Wednesday, 16 October 2024

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven...



The Dartington Bride
By Rosemary Griggs
Audiobook narrated by Rosemary Griggs


Publication Date: 28th March 2024
Publisher: Troubador Publishing
Page Count: 368 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven...

Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.

After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.

Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.

After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path...


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The Dartington Bride

Rosemary Griggs

Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon's sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country. She loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history — the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.

Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places. 

The Dartington Bride, published spring 2024, is the extraordinary tale of Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery who travelled from France to Elizabethan England to marry into the prominent and well-connected Champernowne family. 


Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan. 

Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology and social justice.


12 comments:

  1. Your book sounds utterly amazing. I cannot wait to read it.

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  2. Your book certainly sounds very enticing. If I may ask, what drew you to this era in history?

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    1. I love the sixteenth century — so much change — religious, political and , social — that affected everyone, not just those at the royal court. I’m particularly interested in the women we seldom hear about and the challenges they faced.

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    2. I love the sixteenth century because it such a tine of change for everyone - religious, political and social change and communication through the printed word really taking off. I'm particularly interested in the women we don't often hear about and the challenges they faced.

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  3. What a fascinating era to have as an historical backdrop for your novel. I am going to head over to Amazon now. Thank you for the recommendation, Mary Anne.

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  4. Thank you so much for bringing this book to my attention. Mu purse is now 0.99 lighter!!!!!

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  5. I am going to suggest this book for an audio bookclub I am in.

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    1. Thanks — that’s brilliant.

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  6. Thank you Mary Anne.

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  7. Oh look, yet another book to add to my ever growing to-read list!!!

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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx