In the Shadow of the Solstice

The Mists of Avalon meets The Go-Between, a feminist reimagining of the final days of King Arthur, from the perspective of a young boy and the three women who will decide the King's fate. It is midwinter and young Petroc is about to die. His homestead has been raided, his parents killed and his sisters taken for slaves. Fleeing the dangerous shoreline, he comes upon the triumphant war band of King Artorius arriving home to the Isle of Avalon. As the King's wife Lena takes Petroc under her wing, he resolves to earn his place amongst this legendary dynasty. But all is not as it seems on the island. The lake has a voice that only he can hear. And it appears from his eavesdropping that Morgen, half-sister to the King, has plans to unsettle the crown. The family gathers on the night of the Yule feast, a strange power brewing that only Petroc can feel, when they are interrupted by the arrival of a strange woman bearing a dark and twisted secret. A secret that will bring this family to the brink of collapse. Come sunrise, perhaps the kingdom with it. Petroc alone has the power to save them. But will he? Praise for Meg Clothier: 'A wonderfully rich and absorbing tale' Observer 'Expertly crafted and beautifully told' Jennifer Saint 'What an extraordinary book' Harriet Tyce 'A ravishing, erudite feminist hijack of Renaissance Florence' Alice Albinia 'Mysterious, bewitching and beautiful' Elizabeth Lee 'Brutal and haunting' Melissa Fu