Thursday, August 7, 2025

Meet the Women Healers in Elizabeth St.John's compelling series, The Lydiard Chronicles #EnglishCivilWar #Restoration #RecommendedReading



The Lydiard Chronicles

The Lady of the Tower
By Love Divided
Written in their Stars

by Elizabeth St.John



Duty, passion, and power collide in The Lydiard Chronicles, a gripping trilogy inspired by true events. Follow three courageous women—survivors, strategists, and storytellers—who defy the constraints of society to shape their family’s fate and England’s future. Their voices echo through time. Their legacy changed a nation.

The Lydiard Chronicles is an award-winning, best-selling historical family saga which brings to life the remarkable true stories of the St.John family. Spanning three compelling novels—The Lady of the TowerBy Love Divided, and Written in Their Stars—the series follows the legacy of resilient and intelligent women who lived as spies, courtiers, and diarists during England’s most turbulent century, navigating the quicksand of love and war, political upheaval, and personal sacrifice. 

Bound by fierce family loyalty and unforgettable love, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles defy the limits of their time with passion, courage, and unshakable independence. They endure captivity in the Tower of London, exile in the Louvre Palace, and the heart-wrenching divisions of the English Civil War—fighting not just for survival, but for their beliefs, their families, and the right to choose their own fate. Meticulously researched and vividly told, this epic saga reveals how these women created history from the shadows, leaving a legacy of resilience, defiance, and enduring influence.

Rooted in original diaries, letters, and family papers, The Lydiard Chronicles offers an intimate, biographical portrait of women who moved behind the scenes of power. Serving as trusted secret agents, military wives, and confidantes of kings, they were deeply engaged in the political and religious conflicts of their time. Through tragedy and triumph, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles shape their destinies—and the fate of a nation—in this richly researched and vividly told historical epic.




Medicine in a Time of Turmoil: The Women Healers Behind The Lydiard Chronicles

In the 17th century, amidst civil war, plague, political upheaval, and personal loss, the responsibility of caregiving fell overwhelmingly to women. They were the unsung backbone of the household, not only managing domestic life but acting as healers, apothecaries, and nurses to their families, communities, and, at times, to those caught in the tides of history. Through the women of The Lydiard Chronicles—based on my ancestors—I wanted to explore the powerful, often overlooked, roles they played as medical practitioners in a world teetering between tradition and transformation, superstition and science.

Lucy St.John, the heroine of The Lady of the Tower, held an official position of duty and care as the wife of the Lieutenant of the Tower of London. Her responsibilities extended beyond managing the household; she was tasked with caring for the prisoners held within the Tower’s forbidding walls. These were not nameless criminals but political detainees, noblemen, and scholars—many of whom awaited execution. Lucy tended to them as best she could, both physically and emotionally, in deeply uncertain times.

She also cultivated a curative garden within the Tower itself—adjacent to the kitchens and near the Bloody Tower—which she shared with Sir Walter Raleigh during his years of imprisonment. That same garden, where herbs like comfrey, rosemary, and lavender once grew, has been replanted today as a living testament to her role as a caregiver within the nation’s most infamous fortress. In addition to her healing work, Lucy was known to experiment with alchemy and distillation, frequently visiting London’s apothecary shops to acquire ingredients, texts, and knowledge. Her life was steeped in both the practical and the mystical, reflecting the era’s curious blending of science, belief, and personal power.

But Lucy was far from alone. Her niece by marriage, Lady Johanna St.John, played an equally significant role in preserving and advancing domestic medical knowledge, and her skills came to the forefront in By Love Divided and Written in Their Stars. Johanna’s legacy survives in her remarkable recipe book, compiled in the late 17th century and preserved today by the Wellcome Library. It contains scores of medicinal remedies—some drawn from classical sources, others passed down through generations of women, and many reflecting the blending of herbal medicine with alchemy and early science. Her household at Lydiard Park functioned as a place of healing, not only for her extended family but for neighbours and estate workers who relied on her expertise. Johanna’s meticulous documentation reveals a woman at the centre of community care, balancing estate management, motherhood, and medicine with impressive skill.

Then there is Lucy St.John’s daughter Lucy (Luce in the novels)—scholar, writer, and fierce political thinker—whose life and letters offer a poignant view into the emotional and physical burdens borne by women during the English Civil War. The Lydiard Chronicles are based on her extensive eyewitness accounts of the war. When Nottingham Castle came under siege, Lucy stood beside her husband, Colonel John Hutchinson, helping defend the stronghold while also caring for the wounded and ill. Her memoirs, among the earliest political writings by an Englishwoman, also chronicle her life as a healer—nursing John through illness, managing her household under extraordinary stress, and ensuring the survival of her children in a war-torn land. Even after her husband’s death following the Restoration, Lucy continued to fight for his legacy and secure her family’s future, using both her intellect and indomitable spirit.

These women—Lucy St.John, Johanna St.John, and Lucy Hutchinson—each in their own way, stood at the intersection of domestic responsibility and public crisis. Their gardens, kitchens, and studies became spaces of care and resistance, where medical knowledge was passed down, refined, and practiced. Their stories, drawn from recipe books, letters, and memoirs, offer not only a fascinating look into early modern medicine but a powerful reminder of the ways women sustained their families and communities in times of political and personal upheaval.

In The Lydiard Chronicles, their legacies live on. Whether tending a medicinal garden within the Tower of London, recording elaborate cures in a manor house in Wiltshire, or holding firm under siege in a vitally strategic castle, these women remind us that healing is a form of strength—and that the quiet labour of caregiving is as vital to history as any battle or decree. Their stories deserve to be told not just as historical footnotes but as central narratives of courage, intelligence, and care in the face of adversity.



(Extract from Lucy Hutchinson’s notebook)
Her mother, Lucy St.John, nursing the prisoners in the Tower of London, 1617-1630.
…Sir Walter Raleigh and Mr. Ruthven being prisoners in the Tower, and addicting themselves to chemistry, she suffered them to make their rare experiments at her cost, partly to comfort and divert the poor prisoners, and partly to gain the knowledge of their experiments, and the medicines to help such poor people as were not able to seek physicians. By these means she acquired a great deal of skill, which was very profitable to many all her life. She was not only to these, but to all the other prisoners that came into the Tower, as a mother. All the time she dwelt in the Tower, if any were sick she made them broths and restoratives with her own hands, visited and took care of them, and provided them all necessaries; if any were afflicted she comforted them, so that they felt not the inconvenience of a prison who were in that place.

(Extract from Lady Johanna St.John’s Recipe Book)
The uses of Gilbert’s Water
 “It is bad for nothing it cures wind and the colick restoreth decayed nature good for a consumption expels poison & all infection from the Hart helps digestion purifies the blood gives motion to the spirits drives out the smallpox for the grippes in young children weomen in labor bringeth the Afterbirth stops floods for sounding and faintings




This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.



Elizabeth St. John


Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth's works include The Lydiard Chronicles, a family saga set in 17th-century England during the Civil War, and The Godmother's Secret, which unravels the medieval mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. Her latest release, The King’s Intelligencer, follows Franny Apsley in the treacherous court of Charles II as she risks everything to uncover the dangerous truth behind the discovery of the princes’ bones.

Connect with Elizabeth:
Website • Facebook • Bluesky • Threads • Instagram




Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Join us as author Jane Loftus introduces characters Rafi, Hugh, and Roger from The Herb Knot #HistoricalFiction #Medieval #RecommendedReading



The Herb Knot

by Jane Loftus


 The Hundred Years’ War comes to life in this spellbinding tale of love, betrayal and conspiracy…


A quest born on the battlefield will change a young boy’s destiny…


Rafi Dubois is five years old when his mother is murdered after the Battle of Crecy in 1346. Alone and lost, Rafi is given a token by the dying Englishman who tried to save his mother’s life: a half-broken family seal which he urges Rafi to return one day to Winchester.


Years later, when Rafi saves a wealthy merchant’s wife from a brutal robbery, he is rewarded with the chance to travel to England, taking the seal with him.


But when he reaches Winchester, Rafi finds himself in a turbulent world full of long-held allegiances, secrets and treachery. His path is fraught with danger and with powerful enemies working against him, Rafi falls in love with Edith, a market apothecary. But in doing so, Rafi unleashes a deadly chain of events which threatens to overwhelm them both…


The Herb Knot is a sweeping and passionate novel set in one of the most tumultuous times in English history, from a powerful new voice.



Meet Rafi, Hugh, and Roger!

Rafi
Many of the motivations and challenges of my characters came about organically – Edith, for one, and I hadn’t planned for Domneva to turn poisoner until I wrote the scene where she sees the painting. 

However, as Rafi was the main character his arc was more carefully planned. He was a prevaricator, a cowardly lion and he needed to grow out of that by the end of the book.  He ran the risk of being a dull goody two shoes so I gave him a little sarcasm and a touch of intellectual pride from the start. And he clearly fancied the pants off Edith very early so chastity was not on the cards however long he’d been in a monastery.

The motivation which got him there had to fit his personality. Fame and fortune would never suit him, but love, family and honour did. He was always going to honour his promise to the dying man, try to at least find out who had destroyed his family, and his love for Edith pushed him towards a drastic act of revenge. He finally dropped his terrible habit of procrastination at the point of near death and came out the other side. He didn’t get a drastic makeover but I didn’t want him to.

A lot of his challenges were own goals. Dithering, lack of confidence a tendency to be overly deferential. But he stuck to his moral code. No, he was not going to get involved in smuggling, two timing your girlfriend is wrong (looking at you, Adam), and adventure was not his thing. Until it had to be, until his heart said no, I can’t put this off any longer and off he went for a showdown with William, all by himself with nothing but his trusty knife and Raymond’s clapped out horse.

Except in the case of Edith, who was married and somehow sent his moral code into a tailspin. But come on, no one is perfect.

Hugh
Hugh, the slightly terrifying Mayor who seemed to be running the city like a de facto King, was fun to write. Didn’t want him to be entirely dangerous to know, or entirely driven by money. Like Rafi, Hugh is motivated by his family ties. He was broken by his brother’s death, then his father’s. He has been holding the business together since he was knee high to a grasshopper and has done it well to honour his family name. Because of that name, he allows his brother to leech off him and behave disgracefully and will not move against him because of his misplaced loyalty to blood ties. Unlike Rafi he doesn’t hesitate to act and get things done – except when it comes to William. Family is his weakness and makes him less than perfect, which I didn’t want him to be because nobody is.

He’s emotionally restrained because it is how he has had to be so I also wanted him to let go a little, which he finally does when he learns about Richard, and his love for Joan adds a little heat to warm the ice. He’s sharp and intimidating but there’s a kindness there that others allude to. He doesn’t evict Edith when he could have done because he felt a responsibility to her when her husband died in his employment, he made sure the nun was properly cared for, his staff respect and trust him. You know there’s more to him but only via others. He has built impregnable defences. Until the end. He’s human and, as Joan proves, capable of deep love.

I may write more about Joan one day, she didn’t get enough space to shine in The Herb Knot. I think she has a story to tell.

Roger
I absolutely love Roger. I enjoyed making him do a complete about turn after he’d spent the entire book being a pain in the backside. His motivation is the most straightforward of the three – loyalty, which runs through him like a stick of rock. He will protect his own at all costs, no questions asked. And he can erase any ill feeling he’s had for you in the past if you prove worthy, as Rafi finds to his benefit. If anyone is a guardian angel, it’s Roger, not Raphael.

He’s been in love with Domneva for all these years and said not one word. His stubbornness and loyalty are a curse in matters of his own heart. I hadn’t even considered a Roger / Domneva love match until I’d already got a long way into the book. He’s known her right from the start, he’s protected this woman out of a desire to right the wrong that someone had done to her but what if it was also out of love?

Whyever not - so I went with it. It seemed right. Part of me wanted to remove her from the Abbey and put the two of them together but it felt too pat. We have no idea how she feels about him and I suspect he’d be too afraid to ask. He can do brave any time you like but love? He’s not so well versed in that. Roger will have to yearn from a distance forever. And don’t you ever, ever look at Agnes funny. He will kill you.







Jane Loftus


 Jane Loftus gained a degree in 16th Century European and British history from Surrey before taking a postgraduate degree in modern political history. As a lone parent, she worked in Winchester Waterstones before returning to IT once her son was older. Hugely passionate about the Middle Ages, she drew inspiration for this novel from the medieval layout of Winchester which has been painstakingly documented.

Jane is originally from London but has lived in Winchester for over twenty years. When not writing, she is usually out walking or watching costume dramas on Netflix – the more medieval the better. She also plays far too many rpgs.

Connect with Jane:

 Website • Facebook • Bluesky • Instagram




Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Blog Tour: Lord Frederick's Return by Catherine Kullmann



Join The Coffee Pot Book Club on tour with…


Lord Frederick’s Return

by Catherine Kullmann



August 22nd - September 12th, 2025

Publication Date: July 22nd, 2025
Publisher: Willow Books
Pages: 269
Genre: Regency Romance / Historical Romance


An older hero, an enigmatic heroine and a delightfully outspoken four-year-old. Throw scandal into the mix for a gripping and tender Regency love story.


August 1816.


Lord Frederick Danlow returns to England after spending 18 years in India. He plans to make a home for himself and his motherless, four-year-old daughter, Ruperta. Unsure where to start, he accepts an invitation to stay at Ponsonby Place, home of Colonel Jack Ponsonby who made his fortune in India, and his daughter Susannah, the mistress of the household.


Soon Frederick finds himself in need of a governess—and a wife? The more time he spends with Susannah, the more his admiration of her deepens. Is she the woman with whom he will share his life?


He is resolved to court her, but then his younger brother Henry engulfs his family in an appalling scandal that could prevent any lady from agreeing to a connection with it. Now Frederick must support his family during this ordeal.


But what of Susannah? What will she say when she hears of the scandal? Should he, dare he offer her his heart and his hand?



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Catherine Kullmann


Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. Widowed, she has three adult sons and two grandchildren.

She has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them. Her books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society.

She is the author of The Murmur of Masks, Perception & Illusion, A Suggestion of Scandal, The Duke’s Regret, The Potential for Love, A Comfortable Alliance, Lady Loring’s Dilemma and The Husband Criteria.

She also blogs about historical facts and trivia related to this era. You can find out more about Catherine’s books and read the blog (My Scrap Album) at her website where you can also subscribe to her newsletter.


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