England, 1746. A wild land sown with the seeds of rebellion. A time when loyalty is bought dear and life sold cheap.
When fifteen-year-old Alice Sinclair runs away from home she embarks on a perilous quest for acceptance in a world bound by prejudice and hypocrisy. Her journey leads her to the White Hart; a grubby inn on the border between Hampshire and Sussex where she finds employment as a barmaid. Alice is at first frightened by the rough clientele but gradually comes to accept them as friends and develops a strong bond with one of them – Will Carter – a dark and dangerous man whose brooding nature masks his true passions.
What Alice doesn’t realize is that her new companions are members of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang; the most feared and violent group of smugglers in all England. She soon finds herself adrift in a maelstrom of murder and betrayal and is forced to question her loyalties when she discovers a connection between the man she loves and the Jacobite uprising against the Crown. On the run, in peril and torn between family and love, Alice’s story is one of passion and defiance, entwined with one of England’s most shocking murder cases.
Based on true events
Professional Reviews
The Rebel and the Runaway
ByMidnight Attic Readeron April 12, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition
When a youthful indiscretion has unintended consequences, Alice runs away from home at 15, naively hoping to make a life with the boy she thought loved her, only to find herself amongst smugglers and the trouble that follows them. Interesting tale of smuggling in 1740’s England, that describes how a comparatively innocent crime snowballed into something much worse, raising the stakes for all involved. The telling revolves, for the most part, around the romance between Alice and Will Carter (one of the main figures in the smugglers’ gang), Alice’s viewpoint of the events being a nice vehicle for the novice to this little known bit of history. It got a little dry at times, and perhaps could have used a little less historical detail at certain junctures, but overall is a very smooth read. Adventurous story, with some complex and interesting characters. I found myself thinking about the characters and the situations they found themselves in, long after I finished the book. Good read!
Note: This book was provided to me by the author for an honest review.
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