The Book of Thornhold

Have you ever picked up an ancient artefact; a flint arrowhead perhaps, or a jewel and wondered how it reached the present day intact? You may have wondered about the many stories it silently witnessed on its journey through history.

This novel opens in the 8th century when The Book of Thornhold, penned by monks, is in its infancy. The narrative then follows the book's journey from the hands of marauding Vikings to the safe keeping of the Thornbury family.

As the pages of the story turn, the book encounters conquest, pestilence and civil war. The legend of the house unfolds, revealing family secrets, and releasing skeletons from long-sealed closets.

The Book of Thornhold leads the reader from the dawn of Christianity in England to the twenty-first century and reveals the story of a family, a manor house, and an illuminated manuscript.

Compiled of eight short stories, The Book of Thornhold illustrates the growth of a small Anglo-Saxon holding into an impressive stately home, and the social evolution of the family who guarded the book.

From the back catalogue of Judith Arnopp; author of The Beaufort Chronicle