Dark Tides
By Philippa Gregory

Number One bestselling author Philippa Gregory's new historical novel tracks the rise of theand Tidelandsand family in London, Venice and New England.and Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy man hoping to find the lover he deserted twenty-one years before. James Avery has everything to offer, including the favour of the newly restored King Charles II, and he believes that the warehouse's poor owner Alinor has the one thing his money cannot buy - his son and heir.The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and has come to tell Alinor that her son Rob has drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.Alinor writes to her brother Ned,and newly arrivedand in faraway New Englandand andand trying to make a life between the worlds of theand English newcomersand and the American Indians as they move toward inevitable war. Alinor tells him that she knows - without doubt - that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter.Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.Praise forand Tidelands,and the first in the Fairmile series: A gripping and intelligent portrait of a woman fighting to survive in a hostile world'and The Times The first in a planned series . . . The author crafts her material with effortless ease.and Her grasp of social mores is brilliant, the love story rings true and the research is, as ever, of the highest calibre'and and and and Elizabeth Buchan,and Daily Mail Vivid and beguilingand -and Philippa Gregory at her best'and Woman andamp; Home Aand compelling novel that shines a light on the struggles of 17th century women'and Daily Mirror The novel's power lies in Gregory's evocative portrayal of the tidelands and the everyday lives of those who are bound to them'and Sunday Express Philippa Gregory returns with an English Civil War novel that excels in everything she does best. Historical events are written with breathless immediacy, keeping the reader enthralled even if they know the outcome' Alys Key, The i If this novel is the first sign of what's to come then readers are in for a treat'and Emma Lee-Potter,and Daily Express