Exposed to All Villainies

by S.J. Haxton

In 1646, in a Cornish fortress overlooking the Carrick Roads, one thousand souls loyal to King Charles I suffered an ordeal five months long, besieged by a Parliamentarian army in a bitter civil war between Crown and Commonwealth. Of these desperate Royalists, two hundred were women and children. Now voices from the past whisper from the walls of Pendennis Castle. Three women journey westward, each unknowingly bound for the same granite stronghold. From Bristol to Oxford, Tenby to Truro, the narrative weaves across the west of Britain to the Cornish fortress on the Fal, the last in England to stand for the Royalist cause. Forces they cannot control propel the protagonists’ lives. Each woman makes her journey to Pendennis Castle as the King’s cause fails, revealing very different perspectives. Grace Godwynne might wish to turn back time, Hester Phipps to speed its passage. Mary Tremayne only wishes to make Heligan her home. Their tangled fates depend upon their past choices and the choices they still have to make but they have one thing in common…they are women in a man’s world, which will leave them exposed to all villainies. Reactions to EXPOSED TO ALL "Amid the tumult of civil war sweeping across the south west of England, we hear clearly the voices of three very different women. This richly imagined book gives us an intimate sense of personal survival through years of unrest - a fine insight into stirring times"... ..."really impressive"... ..."if the task of the historical novelist is to make fiction meet fact then this succeeds admirably"... ..."highly entertaining, highly plausible, a remarkable narrative"...

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2014

About the author

I am an historian turned author - gamekeeper turned poacher! I am primarily a specialist in the Tudor and Stuart era, with a particular interest in the
Civil War in Cornwall.
With a background in historical re-enactment, you could say that I have 'lived' the history as well as researched it and that gives a unique perspective.
Commissioned to write a play to commemorate the anniversary of the granting of Falmouth’s Town Charter, 'Remember' premiered in October 2011 but there was more of that story to tell. The result was my first novel, 'Exposed to All Villainies' (2014), which was was nominated for the prestigious 2015 Cornish Gorsedh Holyer an Gof Award for Literature and a long-listed title for the Winston Graham Prize 2016.
The narrative is driven by historical events during the Civil War in the West Country and tells the story of three women destined to meet at Pendennis Castle in 1646.
The sequel, 'A Cord of Three Strands' (2016) is the second book in the planned 'Pendennis' trilogy which should be complete in spring 2017.