Secrets of the Penny University
by Amanda Roberts
Tilly risks everything on a promise. Amy wants the truth.
“I think something terrible happened here”
2025: When Amy and her husband buy an old property on Oxford’s High Street with plans to open a new coffee shop, the discovery of a mural painted on a wall hints at a story that has lain dormant for centuries. Before long, Amy is seeing and hearing echoes of the past, and a young woman who once lived there. As the penny university reveals its secrets, will Amy’s growing obsession with the past lose her everything she has in the present?
1656: Abandoned by her lover and pregnant, Tilly is sent from the small village of Islip to live with cousins in Oxford where she will work in their coffeehouse. She is soon drawn into the excitement of her new life in the city, until the return of a nightmare from her past changes the course of her future. As the time for her child to arrive draws closer, Tilly is faced with a difficult decision; does she turn her back on everything she has hoped for and settle for a different life? She follows her instincts and gambles.
"‘I’ll come back for you,’ he had said. ‘I promise.’"
Ah, those promises.
In 1656, young Tilly is distraught when her love, Nat, signs up as a soldier and prepares to leave for Jamaica. Convinced of his sincerity, though frustrated at him not arranging for them to wed before he departs, she gives in one time – with obvious consequences.
With Nat away at sea, Tilly soon realises her dilemma. Living with her aunt and uncle – after having been left there as a toddler by her mother, who then disappeared – she keeps her secret hidden at first, but morning sickness gives it away. Promptly, her uncle arranges for her to stay with a cousin, Lawrence Cowper, who runs a coffee house in Oxford, and she reluctantly moves. There, she meets his ill wife, Jane, and their lonely young boy, Bertie.
Expected to help in the daily running of the coffee house, Tilly discovers that it serves as what is known as a penny university – guests pay a penny to enter, then get a token against which they run up their tab. She soon finds the daily discussions taking place fascinating, giving her a glimpse of a life beyond her village, even beyond Oxford.
In her little room under the eaves, she decides to paint her journey, adding events as they happen. Unable to write, it's her way of recording her life.
She settles into her new routine, but eventually, the past catches up with her, leading to dramatic, fatal consequences.
Fast forward to 2025, and Amy and her husband, Gareth, are preparing to open a new café in an old building in Oxford. Gareth is the one most excited about it, but Amy's initial skepticism changes when she discovers hidden drawings behind the wallpaper in the loft. When he hires Lucy as manager without asking her, Amy is miffed – even more so when she grows concerned about Lucy's agenda. But Gareth keeps shrugging off her misgivings.
As the renovation works proceed, and the painting reveals more secrets, Amy begins to experience paranormal activity – both benign and malign – which affect her senses. Is she becoming obsessed with the past?
Then, Amy has an accident...
Secrets of the Penny University by Amanda Roberts is a captivating dual-timeline story set mostly in Oxford, both in Cromwell's era and in 2025. The author's description of the city – both historical and modern – provide us with a close glance at a place full of plots and potential trouble, in both timelines.
I'd vaguely heard of penny universities – coffee houses used for literary, philosophical, and political discussions. How fascinating these places must have been!
Tilly is an endearing character, naïve at first, then, when honestly facing her options, realistic enough. She trusts easily, which turns out to be her undoing. Her dark family history lurks in the shadows, and eventually, it catches up with her.
Hardworking and intelligent, with a knack for numbers, but illiterate, she uses painting as a way of telling her story. It's a clever idea, which opens up the link to the contemporary part of the novel.
Hardworking and intelligent, with a knack for numbers, but illiterate, she uses painting as a way of telling her story. It's a clever idea, which opens up the link to the contemporary part of the novel.
Resourceful and loyal, Tilly learns the hard way what happens when those who profess to love you, deceive you. Alas, with serious consequences.
I thought Tilly was the star of this novel. Her warmth and caring nature make her the perfect heroine to rout for, as is her helplessness when faced by decisions made for her by others who want ’the best’ for her. She's a character readers can easily empathise with.
Lawrence Cowper is in a dilemma. Without revealing any plot twists, we get a sense of a man who is considerate and realistic, but who also pursues plans that don't follow Tilly's wishes. I tried to feel sorry for him, but couldn't. His deceit was grave, although seen with the eyes of his era, understandable.
Tilly's relationship to Lawrence and Jane's young son, Bertie, is incredibly moving. From the start, she realises that the boy is neglected by his parents: his father works all day, and his mother is unwell. Tilly steps into the breach, and their growing trust makes for heartwarming reading.
Then, there is Nat – a young man full of hopes and dreams, which are soon washed away on distant shores. Instead of making a difference, he and his regiment struggle to survive, fighting disease and hunger. And when he finally makes it back home, he finds Tilly gone.
Nat's story is a particularly realistic if sad part of the novel. His experiences are sobering, and as a reader, you wonder how many young men full of hope followed in his footsteps, only to succumb to sickness or come back home, broke. Nat's return marks the revelation of buried secrets, and the ensuing plot twists are riveting.
The pace of the novel varies in places, at first faster as events unfold, then it settles into a routine. Readers will notice some repetitions, which slow it down. And at times, Amy's 21st-century discoveries reveal details I'd rather experience through Tilly's eyes. Tilly's subsequent reaction is expected, suppressing the element of surprise.
The contemporary part also reveals some intriguing plot twists, and the paranormal elements add a real sharpness to the mystery. Amy's growing suspicions are disturbing yet compelling, and Gareth's reaction adds an even stronger sense of modern realism. When women feel threatened, take them seriously!
Secrets of the Penny University is well worth checking out if you're a fan of dual-timeline novels with unusual historical mysteries. I thought Tilly's drawings worked very well as a link between the past and the present, and Amy's discoveries could easily happen in older buildings. The paranormal elements add to the reading experience.
Well-researched, suspenseful, and with captivating characters, Secrets of the Penny University is a novel full of secrets, with clever, unexpected plot twists in both timelines. It makes for riveting reading.
Go on, and visit the Penny University!
Review by Cathie Dunn
The Coffee Pot Book Club
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Amanda Roberts
Author, bookworm and history lover, Amanda grew up in Derbyshire but has lived in Oxfordshire since 1997. A magazine editor by profession, she has published four novels and a short story. Her first novel, The Roots of the Tree, was based on a true family story and is close to her heart, but her real love is historical fiction. She has published two dual timeline books set in Oxfordshire (The Woman in the Painting and its sequel Secrets of the Penny University) and Lady of the Quay, the first in a series of historical crime/suspense novels set in 1560 in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Second book in this, the Isabella Gillhespy series, will follow in 2027.
When not writing or attending bookish events, she can be found exploring crumbling ruins – wherever in the world she happens to be – or relaxing with her two ginger cats.
Connect with Amanda:
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