Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Sister Rosa's Rebellion by Carolyn Hughes
Series: Meonbridge Chronicles #6
Release Date: 8th April 2025
Genres: Historical Fiction
How can you rescue what you hold most dear, when to do so you must break your vows?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing Northwick: from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing Northwick: from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
Sister Rosa is very well thought of by the other nuns in the Priory and by everyone in general. She is kind of spirit and dedicated to her role and has a close and loving relationship with Sister Angelica so is devastated when the elderly Prioress passes away. Rosa seems the natural choice to take on the mantle of Prioress but Angelica's mean-spirited and self serving niece Sister Evangelina has other plans. Evangelina suspects that Rosa has come to the priory under dubious circumstances and although she doesn't quite know what those circumstances are, she knows that she can use Rosa's fear of being found out to her advantage to usurp her as a candidate for the position of Prioress and steal it for herself. Under her leadership, the priory becomes a place of suspicion, jealousy, unease and fear and Rosa knows she must put things right, even if it comes at great cost to herself. For not only is Evangelina destroying her aunt's legacy, but she is also getting in the way of love when poor John att Wode finally finds someone in the form of a novice nun to steal his heart. He can finally see a future for himself.
Sister Rosa's Rebellion is the sixth book in the series and I'd venture to say the best yet. Though, I think I probably say that about them all. I really do enjoy them that much. I would recommend reading them all though to get a sense of the background behind each character and their own individual stories.
Set in 1365, the books provide an interesting history of the era. The characters and language are rich, meaningful and it is a pleasure to have read all the books in the series and follow their journey's. I quite enjoyed the fact that this book centred mainly on the priory and the wonderful cast of characters within it which varied slightly from the other books which opened up a wider cast of characters from the local area. I found it to be an extremely enjoyable read and Carolyn Hughes has once again opened up a window in time to allow the reader to get a feel of what life was like in that era and become fully immersed in the story. If anyone had told me I'd enjoy a story about medieval nuns quite so much I'd have not been convinced but being a fan of Carolyn Hughes writing for quite a while now I knew there was going to be something special between the pages of this book and I was not wrong. I was so surprised by the corruption and greed that went on inside the priory and the struggle for power was not without its victims.
Reading all the books in this series what always jumps out for me is the depth of detail and rich history that jump out of every page. Thank you to Carolyn Hughes for allowing me to be part of the Meonbridge community. I loved it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn Hughes was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After a first degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. It was fun for a few years, but she left to become a school careers officer in Dorset.
But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the Government.
She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest, several years ago, that creative writing and, especially, writing historical fiction, took centre stage in her life.
She has a Masters in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University, and a PhD from the University of Southampton.
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