* The Parting Glass by David Ebsworth.
A writer's
latest and ninth novel features scenes set in Wrexham in 1715 and 1721.
David Ebsworth's new book, Wicked Mistress Yale, The Parting Glass,
is published this week.
It's the third part of his Yale Trilogy, which tells
the story of local celebrity, Elihu Yale, but told through the eyes of his
wife, Catherine.
His work has won praise from other historical fiction
authors, like Barbara Erskine (The Ghost
Tree and Lady of Hay), who says
that the trilogy is "brilliantly researched, packed with fascinating
detail, a wonderful evocation of the period."
David Ebsworth said: "I'm a great fan of Barbara
Erskine too, and it was fabulous that she enjoyed it so much.
"I loved writing
this trilogy. I guess everybody knows at least a bit about Elihu Yale. Most
famously, of course, he gave his name to Yale University, and had a reputation
as a philanthropist and collector.
"But he'd also been a governor for the East
India Company and, in that capacity, he'd overseen the trade in slaves from
India during the 1680s.
"He'd married Catherine, the widow of another Company
official, and when he died in 1721 he left her only the words 'To my wicked
wife...' and nothing else, no bequest, not a penny."
The first part of the trilogy, also highly acclaimed, tells
the story of Catherine's first marriage and her life at old Madras, the death
of her husband, her marriage to Elihu, the intrigue and perils at this early
East India Company outpost.
The second sees her back in London, alone except
for her seven children, and embroiled in the aftermath of the Glorious
Revolution.
"But this third part," said David, "tells how
Elihu Yale returns home too, somewhat in disgrace, determined to break
Catherine's independence, and living mainly at the home he'd inherited here in
Wrexham, at Plas Grono, now part of the Erddig Estate.
"So it gave me an excuse
to also tell the story of the Wrexham riots in 1715 - again, from Catherine's
viewpoint since, in the novels, she also acts as a government spy. These were
part of the Church-and-King riots in which High Church Anglicans viciously
attacked Dissenters like the Quakers, Baptists and Presbyterians. It was great
fun recreating Wrexham as it might have looked in 1715."
David also enjoyed bringing Catherine back to
Wrexham for the novel's finale, Elihu Yale's burial in 1721 - in the churchyard
at St Giles Church where, of course, his tomb can still be seen. But it's a
finale with lots of twists, at last the reason revealed for Yale branding her a
'wicked wife.' So, no spoilers here.
* Wicked Mistress Yale,
The Parting Glass is published by SilverWood Books and is available through
all good bookstores, including Waterstones, or through Amazon - and through your local library.
Part One of the trilogy is The Doubtful Diaries of Wicked Mistress Yale, and Part Two is Mistress Yale's Diaries, The Glorious Return.
David Ebsworth is the pen name of Liverpool-born Dave
McCall, who has lived in Acton, Wrexham, since 1981 and is heavily involved in
Wrexham's own literary festival, the Carnival of Words.
