The Last Hours by Minette Walters
When the Black Death enters England through the port of Melcombe in Dorseteshire 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 religious 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 Develish when news of this pestilence reaches her, she takes the decision to look for more sensible ways to protect her people than daily confessions of sin. Well-versed in the importance of isolating the sick from the well, she withdraws her people inside the moat that surrounds her manor house and refuses entry even to her husband.
She 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 and 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?
Compelling and suspenseful, The Last Hours is a riveting tale of human ingenuity and endurance against the worst pandemic known to history. In Lady Anne of Develish - leader, saviour, heretic - Walters has created her most memorable heroine to date.
Paperback | 568 pages
153 x 234mm | 740g
27 Sep 2017
Allen & Unwin
Sydney, Australia
1760294985
9781760294984
Condition: Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. No obvious damage to the cover. The spine has minimal creasing. The majority of pages are undamaged; the title page has had a small chunk ripped out, but no other damage to pages whatsoever. No other creasing or tearing, no pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. No missing pages. Apart from the ripped title page and minor creasing on the spine the book looks new.