... intrigue and mystery, lightly held and darkly embraced
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau Intrigue, persecution and mystery swirls inextricably around the life Joanna Stafford. Prophesied over at 17, she has become a woman of secrets, of her own and of others. She swings between penitence, fear, anger, love and hate. Having taken up the life of a Dominican novice to find peace from her foretold destiny, all comes crashing down, along with the great religious orders at the time of the Reformation in England, under the reign of Henry VIII. Nothing is stable. All is in flux, Joanna, her world and the fortunes of those known to her. Seemingly at the apex of action, Joanna finds herself caught up amidst the indomitable will of Henry, religious fanaticism and a changing world order. Joanna is a pawn in the grand and frightening game of thrones, of kingdoms and world shattering religious transformations At the mercy of powerful factions, Joanna‘s discernment as to who is enemy and who is friend is always in doubt. Foreseen as an agent for ...