The Herb Knot

Jane Loftus

WHEN five-year-old French boy Rafi Dubois miraculously escaped death in the aftermath of the Battle of Crécy in 1346, little did he know that his promise to a dying soldier would one day send him on a mission fraught with danger, intrigue... and enemies more powerful than he could ever have imagined.

England’s turbulent 14^th century history springs to vibrant life in a thrilling and action-packed debut novel from Jane Loftus, an author who has drawn inspiration for her epic tale from the painstakingly documented medieval layout of the city of Winchester, and her own passionate interest in the Middle Ages.

It’s a compelling and immaculately researched story rooted in England’s historic victory at Crécy, a significant turning point in the Hundred Years' War, and a pivotal battle which saw the introduction of a new weapon on to the Western European battlefield... the deadly English longbow. Caught between the warring sides is our young hero Rafi who witnessed the murder of both his mother and his cousin but whose quest to track down the English owner of a half-broken family seal soon proves that a promise to the dead can become a curse to the living.

Forced to flee their cottage after the mighty battle of Crécy between French and English armies, Raphael (Rafi) Dubois hides with his mother in the nearby forest where blood-soaked enemy soldiers are roaming. But it is the arrival of a brutal mercenary which causes the greatest danger and after killing Rafi’s cousin Christophe, the rogue combatant targets the boy’s mother despite the brave efforts of a young English soldier who tries to save her. 

Now alone and lost, Rafi is given a token by the dying Englishman... a half-broken, silver family seal which he urges Rafi to return one day to his father in Winchester. It forms a bond with the unknown man which Rafi will carry with him until he has fulfilled his promise.

Fifteen years later, now aged twenty and after being in the care of monk at the local monastery, Rafi is working for a Flemish importer in Ghent who deals in the transport of English wool to local weavers. Rafi is comfortable in his small, traders’ world but is ashamed that he has still not travelled to Winchester to return the token.

When he saves a wealthy merchant’s wife from a brutal robbery, he is rewarded with a large sum of money and grabs the chance to finally sail to England with his English friend and fellow apprentice, Adam Bixham, taking the seal with him. But when he reaches Winchester, Rafi – who is pretending to be Flemish rather than French – finds himself in a dangerous world where old resentments run deep, secrets and treachery abound, and powerful enemies are working against him. And then Rafi falls in love with Edith, a market apothecary who is trapped in a loveless marriage, and in doing so, Rafi unleashes a deadly chain of events which threaten to overwhelm them both…

The lingering enmities of Crécy loom large in in this enthralling and emotion-fuelled story of love, betrayal and conspiracy which sweeps readers into the breathtakingly imagined medieval homes, dirty, bustling streets and dark alleyways of Winchester. Time and place come alive through Loftus’ rich and authentic historical detail – chaotic, mud-caked cobbles, brightly canopied shops, the pervading stench of ordure and sweat – and through an eclectic mix of real and fictional characters who allow us a fascinating glimpse into 14^th century life.  

And inside the beating heart of the city, with its dangerous intrigues, tensions and secrets, its age-old loyalties and its ruthless power-brokers, is the burgeoning love affair between the young, naïve and sometimes reckless Rafi and the strong, determined and fiercely independent apothecary Edith.

Sweeping between Ghent and Winchester, and cleverly layered with plot twists, The Herb Knot is a gripping exploration of medieval Winchester and heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in historical fiction.
(HQ, paperback, £9.99)