Set in Cornwall during the final years of Elizabeth I's reign, Winston Graham's The Grove of Eagles seamlessly blends historical fact and fiction in a rich tale full of unforgettable characters.
The Spanish Armada have been defeated in the English Channel and the whole of Elizabethan England is alert for the revenge that is surely to follow. On the Cornish coast, men like John Killigrew - in charge of the castle at Pendennis - are vital to the defence of the country, and on their shoulders rests the safety of the nation. But temptation proves too much for Killigrew, much in debt, who cannot resist the offer of Spanish gold in exchange for a safe landing.
Captured by the Spanish in an earlier raid, Killigrew's eldest son, Maugan, returns to England with a message for his father. But he arrives to find him incarcerated, the family home being emptied by his father's debtors, and his pregnant step-mother in the care of local witch, Katherine Footmarker . . .
'Absorbing . . . written with sure skill, a nice feeling for character and a vast knowledge of the sixteenth century' New York Times
'The canvas is wide, the picture stirring and brilliantly detailed. This is a rich, absorbing tale of a corner of England during hazardous times, and of a full-blooded family' Oxford Times