Skip to main content

Blog Tour: A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower by Patricia Bernstein

A Noble Cunning: The Countess and the Tower
Author: Patricia Bernstein
Publisher: History Through Fiction
Release Date: March 7, 2023
Pages: 266
Synopsis: A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the true story of persecuted Catholic noblewoman Winifred Maxwell, who rescued her husband from the Tower of London with the help of a group of devoted women friends in 1716.

     

     A Noble Cunning is a novel based on the life of Winifred Herbert Maxwell (1680-1749), who became the Countess of Nithsdale in 1699.


Set amidst the 1715 Rebellion against England’s first German king, George I, the novel depicts the ruthless persecution of Catholics and the relentless determination of protagonist Bethan Glentaggart to save the life of husband Gavin after he is captured and condemned to death. Bethan faces down a mob attack on her home, travels alone from the Scottish Lowlands to London through one of the worst snowstorms in years, and petitions an indifferent king for her husband's mercy. As a last resort, Bethan and her friends devise and execute Gavin's escape from the tower, donning disguises and foiling his jailers.


Rich with historical gossip and pageantry, Bethan’s story demonstrates the damage that politics and religious fanaticism can inflict on the lives of individuals.



Read an Excerpt!


Buy from Amazon


Author Bio



Native Texan Patricia Bernstein grew up in Dallas. After taking her degree in American Studies from Smith College, she began her public relations agency in Houston. In 2018, her second book was named a Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Best Book of Nonfiction. Patricia is previously published by Simon & Schuster and Texas A&M University Press. Her debut novel was published by History Through Fiction on March 7, 2023. For more information, please visit her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and LinkedIn.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner by Christopher J. Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy: A Book Review

  Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Author: Christopher J. Leahy & Sharon Williams Leahy Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: University Press of Kansas Publication Date: September 29, 2026 Pages: 573 Source: This book was given to me by the publicist in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first full biography of the controversial and complex First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler—an unjustly scandalized New Yorker, the second wife to President John Tyler, and a savvy and consequential political figure in the age of the Civil War.         Myths, rumors, and gossip have long circulated around First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. Commonly believed to be politically insignificant, most of our fascination with Tyler surrounds her reputation as a highly desired superficial flirt. This salacious mythos was based on her status in a politically influential New York family and the popular rumor that she posed for ...

Interview with Christopher Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy

      Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy. They have recently published  Presidentess , which is a biography of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler. In this interview, we discussed why Julia Gardiner Tyler was considered America's most controversial First Lady. We also discussed what impact Julia Gardiner Tyler played in shaping the role of First Lady. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Leahy! Why is Julia Gardiner Tyler considered a controversial First Lady? Sharon: Julia was a woman of striking contradictions. She was innovative and influential as First Lady, but after her time in the White House, she adapted to the slaveholding society of Virginia. She publicly pushed back against British criticism of the American slave system.  During the Civil War, her private correspondence also reveals strong Confederate sympathies.  We wanted to tell the whole story of her accomplishments, as well as the beliefs and choices that ...

The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley: A Book Review

The Queen’s Spade Author: Sarah Raughley Genre: YA, Historical Fiction  Publisher: HarperCollins Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 415 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.        A young lady can take only so many injuries before humiliation and insult forge a vow of revenge. . . .        The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial "humanitarianism,...