Gentian Hill

Unable to bear the prospect of a life at sea, young Anthony O'Connell deserts his ship at Torquay and escapes into the Devonshire countryside under a new name. When Stella Sprigg, adopted daughter of a local farmer, encounters 'Zachary', the pair instantly know they are destined to be together.

Intertwined with the local legend of St. Michael's Chapel, Stella and Zachary's story takes them from the secluded Devonshire valley to the perilous Mediterranean seas and finally to the poverty and squalor of eighteenth-century London.

“an enchanted tale of young love in the dark days when Buonaparte menaced the English coast. - Kirkus Reviews”

Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on April 24th 1900 in Wells, Somerset, where her father was Principal of Wells Theological College. Although she had privately intended writing as a career, her parents insisted she taught handicrafts in Oxford. She began writing in her spare time and her first novel ISLAND MAGIC, set in Guernsey, was a great success here and in America. GREEN DOLPHIN COUNTRY (1944) projected her to fame, netting a Literary Guild Award and a special prize of 30,000 from Louis B. Mayer of MGM before being filmed.

In her later years Elizabeth Goudge settled in Henley-on-Thames. She died on April 1st, 1984.

Set in England at the time of Napoleonic Wars, GENTIAN HILL is a modern retelling of the legend of St. Michael's Chapel at Torquay. Meet Stella Sprigg, adopted daughter of the Sprigg family and follow her story of love and hope in a time where is hardly exists. GENTIAN HILL transports the reader from a secluded Devonshire valley, to perilous Mediterranean naval battles to the poverty stricken prisons of 18th century London.

Unable to bear the prospect of a life at sea, young Anthony O'Connell deserts his ship at Torquay and escapes into the Devonshire countryside under a new name. When Stella Sprigg, adopted daughter of a local farmer, encounters 'Zachary', the pair instantly know they are destined to be together. Intertwined with the local legend of St. Michael's Chapel, Stella and Zachary's story takes them from the secluded Devonshire valley to the perilous Mediterranean seas and finally to the poverty and squalor of eighteenth-century London.

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