A Splendid Defiance

By: Stella Riley

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

For two years, England has been in the grip of Civil War. In Banbury, Oxfordshire, the Cavaliers hold the castle, the Roundheads want it back and the town is full of zealous Puritans. Consequently, the gulf between Captain Justin Ambrose and Abigail Radford, the sister of a fanatically religious shopkeeper, ought to be unbridgeable. The key to both the fate of the castle and that of Justin and Abigail lies in defiance...but will it be enough?

A Splendid Defiance is a dramatic and enchanting story of forbidden love, set against the turmoil and anguish of the first English Civil War.

©2012 Stella Riley (P)2016 Stella Riley

Critic reviews

“A rich sweeping and instantly involving tale ... a rare pleasure to narrate.” - Alex Wyndham

I tried but couldn’t finish

This is awesome, it why I chose this book. There’s much I liked about the story, predictable as it is. Most of the characters I liked, very good development. The war scenes are drawn out a bit too much. But the heroine is just an idiot, She’s just too hard to like. I don’t see how anyone likes her.And I’m not buying that her mother is no more protective over her than she is. But I just couldn’t finish the story ... I tried, it just got to be too silly.

Very well written

For someone who knows very little about English history around this time period there were small areas where I was completely lost in names and locations but overall it didn't detract from the story. The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of epilogue.

Our moral hero becomes immoral.

I have loved and recommended Stella Riley's previous books and Alex Wyndham is so excellent. But each book added more and more sex sizzle with less and less story. This one finally (predictably?) put the honeymoon before the wedding. I had hoped for more from Captain Ambrose. Sigh.

loved it

awesome story and performance. history and romance but told in a way that intrigues. my favorite of hers, so far.

Really memorable

I wasn't sure I would like this book as well as Riley's Rockliffe series, as war and politics aren't subjects I enjoy particularly. But the author even handled those aspects in a way that kept my interest...and the buildup of the relationship and the main characters was perhaps even more intense by being drawn out over a fairly long period of both reader-time and the chronology of the story's events. I found Justin and Abi's personalities and relationship heart-twisting and memorable. So glad I tried this book. Thanks, Stella Riley, for writing such excellent stories! And thanks to Alex Wyndham for beautifully narrating them!

Really enjoyed the mix of romance and history

I loved the historical setting. I had not known much about that era before so much wikipedia happened, which for me is a good thing. Do a quick search for Prince Rupert, who is a fascinating historical character.

I liked that the romance was a slow burn which allowed an unlikely pairing to develop.

Overall a very enjoyable read which I highly recommend.

beautifully written, enthralling from page 1

words cannot convey how touched I continue to feel by this lovely story. the author has brilliant turn of phrase. I will listen to this again and again. whoever tires of true love, blossoming in a dead field?

5 stars

Slow to start but absolutely worth the wait. My favorite so far. Loved the voice💗

Beautiful love story

With the backdrop of history, well written. Stella Riley does a fine job of weaving enough history into a plausible story. The hero's scruples are admirable in the end if at first I wanted to throttle him for believing his attentions were harmless. I hope this is the start of another trilogy.

Stunning and captivating

I cannot recommend this book too highly. It is a fascinating account of two completely different characters from uniquely different backgrounds, yet both harsh and unyielding in their own way. Abigail is from the repressive and claustrophobic world of religious fanaticism that was coupled with a horror of non conformism and intolerance. Abigail and her sister in law Rachel demonstrate two responses to this system. Rachel is manipulative and hardenned, intolerant of her softer and gentler sister in law. Abigail struggles to maintain her individuality and softness, taunted by Rachel and beaten by her brother Jonas. Rachel and Jonas despise her uniqueness and try to beat her both emotionally and physically into conformism. Alice her mother is beaten down and timid. Samuel her younger brother is also on conformism but being a male less guarded but also a square peg in a round(head) hole. Jonas is a brute, encouraged by Rachel and the system. Their house is stifling and Abigail and Samuel both seek for escape. Enter Justin , a soldier in the Kings army, bitter from his own family's betrayal. He has been stripped of his inheritance by his half brother and the Roundheads and has become morose and moody. The army are in possession of the castle and they live there in another claustrophobic world and fighting, women and drinking. He has become hard. He and Abigail meet and somehow a friendship develops as both desperately need love and an outlet from their daily existance. Jonas and Justin despise each other from the first, even before Abigail and Samuel (who hero worships Justin and the army) become involved. The English civil war is the stage in which a private civil war plays out. I love the history and complexity of the characters. Alex Wyndham brings his wonderful narrative to this rich and largely horrifying world and once again delivers a stellar performance. It left me with a thirst to learn more of this periodl. A must read