The Rowan Maid

Rowan #5

by Catherine Darby

When old Rowan dies, her home in the Welsh mountains is inherited by her son's widow, Mina, and her two children, Cassian and Isobel. Into the valley move Jan Schneider and his mother, Huguenot exiles from the Low Countries. The scene is set for a love affair that goes tragically wrong, for there is evil at Rowan Garth and out of that evil is created Amethyst, the child who should never have been born, twisted branch on a twisted tree.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Pseudonym for Maureen Peters

Maureen Peters was born in Caernarvon, Wales, on March 3, 1935, and was married and divorced twice; she has two sons and two daughters. In addition to biographical fiction, historical romances, and mystery novels written under her own name, other noms de plume include Veronica Black, Catherine Darby, Levanah Lloyd, Belinda Grey, Elizabeth Law, Judith Rothman, and Sharon Whitby.

As Catherine Darby, Maureen Peters wrote books that were sold as Gothics, such as the 12 books in the Falcon Saga, but were really what Sarah calls "dark family sagas." Or more precisely, she describes their plot lines this way: "Themes of illicit passion, family rivalry, witchcraft, revenge, and even reincarnation permeated the novels…"