A DIVIDED INHERITANCE by Deborah Swift

5 GOLD STARS

Epic 17th century historical drama

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE 

What a story!  A masterpiece indeed.

A Divided Inheritance starts off in London, where Elspet Leviston finds herself usurped in her father's eyes by the appearance, out of nowhere, of her cousin, Zachary Deane.  The story travels to Spain in the time when Muslims were being persecuted and driven out of their country, not a period of history with which I am familar, though this didn't matter as I soon picked up exactly what was going on; however, there's a brief history at the back of the book that you might like to read first.

There were so many elements about this story that I loved, not least of all Deborah Swift's clearly intricate research and wonderful storytelling capability.  It's got the lot: the bleakness of life for a young woman in the slightly impoverished middle classes, the marriage forced on her for business expansion, followed by Elspet's personal growth when she is thrown outside her secure, limited existence, tested in ways that make her alter her entire outlook on life.  The story takes the reader from the dark alleys of London to the bright colour of 17th century Seville, and I loved the multi-faceted Zachary, in many ways the villain of the tale but so beautifully painted that I rooted for him throughout. 

With lost love, double dealing, desperate flight in terrible circumstances and the horror of religious persecution, this is terrific, unusual novel that I think puts Deborah Swift right up there with the best and well known historical fiction writers.  Highly, highly recommended.


SHADOW ON THE HIGHWAY by Deborah Swift reviewed HERE 

THE GILDED LILY by Deborah Swift reviewed HERE