Fate: A Tale of Stirring Times

In Regency England, a younger son's choices were few and his prospects even fewer. Ralph Woodhall has a scholar's mind but no inherited wealth, no title waiting for him, and no taste for the clergy or army. What he does have is Margaret, a woman whose hand he cannot afford to win. When the couple visits an astrologer, they receive a prophecy: hardship lies ahead, but happiness ultimately awaits. It is enough. With fate supposedly assured, Ralph ventures into the world to carve out his own fortune through whatever means necessary. George Payne Rainsford James, the forgotten rival of Sir Walter Scott, weaves a tale of adventure and romance that asks whether a man can shape his own destiny or whether the stars have already written his story. The tension between predestination and free will drives every choice Ralph makes, every risk he takes, every heart he wins or breaks along the way.