"Aye! Lots of queer things 'ave 'appened in that tharr 'ouse - it be so old. It be no wonder folk tell them tales about Beech Farm," said Bill, in the rich brogue of this Dorset/Wiltshire country, as he shook his head knowingly at the grey farmhouse. It looked as if it grew out of the soil of the rambling garden surrounding it, nestling amongst huge trees, part of the landscape of the narrow chalk valley that lay between blunt slumbering humps of downs."
Kate & David Fletcher are looking forward to wedded bliss in their new home in the Dorset countryside. But their dream new life soon becomes a nightmare when a body is discovered by workmen in a well on the property. Amanda Gresham was beautiful and influential; the wife of the local MP. Who would have wanted her dead? And what became of Marion Ferguson, Beech Farm's elusive former owner? Will the police ever be able to penetrate the village's secrets to uncover the truth of these darkest deeds in deepest Dorset?
Mystery and intrigue abound in this delightful crime story, rediscovered after over 20 years and lovingly restored by the author's family.
Kate & David Fletcher are looking forward to wedded bliss in their new home in the Dorset countryside. But their dream new life soon becomes a nightmare when a body is discovered by workmen in a well on the property. Amanda Gresham was beautiful and influential; the wife of the local MP. Who would have wanted her dead? And what became of Marion Ferguson, Beech Farm's elusive former owner? Will the police ever be able to penetrate the village's secrets to uncover the truth of these darkest deeds in deepest Dorset?
Mystery and intrigue abound in this delightful crime story, rediscovered after over 20 years and lovingly restored by the author's family.
Paperback available direct from Annwyn House. Purchase includes two postcards of the cover illustrations by Nell
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Please allow 5-7 days for dispatch
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Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA
Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA
About The Author
Alethea Lawson (nee Green) was born in 1907 in Concordia, Argentina, where her father was an Anglican Minister in the South American Missionary Society. At the age of six or seven, she and her family returned to England. She grew up in Dorset, in the village of Tollard Royal, where her father was the Church of England Rector. She trained as a physiotherapist in London but relocated to Nottingham after meeting her first husband, Patrick Henry, a GP. They married in 1933. Patrick sadly died in 1944, where after Alethea restarted her physiotherapy practice, which was very successful. She subsequently specialised in teaching relaxation classes to expectant mothers in antenatal clinics throughout Nottinghamshire. In 1947 she married Hardy Lawson, who had been a stockbroker and had a distinguished career in the British Army during the Second World War. In her later life, Alethea and Hardy moved to Whatton, a village in Nottinghamshire, in 1975. After Hardy’s death in 1977 Alethea continued to live there until her own death in 2001. She is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.
About The Cover Illustrator
York based artist Nell's 25-year career has spanned many disciplines from ceramics, portrait painting, textile art and more recently printmaking. Her work is fuelled by a love of learning traditional craft skills, and by a relentless enthusiasm for experimenting with colour. Her block print collections, inspired by the English countryside, are hand printed using painstakingly hand carved blocks, using unique and often unusual colour schemes. She describes the printing process as "…extremely satisfying. I love to experiment with combinations of colours to see what atmosphere they create. Colour is full of surprises." The block prints commissioned for this novel were inspired by the Dorset landscape and mid-century travel poster design.
Alethea Lawson (nee Green) was born in 1907 in Concordia, Argentina, where her father was an Anglican Minister in the South American Missionary Society. At the age of six or seven, she and her family returned to England. She grew up in Dorset, in the village of Tollard Royal, where her father was the Church of England Rector. She trained as a physiotherapist in London but relocated to Nottingham after meeting her first husband, Patrick Henry, a GP. They married in 1933. Patrick sadly died in 1944, where after Alethea restarted her physiotherapy practice, which was very successful. She subsequently specialised in teaching relaxation classes to expectant mothers in antenatal clinics throughout Nottinghamshire. In 1947 she married Hardy Lawson, who had been a stockbroker and had a distinguished career in the British Army during the Second World War. In her later life, Alethea and Hardy moved to Whatton, a village in Nottinghamshire, in 1975. After Hardy’s death in 1977 Alethea continued to live there until her own death in 2001. She is survived by three children and seven grandchildren.
About The Cover Illustrator
York based artist Nell's 25-year career has spanned many disciplines from ceramics, portrait painting, textile art and more recently printmaking. Her work is fuelled by a love of learning traditional craft skills, and by a relentless enthusiasm for experimenting with colour. Her block print collections, inspired by the English countryside, are hand printed using painstakingly hand carved blocks, using unique and often unusual colour schemes. She describes the printing process as "…extremely satisfying. I love to experiment with combinations of colours to see what atmosphere they create. Colour is full of surprises." The block prints commissioned for this novel were inspired by the Dorset landscape and mid-century travel poster design.