Ann Swinfen

Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot. When their investigations begin to involve town, university, and abbey, Nicholas takes a risky gamble - and puts his family in terrible danger.

The Bookseller's Tale

When the novice Emma Thorgold goes missing from Godstow Abbey in the summer of 1353, the hunt is on throughout the Oxfordshire countryside. Bookseller Nicholas Elyot and scholar Jordain Brinkylsworth are anxious to help the girl, but her stepfather has other intentions. Why is he so determined to shut her away for life? Or worse? And will she be found unharmed?

The Novice's Tale

Death is only a stone’s throw away. When a series of accidents begin to occur during the building of the chapel at Queen’s College, they do not appear a cause for major concern. But they quickly grow more serious, and stonemasons are injured. Nicholas Elyot becomes involved after it is discovered that an intruder has reached the college by way of his garden. And when Jordain Brinkylsworth’s youngest student goes missing, it seems at first that his disappearance is unconnected... Surely this serious and studious boy cannot be responsible for the troubles? But when a murder is committed, both Nicholas and Jordain must put their personal views aside to catch the killer, before they can strike again. A totally immersive historical thriller, and the final tale in the Oxford Medieval Mysteries, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom, S. J. Parris and D. V. Bishop.

The Stonemason's Tale

A treacherous journey, a band of desperate rogues, a shocking, hidden truth. When Nicholas Elyot and his friends set out to spend the Christmas season in the country, they are prepared for a hard journey in winter weather. They are also wary of violence on the road, for these are troubled times after the Great Pestilence, when bands of dispossessed and desolate men roam the countryside of England. It is not surprising, therefore, when troubadours hired to provide entertainment at Leighton Manor are attacked in Wychwood. Yet why should this insignificant group draw the attention of outlaws... what could they be searching for? Is one of the troubadours not quite what he seems? A thrilling addition to the pulse-pounding medieval mystery series, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom, Edward Marston and Paul Doherty.

A historical thriller that will keep you guessing

The Troubadour's Tale

England, 1586. Treason threatens the very heart of the nation. England is awash with traitors plotting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and bring about a foreign invasion. Young physician Christoval Alvarez, a refugee from the horrors of the Portuguese Inquisition, is coerced into becoming a code-breaker and agent in Sir Francis Walsingham’s secret service at the behest of the Crown. In the race to thwart the plot, who will triumph – the ruthless conspirators or the equally ruthless State? An enthralling historical mystery with an exceptional twist, perfect for fans of S. J. Parris, D. V. Bishop and C. J. Sansom.

The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez

Dr. Ann Swinfen presents a wide-ranging and comprehensive view of fantasy: what it is, what it tries to achieve, what fundamental differences distinguish it from mainstream realist fiction. She concentrates on the three decades from 1945, when a new generation of writers found that Tolkien had made fantasy "respectable." Her approach is thematic, rather than by individual author, and she brings out the profound moral purpose that underlies much modern fantasy, in a wide range of works, both British and American, such as Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy.

A Study of the Genre in English and American Literature Since 1945

In Defence of Fantasy

Oxford, Late Summer 1353. On hearing that his cousin is short-handed for the harvest, Nicholas Elyot takes a group of friends back to the family farm to help. When a deer hunt in Wychwood ends in tragedy, suspicion is directed toward the huntsman, a boyhood friend of Nicholas. Yet the victim has made many other enemies, any one of whom could have shot the fatal arrow. Can Nicholas uncover the real killer before it is too late?

The Huntsman's Tale

Oxford, Autumn 1353. St Fridewide's Fair is a great annual event in Oxford, bringing together merchants and buyers from all over England and Wales, and from as far away as Flanders and France. Yet the earning from the fair, granted to the Priory of St Frideswide centuries before, are resented by the town, and resentment can turn to violence. Under the unscrupulous Prior de Hungerford, even more trouble is brewing. Nicholas Elyot is warned by intelligencer Alice Walsea that attendance at the fair may be used for something more sinister, and not all French merchants may be innocent. When a merchant from Flanders is attacked and an English traitor is murdered, can Nicholas disentangle the crimes hidden under cover of the fair?

The Merchant's Tale

'The past is a country of the mind - we wander there like dreamers in a shadowy landscape that hides its meaning from us ...There are seasons in our lives, ' said Christina, 'a pattern, like the old Indian cross within a circle. Our lives move round the circle, but not always at the same pace. You have been caught too long in the north, which teaches strength and endurance through suffering.' In this country of the mind, following the cycle of the seasons, A Running Tide takes us back and forth between Scotland in 1980 and the tiny fishing village of Flamboro in Maine during 1942 to unravel the compelling story of Tirza Libby. Tirza, a respected and successful war photographer, tries to escape her past by retreating to a remote Scottish island. But even thousands of miles and four decades cannot erase the memories of a childhood summer in Maine: a community profoundly altered by war, a family thrown into conflict, and the British airman who changed all their lives. A Running Tide tells the story of that fateful summer.Tirza has spent a lifetime trying to banish it from her mind, but it is not ready to let her go; only by revisiting Maine can she solve the mysteries of that past and complete her journey of self-discovery. In its lyrical portrayal of a courageous but fragile way of life, A Running Tide gathers in force and tension as it moves towards tragedy and ultimate resolution

A Running Tide

The modern fantasy novel might hardly seem to need a defence, but its position in contemporary literature in the 1980s was still rather ambivalent. Many post-war writers had produced highly successful fantasy novels, some phenomenal publishing successes had occurred in the field, and an increasing number of universities throughout the English-speaking world now included the literary criticism of fantasy as part of their English Literature courses. None the less some critics and academics condemned the whole genre with a passion that seemed less than objectively critical. In this book, originally published in 1984, Dr Ann Swinfen presents a wide-ranging and comprehensive view of fantasy: what it is, what it tries to achieve, what fundamental differences distinguish it from mainstream realist fiction. She concentrates on the three decades from 1945, when a new generation of writers found that Tolkein had made fantasy ‘respectable’. Her approach is thematic, rather than by individual author, and she brings out the profound moral purpose that underlies much modern fantasy, in a wide range of works, both British and American, such as Russell Hoban’s The Mouse and His Child, C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy.

A Study of the Genre in English and American Literature since 1945

Who is Mariam? Her family in Roman Gaul know her only as a refugee from far-off Judah, without other relatives or friends. For more than thirty years Mariam has herself turned her back on the past, but now a series of events forces her to confront it. In her final illness, that past begins to haunt her, as she looks back on a youth and early adulthood during the turbulent events of the first century ad under Roman occupation, and amongst a people who refused to accept the yoke of the Empire. Born in the north of Judah, in the rebellious territory known as the Galilee, Mariam grows up in a hard-working peasant community, mutinous, impatient, unwilling to accept the traditional role of women in her society. Running away from home - against all conventions and propriety - to follow her charismatic brother Yeshua and his best friend Yehuda, Mariam shares in the excitement, the fear and the mystery, but at the last witnesses the apparent betrayal of the one and the tragic and brutal death of the other.

The Testament of Mariam

Money is the root of all evil... St Frideswide’s Fair is a great annual event in Oxford, bringing together merchants and buyers from all over England and Wales, and from as far away as Flanders and France. Yet the earnings from the fair, granted to the Priory of St Frideswide centuries before, are resented by the town, and resentment can easily turn to violence. Under the unscrupulous Prior de Hungerford, even more trouble is brewing, and Nicholas Elyot is warned by intelligencer Alice Walsea that attendance at the fair may be used for something more sinister. When a merchant from Flanders is attacked and an English traitor is murdered, can Nicholas disentangle the crimes hidden under cover of the fair? A gripping medieval mystery and espionage thriller, ideal for readers of David Penny, Candace Robb and Michael Jecks.

Ann Swinfen

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