The Sword of Truth (Wakefield Dynasty #1)
Mixing historical fact with suspenseful fiction, Morris chooses the time of King Henry VIII and the Protestant Reformation to tell the story of Myles Morgan, brought to England by his unmarried mother to work as a serf on an English estate. Myles becomes friends with Hannah Kemp, who introduces him to William Tyndale, the Bible translator hated by the king. Myles recognizes his love for Hannah but is obsessed with Isabella, a selfish maid of the court. On her deathbed, Myles' mother confesses to Sir Robert Wakefield that Myles is his son. Wakefield adopts Myles, preempting his young cousin, Ralph Geddes, of the inheritance he thought would be his. Promising to get revenge, Geddes marries Isabella and pursues Myles, who is helping Tyndale smuggle Bibles from Germany to England. Geddes also plants Bibles in Wakefield's home, causing him to be imprisoned and compelling Myles to search for ways to convince the king to release him. Through a succession of dramatic events, Morris brings his story to a bittersweet conclusion: Geddes replaces Wakefield in prison, but Tyndale is executed. Powerful historical fiction.Patty O'Connell