The summer fields - L. P Fergusson

Is the pain of loss a price worth paying for true love?

In the year 1704, dairy maid Elen Griffiths' immunity to the smallpox plaguing England should be a blessing. But it feels more like a curse when she is selected to leave her home and nurse high-born Viscount Mordiford through the illness within the confines of Duntisbourne Hall. There, Elen finds a horribly afflicted patient but she also discovers a friend in Ned Harley, the charming valet. However, before long sinister forces threaten Elen's life and honour. Rescued by the man she has grown to love, she flees the country with the English army, not knowing if her affections are returned.

Across the Channel, Elen finds purpose serving as a nurse during the Duke of Marlborough's campaign. Surrounded by the horror and confusion of the brutal war against the French, Elen is reunited with her love on the eve of the Battle of Blenheim. She learns that his feelings mirror her own, but a moment of joy may be all they ever know. Even if he survives the battle, a figure from the past threatens to destroy Elen's freedom, her happiness and her life.

Praise for The Summer Fields

'A gloriously original tale, based on historical truth, about a girl with an 18th-century superpower and a heart to match. You will ache for her to make it through the battlefields and win her love.' James Hawes

'Each character was beautifully described and the situations drew me in as a reader with little knowledge of the period the story covers. Small details made the history come to life.' Reader review

'What a treat. Beautifully crafted and historically informative' Reader review

'An absolute blinder' Reader review'

'A proper adventure of a love story. I read most of the battle and surgery sections with eyes half closed, breathless with hope for Elen and appalled, revolted and dizzy with admiration for the taut prose and the detailed, fiercely accurate historical detail. Ruddy good read.' Reader review

'Such a well written historical romance .... a pleasure to read' Reader review

LP Fergusson grew up on the borders of Wales in a Tudor house on the banks of the River Wye. As a child she longed to go back in history. Now she does, through her writing. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University and won the Blackwell's Prize for MA Creative Writing. Her stories have made a number of shortlists for competitions run by the Orwell Society, Oxfordshire Libraries and Flash500. Her psychological thriller reached the final three of a Quercus/Psychologies Thriller competition and her wartime novel A Dangerous Act of Kindness was Highly Commended in the Caledonia Novel Award 2018. She edits the historical blog With Love from Graz which was featured on BBC Radio Wales, Radio 2 and BBC4's A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley. She now lives in an Oxfordshire village beneath the chalk downs where her debut novel is set.