The Secrets Of The Black Canons

Iris Collier

May 2015 · Sold by Piatkus

About this ebook

The date is September 1538. Having been left a widower by Jane Seymour's death, Henry VIII is looking for a new wife. Cromwell has put forward the Princess of Cleves, a marriage which will bring Henry an alliance with the Protestant princes of Europe. Meanwhile near to Nicholas Peverell's Sussex estate, the body of a young girl is found washed up on the shore. At first it is feared she has taken her own life but, in his capacity as justice of the peace, Nicholas soon comes to the conclusion that Sarah Bowman has been murdered. A skilled needlewoman, Sarah had worked at the nearby Augustinian priory of Monksmere until Henry had ransacked the monasteries and ordered their dissolution. But, despite a hefty reward offered for information regarding Sarah's murder, the people of Monksmere seem reluctant to talk, especially about anything regarding the former occupants of the priory - the mysterious order of clerics known as the Black Canons

About the author

Iris Collier is the daughter of a professional musician and was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she read history. She taught creative writing in Chichester for a number of years and now lives in Boxgrove, England, where she researches and writes history books and thrillers. She is very interested in the rich history of England, and in particular, the history of the local priory at Boxgrove, where she gives guided tours. Boxgrove Priory and its environs provided much of the background and inspiration for Day of Wrath, her first historical crime novel. Iris is married to a former diplomat, and has traveled a great deal throughout her married life. She has two grown children and one grandson.