Taking Liberties

From the author also known as Ariana Franklin-the thrilling sequel to A Catch of Consequence that "moves at a cracking pace."( London Times)

Makepeace Hedley is frantic when she learns that her young daughter, sailing home to England from the rebelling American colonies, has been taken prisoner by the British. With her usual determination, Makepeace sets out for Plymouth to rescue her child.

And when Countess Diana Stacpoole is asked by an American friend to help his son, also a British prisoner, Diana responds quickly and leaves her genteel past behind.

In the chaos of wartime Plymouth the two women face social outrage, public scandal, and even arrest. Amidst docks and prisons, government bureaucracy and brothels, they forge an unlikely and unshakable friendship. And in freeing others, they discover their own splendid liberty.Diana Norman (1933-2011) worked on local newspapers in Devon and the East End of London and at age of twenty became the youngest reporter in what used to be Fleet Street. Norman authored biographies as well as historical novels. In total, she wrote 11 historical novels including The Vizard Mask, The Pirate Queen, and Fitzempress' Law. She is survived by her husband, film critic Barry Norman, and their two daughters.