MIRRORED SWORD PART ONE: THE DANCE

by Allan Hands

Susanna Mandeville is an artist who expects to be famous someday, and meanwhile she is merely notorious as a difficult woman, the beautiful Shrew of Southwark. There is only one man she can ever love, and that’s the king of England, whom she met once during a dance in London. Every other man she keeps at bay any way she can, being quick with her fists and sharp with her tongue. Her father hopes to marry her off for his own advantage and often soothes his disappointment by banishing her to her aunt’s care in distant Bourne, a hundred miles away. It is there that the story commences, when Susanna’s morning is ruined and her life upended by the most notorious of all the king’s enemies, the Beast of Ferrybridge, otherwise known as Tom Roussell. Tom had left a hunting party to retrieve a stray hawk, all unaware that his destiny was waiting for him with paint brushes in hand, a tongue loaded with spite, and a memory that never relents. So begins an entanglement that follows them to London, where he goes in hopes of rescuing his brother—a fanatical youth intent on assassinating the king—and she goes in hopes of a royal affair, being invited to partner the king in a second dance. The duo’s misadventures are shared and magnified by the vivid characters they meet along the way, including historical figures and people you could meet any time but might prefer to avoid, as well as the overly pious and the stupendously naive, a shifting network of powerbrokers, beggars, family, friends and pets, all pursuing their own dreams and schemes in a medieval landscape that is magnificent in places, and broken everywhere else. It is the year 1470 and England is on the cusp of renewed civil war.Mirrored Sword Part One is divided into seventeen chapters, organised as calendar dates for February-March, 1470, and these are subdivided into sections dominated by the viewpoints of eight characters. An illustrated map helps readers claim this medieval adventure as their very own. this book contains original features that some people might be allergic to. For example, the point-of-view format highlights psychological issues that the characters struggle with, and this can disrupt the narrative flow for readers who like a strong emphasis on action. There is lots of action here but it comes with heaps of character Thus the fighting hero speaks with a Yorkshire accent from the viewpoints of other characters, but he doesn’t notice it himself and his speech is normal English from his viewpoint. Part Two only presents two viewpoints and is proving more popular with readers, so try getting that far if Part One gives you sneezes. Do not buy this book if innovative writing upsets you.

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2021

About the author

Allan Hands is a pen name borrowed from the author’s grandfathers (Allan McPherson and Claude Hands). It is a more convenient handle on his book than is his real name, which you can find listed in the book’s front matter as owner of the copyright.

Allan is 66 years old (2022), which is younger than you might think and much older than he feels. He was born in Sydney, Australia. His parents divorced when he was twenty-one, and both passed away during the COVID catastrophe, but they are always together in his thoughts, and Mirrored Sword is dedicated to their memory.

Allan graduated from Macquarie University in 1976 with a B.A. specialising in English literature. He has worked in a variety of jobs as driver and labourer, and he ended up in Queensland, where he obtained a diploma in education from the Carseldine College of Advanced Education. He then commenced a career as school teacher, mostly in south-east Queensland but also with a two-year spell in the outback as part of the distance education program.

He now lives on four sunny acres with his library and his dog, enjoying the space and time to study at leisure, including the classics in Latin, Greek and English, some physics, philosophy and Christian studies. A jack of all trades and master of none, he likes to think his first novel will establish him as a master of something.

His priorities as an author: firstly, write great books; secondly, write books that sell. He has almost finished researching his next ambitious story, a novel set in ancient Greece. Meanwhile Mirrored Sword Part One and Part Two are available at Amazon (doing better in the UK than US), and a combined volume is temporarily free at NetGalley (May 2022).