![\"woman's](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/AWomansLotTourBanner.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"woman's](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/new-cover.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Release Date: 4th<\/sup> June 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n Genre: Historical fiction<\/strong><\/p>\n Series: Book 2 of The <\/strong>Meonbridge Chronicles<\/strong><\/p>\n Publisher: SilverWood Books<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How can mere<\/em> women resist the misogyny of men?<\/strong><\/p>\n When a resentful peasant rages against a woman\u2019s efforts to build up her flock of sheep.<\/p>\n \u2026or a husband, grown melancholy and ill-tempered, succumbs to idle talk that his wife\u2019s a scold.<\/p>\n \u2026or a priest, fearful of women\u2019s \u201cunnatural\u201d power, determines to keep them in their place.<\/p>\n The devastation wrought two years ago by the Black Death changed the balance of society, and gave women a chance to break free from the yoke of chatteldom, to learn a trade, build a business, be more than just men\u2019s wives.<\/p>\n But many men still hold fast to the teachings of the Church, and fear the havoc the daughters of Eve might wreak if they\u2019re allowed to usurp men\u2019s roles, and gain control over their own lives.<\/p>\n Not all men resist women\u2019s quest for change \u2013\u00a0indeed, they want change for themselves.<\/p>\n Yet it takes only one or two misogynists to unleash the hounds of hostility and hatred\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Woman\u2019s Lot<\/em> is the second Meonbridge Chronicle, the sequel to Fortune\u2019s Wheel<\/em>.<\/p>\n Amazon<\/strong> UK: <\/strong>https:\/\/amzn.to\/2L5v0uv<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Amazon US: <\/strong>https:\/\/amzn.to\/2xBCm6S<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At that moment, the constable knocked on Emma\u2019s door. \u2018Is Mistress Titherige with you, Mistress Ward?\u2019<\/p>\n Emma invited him inside and he bowed to Eleanor. \u2018Your sheep are found, mistress.\u2019<\/p>\n She blanched at the gloomy expression on the constable\u2019s face. \u2018Are they dead?\u2019 she asked, in a whisper.<\/p>\n He shuffled his feet and, when he spoke, his voice was quiet too. \u2018Two dead, mistress. The third, nearly so\u2013\u2013\u2019<\/p>\n Eleanor cried out. \u2018Dead! My lovely ewes. And their unborn lambs.\u2019<\/p>\n Emma put her arm around Eleanor\u2019s shoulders. \u2018It\u2019s wicked, that\u2019s what it is. Those poor innocent creatures\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n Eleanor got to her feet. \u2018Take me to them, master constable.\u2019<\/p>\n But Geoffrey demurred. \u2018No, no, Mistress Titherige, there\u2019s no need\u2014\u2019<\/p>\n She tossed her head. \u2018Yes, there is. I want to see them. Please lead me, master constable.\u2019 And she swept from Emma\u2019s house and strode down the lane behind Geoffrey, who was still trying, but failing, to dissuade her from her mission.<\/p>\n But if Eleanor had been determined to see what had happened to her sheep, when she did so, she wished she had not come after all.<\/p>\n The derelict barn was cold and damp, its roof partly fallen in, and the ancient hay piled up in the stall where her sheep were penned was giving off a foul and musty stink. As Geoffrey had already said, two of the sheep were dead, lying close together in the rotten hay, their tongues lolling from their mouths, their lovely fleeces all filthy and reeking. One had dried blood around her tail and, when she saw it, Eleanor\u2019s hand flew to her mouth.<\/p>\n \u2018Had she already birthed?\u2019 she said, a choke rising in her throat. She cast about her, looking for a lamb. Then Geoffrey hurried forward and scrabbled in the hay, one of his men holding a lantern high.<\/p>\n Shortly, Geoffrey stood up. \u2018It\u2019s here, mistress. Don\u2019t look\u2013\u2013\u2019<\/p>\n But, refusing his advice, Eleanor went forward too. He pointed, and she pressed both hands to her face, as she stared down on the pitiful little body, dark and bloodied, nestled in the foul hay a short distance from its dam.<\/p>\n \u2018Where\u2019s the third?\u2019 she said, her voice a whisper.<\/p>\n \u2018Over \u2019ere, missus,\u2019 said the constable\u2019s man.<\/p>\n The third sheep lay apart from the others, on its side, panting, its eyes sunken.<\/p>\n \u2018She\u2019s been deprived of water,\u2019 said Eleanor, kneeling by the animal\u2019s side. \u2018How cruel\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Or mebbe just ignorant?\u2019 said the constable. He bent down and picked up some hay. \u2018The hay\u2019s all rotten, mistress. It\u2019s been here years. Won\u2019t \u2019ave done them no good.\u2019<\/p>\n She looked up at him. \u2018Bad hay and no water?\u2019 She stroked the sheep\u2019s muzzle, and tears filled her eyes. \u2018The poor, poor creatures.\u2019<\/p>\n Eleanor wiped away the tears on the sleeve of her kirtle. \u2018Anyway, she\u2019s past saving. So please, master constable, arrange for her to be freed from her suffering.\u2019<\/p>\n Geoffrey bowed his head. \u2018Will Cole\u2019ll do it.\u2019<\/p>\n Carolyn Hughes was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After a first degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. It was fun for a few years, but she left to become a school careers officer in Dorset. But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the Government. She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest, several years ago, that creative writing and, especially, writing historical fiction, took centre stage in her life. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.<\/p>\n A Woman\u2019s Lot<\/em> is the second of the Meonbridge Chronicles,<\/em> her series of historical novels set in fourteenth century England. The first, Fortune<\/em>\u2019s Wheel<\/em>, was published in 2016. The third in the series is well under way.<\/p>\n Facebook:<\/strong> CarolynHughesAuthor<\/p>\n Twitter: <\/strong>@writingcalliope<\/p>\n Goodreads Author Page: <\/strong>http:\/\/bit.ly\/2hs2rrX<\/u><\/p>\n Blog:<\/strong> https:\/\/carolynhughesauthor.com\/blog\/<\/a><\/p>\n Also <\/strong>at: http:\/\/the-history-girls.blogspot.com<\/a> (20th of every month)<\/strong><\/p>\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/carolynhughesauthor.com<\/a><\/p>\nBUY LINKS<\/h2>\n
EXTRACT<\/h2>\n
ABOUT CAROLYN HUGHES<\/h2>\n
![\"woman's](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Carolyn-publicity.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWin an Ebook copy of Book 1 \u2013 Fortune\u2019s Wheel<\/h1>\n
![\"woman's](\"https:\/\/melanierobertson-king.com\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/fortunes-wheel-cover.jpg\")
<\/p>\n