In TRAITOR’S SWORD Amanda Hemmingway has once again spun a wonderfully rich and imaginative tale of destiny and adventure and has continued to give new life to the myth of the Grail, one of legend’s most fascinating artefacts. The second part of the trilogy, it will dazzle and enchant readers of all ages…..

On a warm evening in 1991 a young homeless woman holding a baby turns up on Bartlemy Goodman’s doorstep in a small English village. Annie Ward is terrified and alone in the world, apart from for her son Nathan - an exceptional infant, for his mother cannot account for his conception. Nor can Annie understand the sense of threat that overshadows her or why Bartlemy’s company feels so safe.

Whilst Nathan grows and Bartlemy continues to watch over the small family, strange occurrences begin to plague the village. The Thorn family, who gave their name to the village have lived close by since pre-Christian times, were once the guardians of a strange cup of greenish stone and set with jewels. When it was lost; sold to a Jewish collector in Austria by the black sheep of the family who absconded with it in the 1920's, the family's fortune soon followed suit. Rumoured to have been stolen by the Nazis during the war it has now turned up at Sotheby's and the last of the Thorns is determined to get it back by proving the original sale false.

Bartlemy joins his friend, Rowena Thorn, in her campaign. But the matter becomes complicated and sinister when Nathan discovers the body of the Austrian owner in the wood nearby and begins to experience disturbing visions involving the cup itself.

‘ I read it with deep appreciation for the author’s storytelling skills, her memorable images and language, and her ability to make me feel so strongly about her characters’ TERRY BROOKS

‘a charming, eccentric, and powerfully imaginative work of fantasy which will enchant readers for years to come’ CLIVE BARKER "