In this book of tragedy and great beauty, Rose Macaulay's only historical novel, she reveals a lifelong passion for the seventeenth century. Here she interweaves the lives of Robert Herrick and other poets with those of a small group of fictional characters, setting them vividly in one of the most turbulent periods in English history. "The the great enrichment of the English language Miss Macaulay has chosen an historical subject....She has added something permanent to English letters."--ObserverRose Macaulay was a successful novelist whose works include Potterism and The Towers of Trebizond.Susan Howatch is the author of The Dark Shore and Penmarric.