In the Shadow of a Curse by David Hough
Publication date: 10 April 2013
Format: Amazon Kindle (Please note: you don't need a Kindle reader to read this book - you can download it from Amazon onto your computer/ipad/iphone) |
Kit Vanson is sickened by the way his father and brothers abuse the slaves on their Alabama cotton plantation. He flees back to his roots on his late grandfather’s sleepy Cornish farm.
He hopes to find peace of mind, but he carries with him a burden of crushing guilt. He is also burdened by a curse, called upon the family by an enslaved shaman who swore to avenge the Vanson’s brutality. Kit tries to atone for the family sins by helping Wenna Lanyon, his attractive neighbour, against a merciless vendetta. Can he make amends? Or will the Vanson Curse prove to be too powerful? This book is part of the Historical Adventures in Cornwall series. Find out more about the other books: In the Shadow of Disgrace In the Shadow of Deception Find out more about David and his books (#ads)
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What the readers say
“A dark, well written, fast moving, modern novel of the 19th century Cornwall.” The Cornish Banner
"A compelling story, heaped with historical detail and romance" Town and Village Times
"A good read for people who want to know more about 1830s England, romance readers and those who like adventure" Naomi Theye, Historical Novel Society
"David Hough's settings are vividly painted. Accompanying his characters is the next best thing to being there for real." Della Galton, author of Passing Shadows
"Talented author David Hough kept me reading this well-crafted tale of romance, intrigue and danger."
"The tension that flows through this story, while it seems understated, will keep you reading to find out what happens next."
"Recommended as an intriguing, well-told story that leaves the reader with a sense of having stepped into another time and walked in the shoes of people whose lives too often depended on the whims of a man with too much power and who lacked the sense of its proper use. Enjoy. I did."
"This is a fascinating story."
"The story is gripping, the author has written it well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it."
"A compelling story, heaped with historical detail and romance" Town and Village Times
"A good read for people who want to know more about 1830s England, romance readers and those who like adventure" Naomi Theye, Historical Novel Society
"David Hough's settings are vividly painted. Accompanying his characters is the next best thing to being there for real." Della Galton, author of Passing Shadows
"Talented author David Hough kept me reading this well-crafted tale of romance, intrigue and danger."
"The tension that flows through this story, while it seems understated, will keep you reading to find out what happens next."
"Recommended as an intriguing, well-told story that leaves the reader with a sense of having stepped into another time and walked in the shoes of people whose lives too often depended on the whims of a man with too much power and who lacked the sense of its proper use. Enjoy. I did."
"This is a fascinating story."
"The story is gripping, the author has written it well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it."
David's thoughts on In the Shadow of a Curse
How would you describe this book?
It’s another step along the path of a fictitious Vanson family lineage, the second story in the Historical Adventures in Cornwall series.
It's a story about a man who runs away from one harsh environment and finds himself in another. His internal conflicts stem from the fact of running away from the cruelty he saw on his father’s cotton plantation, and landing slap in the middle of other people’s cruelty in Cornwall. This time he has to face up to reality.
Where did the idea for this book come from?
This time the story jumps ahead about fifty years from the story of Jeffrey St Vincent. I know from my research that one member of the Vanson family went off to North America and died somewhere over there. I’m not sure where. I decided that my fictitious character would come back from the USA to his family roots. I had to give him a good reason for coming back, so I invented the Vanson curse.
Did the story end up where you thought it would when you started writing?
Yes. This time the story followed the plan right to the end. My only worry is that readers might imagine all nineteenth century gentry behaved like the fictitious Ralph Killiow. They didn’t. I have evidence that an ancestor called Ned Vanson (A L Rowse’s grandfather) was very well treated by his employers. He was given a pension and a cottage on his employer’s estate when he got too old to work.
Which character in this book did you enjoy writing the most?
It was the key character. He’s a bit of a maverick in the way he sails off from the New World to the Old World to pick up his family roots. He’s also a man who won’t stand aside when he sees something he knows to be wrong. In the first chapter he’s one of only two people willing to stand up to Ralph Killiow. It gets him into trouble, but he can handle that.