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MIRA
August 2018
On Sale: August 7, 2018
544 pages ISBN: 0778369315 EAN: 9780778369318 Kindle: B0776WM5SF Hardcover / e-Book
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Mystery Historical
Bestselling British author Minette Walter' THE LAST HOURS
brings her trademark suspense to this vivid historical novel
that dramatizes the arrival of The Black Death in England in
1348 and the social upheaval that follows. THE LAST HOURS is
an exciting new direction from an established author, that
will appeal to her suspense fans as well as fans of Ken
Follett's THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH and his KINGSBRIDGE
series and Matthew Reilly's THE TOURNAMENT. When the Black Death enters England through the port in
Dorsetshire in June 1348, no one knows what manner of
sickness it is—or how it spreads and kills so quickly. The
Church cites God as the cause, and fear grips the people as
they come to believe that the plague is a punishment for
wickedness. But Lady Anne of Develish has her own ideas. Educated by
nuns, Anne is a rarity among women, being both literate and
knowledgeable. With her brutal husband absent from the manor
when news of this pestilence reaches her, she looks for more
sensible ways to protect her people than daily confessions
of sin. She decides to bring her serfs inside the safety of
the moat that surrounds her manor house, then refuses entry
to anyone else, even her husband. Lady Anne makes an enemy of her daughter and her husband’s
steward by doing so, but her resolve is strengthened by the
support of her leading serfs...until food stocks run low.
The nerves of all are tested by continued confinement and
ignorance of what is happening in the world outside. The
people of Develish are alive. But for how long? And what
will they discover when the time comes for them to cross the
moat again? Compelling and suspenseful, The Last Hours is a
riveting tale of human ingenuity and endurance set against
the worst pandemic in history. In Lady Anne of
Develish—leader, savior, heretic—Walters has created her
most memorable heroine to date.
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