Enter the enchanting world of Martha Morgan, a very imperfect heroine.
Flying with Angels is a tender, violent and compassionate story about
the joys and agonies of growing old, from prize-winning author, Brian
John.
It is 1845, and Martha Morgan, Mistress of Plas Ingli, is feeling her
age. She receives warnings that she should 'take care'. Her beloved
estate collapses, and she has to call upon her deepest reserves of
strength in order to survive. But her misery is lessened when she meets
a travelling evangelist on the summit of Angel Mountain. It turns out
that the fate of Amos Jones Minor Prophet is inextricably bound up with
her own. A single indiscretion in Tycanol Wood splits the community and
tests the loyalty of friends and family to the limit, and starts a drift
towards the final tragic episodes of Martha's life. While Martha is
dealing with these personal crises, she is also drawn to help the
peasants caught up in the Irish Potato Famine. A shipwreck on the coast
near Newport gives her the opportunity to do something practical, but in
the process she offends the secret Society of Sea Serjeants. Her family
tries to protect her from evil men who are driven by ancient family
animosities. But her fighting spirit is stronger than her body, and she
takes them on. It becomes clear that Martha will not die in her bed; nor
does she, but in the final act of her exciting life there are breathless
twists and turns which confound her enemies and leave her undefeated.
'It has a page-turning plot, packed with adventure, treason, murder and
passion, where the horrors in the drama are balanced by gentle scenes
full of the warmth and love of the family at Plas Ingli.'
Welsh Books Council
