The Bondman: A Story of the Times of Wat Tyler

England, 1374. The Peasants' Revolt simmers on the horizon, but at Sudley Castle the real battle is fought in the human heart. Stephen Holgrave, newly freed from serfdom, stands in the shadow of the Baron's hall, his hard-won freedom both triumph and terrify. He loves Margaret, a woman bound by older promises to Thomas Calverley, a squire whose ambitions and jealousy make him dangerous. What begins as a story of forbidden love across class lines deepens into something far larger: a meditation on what it means to be free when every structure of power was built to keep you in your place. Mrs. O'Neill writes with keen sympathy for the oppressed and sharp eye for the hypocrisy of the noble class. This is historical fiction that understands the past is never merely past.