This is the strange, haunting story of two ill-starred lovers, set against the backdrop of the religious upheaval of Henry VIII's time. Hazel, a peasant girl marked by the witches' brand and a dangerous beauty, loves Black John, an outlaw and aristocrat, whom she rescues from the gallows. Together they struggle to survive a world in which brutal death awaits at every corner, and stumble along a fateful collision course towards a harrowing climax. The Historical Novel Prize was founded in memory of Georgette Heyer by Bodley Head and Corgi Books. Rhona Martin's remarkable first novel won the...