From his pocket he took a small black velvet bag, tied with black cord. He undid the cord and opened it, tipping the contents into his free hand. Stones flashed in the lamplight. They were...

Long before Jane was pushed down a mine-shaft, before her fictional contemporary Alice fell down the rabbit-hole, even before King Arthur trod the bleak landscape, people had been coming to the west country for tin....

I would not deny what had happened to me under the Arthur tree, nor belittle it. His kiss had aroused a feeling in me I had never known or imagined. I could vouch for my...

The rain had gone, the dusk was calm, the sky glowing in the west, and I felt the need for fresh air after being cooped up all day in the house. And the need for...

He was grinning still, and I thought there had never been anything I loathed more than that grimace – not even my father’s face twisted in drunkenness. He said: ‘And if I were to carry...

‘The ruins of the castle further along the lake are twelfth century, but these are said to be the remains of an earlier structure. Roman, maybe.’ ‘Or the castle in which the Lady of the...

We reached the gates, and Harry stopped to look back for a final view of the green sweep up to the grey and pink granite of the house. He gripped my arm. ‘It’s good to...

Hilary Ford (as Sam Youd) was a passionate admirer of Jane Austen: in his own words, ‘My fondness for Jane Austen as a writer of fiction approaches the worshipful’. The central character of A Bride...

Covertly I stole glances at Harry as he walked beside me, telling me the news from home. He was wearing a new suit, with long trousers, and looked very smart. He looked older, too, but...

I had dreams. I could not recall later what they had been, but I knew they were nightmarish. There was fear in them, a fear which was the more powerful for being undefined. Then at...