading this book.

[Doreen Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fourth in a series. I did not read the other 3 books before reading this book. I love historical fiction and really enjoyed being transported back to the late 1600 at the death King Charles II.

Great story building. Awesome characters. Left me wanting to read and explore further on the time period.

Since I did not read the other books there were a lot of characters to learn. Sometimes shifting from one scene to the next had me rereading to see if I missed anything. I plan on reading the first 3 books. Most definitely will read anything Dodie Bishop writes.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kathryn Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of the books in this series, and this was no exception. It works well as a standalone, but certainly helps if you've read some of the others in the series to know the back stories of the characters.

An adventure story and romance set in a turbulent time in England's history.

I especially enjoy the international nature of the story, and the fact that the women have occupations and are extremely strong characters.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really on 3 1/2 stars. I didn’t enjoy this book, I found it very confusing with too many characters, many of which were intertwined. I had to reread the first chapter as I was so lost. Within chapters there is sometimes change of locations, a double spacing or some symbol would have made the change easier. Although the story did have substance and the ending left me wanting to know more about Kitty, I will not be buying the next book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Ojone Nwosu · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read books like this, you live in the story! The story of Hal and Penny took me back to. The 17th century it was very vivid. This is a story of loyalty to a cause, that of. Trying to save the empire from internal conflict and finding love in the midst of fighting for survival . There’s always light at the end of the tunnel . I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily