The House Book

At twenty years old, Alice Crayford becomes mistress of Oakwood Grange, a house built by her father, and she begins her diary. The house remains in the ownership of one family for three and a half centuries, each generation faithfully recording details of their household in The House Book. Eventually, the family line dies out.

1659: Alone at fifteen years old, Elisabeth Osborne is easy prey as she fancies she can manage on her own in Paris, but a chance meeting with the madam of a gentlemen's club changes her mind. It is here she receives protection, the sort of education not taught in convents, and, just as important, the freedom to practice her skill with herbal remedies without fear. But it isn't only her unusual knowledge of plants and the workings of the body which might land her in danger.

Even as a young child, Elisabeth was able to see, do, and feel things that others clearly could not—and knew to be careful. It was the era of witch-hunting in France and many like her were tortured and burnt at the stake. Visions she's experienced all her life become a reality when Elisabeth travels to England and finds herself at Oakwood Grange, the home of Alice Harryman. Traumatic events forge an unbreakable bond between the two women and Elisabeth uses her skills to safeguard Alice and her family any way she can, content that this is her calling.