ARDEN.

ARDEN by GD HARPER.

Genre ... Historical Fiction

Publication Date ... 3rd October 2024

Estimated Page Count ... 400

Standalone Novel

Alice Arden, idealistic and wealthy beauty, burnt at the stake for killing her husband, the former mayor of Faversham in Kent. But was she really the one responsible for the most scandalous murder of the sixteenth century?

William Shakespeare, England’s greatest playwright, born thirteen years after Alice’s execution. Why does his first-ever play, written about this murder, not bear his name?

This is a story of two people – one reviled, one revered – whose fates become linked in a tale of corruption, collusion and conspiracy. Based on historical documents and recently published academic research, Arden unveils shocking new evidence about the murder of Thomas Arden and reveals, for the first time, a remarkable new theory about Shakespeare’s early years.

Having read and really enjoyed the author's previous book, The Maids of Biddenden, I cannot express how excited I was to learn of this novel.
The sights, the sounds, the smells, what people were wearing, the foods they ate, the culture, politics and social norms of the time. I can only begin to imagine the amount of time and research that must go into any work of historical fiction. That this book is based on actual historical documents and academic research, all kudos to the author who does it soooo incredibly well.
Following a duel timeline, that of Alice Arden and Shakespeare. Again, not something every author can pull off but GD Harper does with a wonderful self-confidence, his seemingly effortless ability to put himself into not only his characters' shoes but also the times they lived in making for an authentic read despite the fact that Arden's voice has not survived the annuls of time and so little is actually known of Shakespeare's early years.
The tale of a love-struck young woman, manipulated by powerful men, who goes on to pay the ultimate price ... and then some, such is the savagery of her punishment. As much as I enjoyed the part Shakespeare was to play in the book, it was Alice's story that, saddening me as deeply as it did, grasped me from beginning to end.
Enlightening, entertaining, intricate plotting, chock-a-block full of wonderfully rich, historical detail and an engaging narrative, Arden has it all when it comes to quality historical fiction and has left me super excited to see what the author comes up with next.  

I have written four novels in the last eight years under the penname GD Harper. My last novel, The Maids of Biddenden, the imagined biography of real-life conjoined twins born in 12th-century Kent, was featured on BBC TV News and was the winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the historical fiction category, shortlisted for the 2022 Selfie Award at the London Book Fair, and shortlisted or longlisted for five other awards. It has over a thousand ratings on Amazon UK and Goodreads, with an average score of 4.3. Across the major Amazon markets, it reached number sixteen in overall paid-for e-book sales, number two in historical fiction and number one in medieval historical fiction.

Social Media ... Instagram @gdharperauthor
With thanks to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for organising a paper copy. One of several bloggers participating in the Publication Day Push of this book, agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own; no financial compensation was asked for nor given; threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.

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