What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mantlemass Chronicles #4
A Cold Wind Blowing
When Henry VIII broke off from the Catholic Church and Pope in Rome, the monasteries and convents in England were plunged into disarray and chaos. Religious who had dedicated their lives to God were forced to return to the families they had left behind, and beg for support.The families of Mantlemass were not unaffected in this, perhaps the saddest of Willard's novels.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
2 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Willard
99 books24 followersBarbara Mary Willard was a British novelist best known for children's historical fiction. Her "Mantlemass Chronicles" is a family saga set in 15th to 17th-century England. For one chronicle, The Iron Lily (1973), she won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by panel of British children's writers.
Willard was born in Brighton, Sussex on 12 March 1909, the daughter of the Shakespearean actor Edmund Willard and Mabel Theresa Tebbs. She was also the great-niece of Victorian-era actor Edward Smith Willard. The young Willard was educated at a convent school in Southampton.
Because of her family connections, Willard originally went on the stage as an actress and also worked as a playreader, but she was unsuccessful and abandoned acting in her early twenties. She wrote numerous books for adults before she turned to children's literature.
Very little about the author was written during her lifetime, because of her private nature. She died at a nursing home in Wivelsfield Green, East Sussex, on 18 February 1994.
The Grove of Green Holly (1967), which was a story about a group of 17th century travelling players who were hiding in a forest in Sussex from Oliver Cromwell's soldiers, spawned her most famous work, the Mantlemass series (1970–1981) including her Guardian Prize-winning book. Some other books were Hetty (1956), Storm from the West (1963), Three and One to Carry (1964), and Charity at Home (1965).
One of her last books, The Forest - Ashdown in East Sussex, published by Sweethaws Press in 1989, gives a detailed account of Ashdown Forest. In the introduction to the book, Christopher Milne notes that Willard had moved from her home on the Sussex Downs to the edge of Ashdown Forest in 1956 and that her new surroundings had provided the inspiration and setting for ten of her children's historical novels (eight in the Mantlemass series and two others). It is evident by her own account in her book that she actively involved herself in the affairs of the forest. She was a representative of the forest Commoners elected to the forest's Board of Conservators in 1975, and she remained in that capacity for ten years. She tells how she was later heavily involved in the fundraising campaign which enabled East Sussex County Council to purchase the forest in 1988, enabling it to remain as a place of beauty and tranquility open to the public.
Willard was born in Brighton, Sussex on 12 March 1909, the daughter of the Shakespearean actor Edmund Willard and Mabel Theresa Tebbs. She was also the great-niece of Victorian-era actor Edward Smith Willard. The young Willard was educated at a convent school in Southampton.
Because of her family connections, Willard originally went on the stage as an actress and also worked as a playreader, but she was unsuccessful and abandoned acting in her early twenties. She wrote numerous books for adults before she turned to children's literature.
Very little about the author was written during her lifetime, because of her private nature. She died at a nursing home in Wivelsfield Green, East Sussex, on 18 February 1994.
The Grove of Green Holly (1967), which was a story about a group of 17th century travelling players who were hiding in a forest in Sussex from Oliver Cromwell's soldiers, spawned her most famous work, the Mantlemass series (1970–1981) including her Guardian Prize-winning book. Some other books were Hetty (1956), Storm from the West (1963), Three and One to Carry (1964), and Charity at Home (1965).
One of her last books, The Forest - Ashdown in East Sussex, published by Sweethaws Press in 1989, gives a detailed account of Ashdown Forest. In the introduction to the book, Christopher Milne notes that Willard had moved from her home on the Sussex Downs to the edge of Ashdown Forest in 1956 and that her new surroundings had provided the inspiration and setting for ten of her children's historical novels (eight in the Mantlemass series and two others). It is evident by her own account in her book that she actively involved herself in the affairs of the forest. She was a representative of the forest Commoners elected to the forest's Board of Conservators in 1975, and she remained in that capacity for ten years. She tells how she was later heavily involved in the fundraising campaign which enabled East Sussex County Council to purchase the forest in 1988, enabling it to remain as a place of beauty and tranquility open to the public.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 18, 2022
In this fourth of Barbara Willard’s Mantlemass novels, we are in the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII and no part of the kingdom is immune to the cold winds of change set in motion by Henry’s break with Rome and Thomas Cromwell’s wholesale dismantling of the centuries-old tradition of English monasticism. For the Mallorys of Mantlemass and the Medleys of Ghylls Hatch, the previously remote goings-on in London suddenly get very personal. A Cold Wind Blowing is the first book I’ve read that focuses on the micro-scale, very local impact of the dissolution of the monasteries and also the first that is concerned with the impact on women. Monks were released from their vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, but nuns only from the first two, thus preventing them from the personal and economic security that marriage would bring. It’s a chilly book, with (spoiler alert) no happy endings. The Mantlemass novels were written for older children and were mostly published in the 1970s, a period of great flowering of historical fiction for children. That a children’s book could deal so subtly with such important and overlooked areas of the historical record is a testament to the bravery and open-mindedness of the publishing industry of the time.
April 28, 2019
As a children’s book this pulls very few punches. Henry VIII is closing down the monasteries and convents; monks are relieved of their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; nuns only of their vows of poverty and obedience. Death ensues for those who can’t find their way in this new religious world. The reformation in England is portrayed as a time of confusion and disruption and violence, and the book’s ending is bitter-sweet. I’m very much enjoying history as seen through the eyes of one family in the Mantlemass series. But some in the series weren’t published as Puffins, so I’m not sure that I’ll be able to find and read them all.
June 18, 2010
Willard's beloved Mantlemass series follows an English family from the Wars of the Roses to the English Civil War but this is the the saddest book in the series (indeed, one of the saddest I have ever read). When Piers Medley, a promising young man in 16th century England, falls for a silent stranger, a young girl his uncle has assumed responsibility for, he little knows that love and affection cannot remedy her melancholy and his life will never be the same.
June 9, 2021
A very sad book. Set in 1538-40, a tale of people overtaken by events and crushed by them and those who wield power heartlessly. A wonderful sense of place and a pall of doom.
All of the Mantlemass books are melancholic, but this one is closer to despair and more than just downbeat. Almost a spoiler but it is interesting that Thomas Cromwell’s fall is completely coincident with the finale yet does not intrude, there is no relief other than the need to go on.
All of the Mantlemass books are melancholic, but this one is closer to despair and more than just downbeat. Almost a spoiler but it is interesting that Thomas Cromwell’s fall is completely coincident with the finale yet does not intrude, there is no relief other than the need to go on.
February 3, 2021
'A Cold Wind Blowing' is a slight novel, less than 200 pages, but it is quietly powerful. It is the tale of Piers Medley, son of Medley Plashet, the protagonist of the 'A Sprig of Broom', the previous entry in the Mantelmass Chronicles. Piers is the second son in the family, and is eighteen years old when the story opens. He and his family lead a life of quiet contentment and prosperity on their horse farm in the Ashdown Forest. When his uncle Roger, a monk at St. Pancras Priory, suddenly appears to warn the family of a coming danger, Piers starts to become aware of the unrest across England. King Henry has broken from the Church of Rome and is set on bending the Church in England to his will. The wealth of the great monasteries across the country are a plum he has his eye on.
Months later, when Piers is at home alone, he gets a desperate message to come to the aid of his Uncle Roger. He sets off across country to rescue him. But as the boy and a couple of monks are making their getaway from the monastery, they lose their way and happen across two men who have captured a young woman, bent upon harming her. Uncle Roger dies in the fight, and Piers is left to take the young woman home with him. She will not, or cannot, speak. Her presence in the household is upsetting to some, until, months later, she finally reveals her name to be Isabella. But she will say nothing about her past.
As the months pass, Piers falls in love with Isabella and marries her despite the mystery of her past. But the tides of religious unrest continue to disrupt the countryside. A childhood friend of Piers is now a hunter of former monks and nuns, accusing them of heresy and treason. When Isabella becomes terrified by those searching for former religious, she reveals her secret to Piers. She was a novice in a convent who was turned out when the convent was closed. They flee, but is there ever safety when a wind of terror blows across the country?
Without directly telling the story of the destruction of the monasteries, the reader is given a picture of how it might affect a small remote village. The communal life of farm and village is presented as an organic thing, adjusting to changes in life but going on. This novel is a dark and melancholy story, but it has a quiet strength. Whatever the stresses on it, Piers' family will meet the challenges.
This is part of a young adult series, but it has appeal to adult readers of historical fiction.
Months later, when Piers is at home alone, he gets a desperate message to come to the aid of his Uncle Roger. He sets off across country to rescue him. But as the boy and a couple of monks are making their getaway from the monastery, they lose their way and happen across two men who have captured a young woman, bent upon harming her. Uncle Roger dies in the fight, and Piers is left to take the young woman home with him. She will not, or cannot, speak. Her presence in the household is upsetting to some, until, months later, she finally reveals her name to be Isabella. But she will say nothing about her past.
As the months pass, Piers falls in love with Isabella and marries her despite the mystery of her past. But the tides of religious unrest continue to disrupt the countryside. A childhood friend of Piers is now a hunter of former monks and nuns, accusing them of heresy and treason. When Isabella becomes terrified by those searching for former religious, she reveals her secret to Piers. She was a novice in a convent who was turned out when the convent was closed. They flee, but is there ever safety when a wind of terror blows across the country?
Without directly telling the story of the destruction of the monasteries, the reader is given a picture of how it might affect a small remote village. The communal life of farm and village is presented as an organic thing, adjusting to changes in life but going on. This novel is a dark and melancholy story, but it has a quiet strength. Whatever the stresses on it, Piers' family will meet the challenges.
This is part of a young adult series, but it has appeal to adult readers of historical fiction.
May 29, 2018
Piers, middle son of Master Medley, is only one Home to answer his Uncle Rodger/Dom Thomas’s call for promised help when all Pier’s family are at his brother’s wedding and he home with his dying mare. He’s rescues three priests and a precious bronze tablet from the desecration of the monastery to be beset by armed men and Roger killed protecting a silent girl Roger binds Piers to protect. ‘Tis hate and love finally that pier offers the mysterious girl and embroils them in Henry VIII, & Cromwell’s pursuit of Catholic priests and nuns for treason. And heresy for not accepting king as head of church.
October 25, 2025
I loved this children's historical story book when I was twelve years old. Well written and part of an ongoing series of English history throughout the ages.
June 22, 2025
I read this book in my early teens and loved it enough to take it with me as one of my allowed twenty when we moved. Now I'm reading it again.
I've finished. It wouldn't be a favorite now, but I still think it's a good book.
I've finished. It wouldn't be a favorite now, but I still think it's a good book.
May 25, 2013
my book had #4 & #5 labeled incorrectly so I read them backwards...arrrrgh...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews