DAWN TO DEADLY NIGHTSHADE The smuggling theme continues in this 'Upstairs Downstairs' love story, when the son of the heroine in Brandy Row,becomes Lord of the Manor and inherits a Somerset country estate. Conflict and drama develop between Joshua and his immoral pagan aristocratic neighbour, who is a law unto himself.

SYNOPSIS:

Dawn to Deadly Nightshade, the sequel to Brandy Row, is the second in a collection of West Country tales. Set in the Yeovil area in the mid nineteenth century, it follows the life of Joshua, the handsome young son of Violet and Richard Dryer, who were two of the main characters in Brandy Row, as he takes on the ownership and title of Lord of the Manor of Alvington. Joshua arrives in Somerset to find the folk on his estate are just as superstitious as those he left behind him on Portland. He is soon to learn that people’s fears are justified when he discovers the existence of a coven in the neighbouring parish and he comes into conflict with their warlock.

Joshua’s main adversary is the wicked Nathan Meakins, the arrogant son from a neighbouring estate. They first clash over Meakins’ cruel treatment of Joshua’s sister Rebecca, but this discord and tension is to escalate throughout the story, exposing long held secrets from within his own family.

The story involves the discovery of an abandoned baby, various love interests, smuggling, witchcraft, superstition, rape, murder and suicide, tragedies and heartache and the traditions, celebrations and customs relating to that era.