Sister Rosa’s Rebellion
Carolyn Hughes
446 pages
Published on April 4, 2025
Riverdown Books
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Sister Rosa’s Rebellion is the sixth full book in the Meonbridge Chronicles historical fiction series, about the inhabitants of a small English village in the 14th century. Each instalment focuses on a different group of interconnected main characters and is a separate story, so you don’t necessarily need to read them all in order, although I have. This one is set 17 years after the first, Fortune’s Wheel, and is about Johanna de Bohun, aka Sister Rosa, since she joined a convent at the age of nineteen, who has been mentioned in most of the earlier books, but had not previously featured as a main character. It’s a gentle story about the politics and sometimes shocking goings on within a convent, but also takes us back to Meonbridge to catch up with some of the characters from previous books.
Northwick Priory has been a haven of secluded serenity for Rosa since she fled there as a teenager following a family scandal. Now the old prioress is dying, and Rosa, her natural successor, is blackmailed into stepping aside by the unpopular but well-connected Evangelina, who seeks to rule to live a life of ease and luxury, no matter the cost. Will Rosa break her vow of obedience to save the home she loves?
While the earlier books had more mystery and action, this was a slower paced story about the machinations of a group of women who’ve found themselves trapped in a life they didn’t choose – a recurrent theme of the whole series, and the different ways they try to escape. I found myself feeling sorry for some of the antagonists, none of whom are evil, just selfish and bitter at the way their lives turned out. There’s also a sweet romance subplot, between one of the reluctant novices and Rosa’s friend John, Alice atta Wode’s son. I’ve enjoyed all these books for the vividly rendered details of medieval life, and recommend them to those interested in that period of English history. Thanks to Carolyn for the ARC.
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