Anand (The House of Lanyon
) depicts colorfully the turbulent and bloody 16th century, when England, under the rule of Henry VIII and his heirs, was rife with court intrigue, religious unrest and political espionage. Jane Allerbrook, lady-in-waiting to one of Henry's least-favored wives, flees court after catching, to her dismay and peril, the romantic attention of the king. With the help of dashing adventurer Peter Carew, Jane returns to the safety of her family manor, Allerbrook. Francis, Jane's brother and guardian, is enraged that Jane has ruined her chances for a politically advantageous marriage, and bitterly marries her off to local country bumpkin Harry Hudd. Jane accepts her lot, even as she pines for Carew and chafes under the yoke of her boorish husband, but fate and duty force her to fight for her family, her land and her country. Though Anand weaves a few too many important figures and famous plots into the life of one lady of the moors (Forrest Gump
comes to mind more than once), her story has plenty of satisfying action and historic detail. (Oct.)
