Francine Howarth

Love & Rebellion Francine Howarth

A would-be King, a would-be Courtesan, Love & Betrayal. A Heartrending 17th century drama of Love, Desire, and Intrigue. The Hon Henry Gantry's covert life, in service to the royal household, is anything but secure. Riddled with guilt over hidden desires and acts of betrayal, Henry's loyalty to the crown is tested in extreme as anti-Papist fervour reaches a peak of discontent across England. With the sudden illness and death of Charles II, speculation countrywide is of foul play, and the newly declared monarch, James II, takes the throne. Rebellion thus seems the only way to achieve the Protestants' aims to rid the country of its new Catholic King. Thus, Henry is forever affected by tragic events as they unfold, and the Gantry and Thornton families are once again drawn into a web of courtly deceits. From the midst of defeat and despair... a scrap of paper is a talisman and hope for a new dawn.