The Dying of the Fire

‘The Dying of the Fire’ is a gripping page-turner, full of twists, which immerses the reader in mid-sixteenth century Canterbury, south-east England, as its citizens tread a perilous path through the battlefields of faith and sickness. November 1558. Queen Mary is dying and England is fast approaching a historic and fateful turning-point. Can catholic England survive? Does it deserve to? In Canterbury, John Hewett, an illiterate carpenter, is burdened with a dangerous message from a disturbingly heretical voice claiming to be God. Meanwhile, Archdeacon Harpsfield has arrived in the city, determined to reassert the authority of the church. His young secretary, Francis Coppyn, returns to Canterbury with a mission to uncover the long-buried truth, prevent a second rupture with Rome and continental Europe, and to restore the fortunes of the city.