About this audiobook
Margaret Castell's life in a merchant household becomes entangled with the ambitions of a powerful Spanish admirer. Peter Brome's attachment to her gives the developing conflict a personal urgency, while events draw the characters from England towards Spain. Questions of family background and religious identity make appearances especially consequential within this unsettled world.
H. Rider Haggard connects adventurous movement with the pressure exerted by social position and political influence. The ability to command others can become a means of interfering with private choices. Loyalty must therefore take practical form, as promises and intentions encounter obstacles that cannot be answered by confidence alone.
The novel explores courage, affection and the defence of another person's freedom. Its historical setting gives a romantic adventure a wider atmosphere of danger, inviting readers to follow how individuals respond when powerful institutions and private ambitions combine to threaten the relationships on which they have built their hopes.
