The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift

1660. King Charles II has returned from exile, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. There are old scores to settle, and religious differences threaten to overturn a fragile peace. When Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the Lady’s Slipper, growing in a wood belonging to Richard Wheeler, she is captivated by its beauty— though Wheeler, a Quaker, is determined to keep the flower where God intended it to grow. Knowing that the orchid is the last of its kind, she steals the flower, little dreaming that her seemingly simple act will set off a chain of events that will lead to murder and exile, and change her life forever…

Paperback, 436 pages

Published November 23rd 2010 by St. Martin's Griffin
source - personal library
*****

It all started with an orchid, the Lady's Slipper and what a chain of events resulted.  It is more than a story just about an orchid.  Alice, still grieving the passing of her sister.  Richard Wheeler and the Quakers, Sir Geoffrey Fisk and his son, and of course Ella, the servant, all intertwined together to make a wonderful story.  

Deborah Swift has a writing style that I found rather mesmerizing.  The words just seemed to flow right out of the book (does that make sense?)  It was one of those books where I would sit for a few minutes to read a few pages and next thing I knew it was an hour (or two) later.

 

Having never read any historical fiction in the 1600's I enjoyed the learning experience also, this author knows her stuff.  Looking forward to The Gilded Lily, which has been sitting very patiently