Deep in rural England lies the town of Rotherweird and the valley surrounding it. Elizabethan in appearance and indeed origin, Rotherweird has some unusual laws and customs. Essentially independent from the rest of the country, its citizens are strictly forbidden to study their own history. When four strangers arrive in town and start digging around in the past, the peril faced by The Lost Acre, a secret world connected to Rotherweird by two portals, is revealed. A race ensues between good and evil forces to unlock the many mysteries of The Lost Acre and its role in Rotherweird's origins.
I have to confess it was the cover that first drew me to pick up Rotherweird, that and the quote from Hilary Mantel giving it a tick of approval. I thought at first that it was going to be historical fiction, admittedly of the (very) imaginative kind. It took me a while to realise I was about to read my first fantasy novel in roughly three decades. In a way I was right, Rotherweird began life in Tudor times and retained much of its legacy from those years. I loved the blend of past, present and other worlds. I loved the characters, the intricate plotting and the playfulness with words, English and Latin.