''An epic voyage well worth taking'' Telegraph

''There is nothing quite like a James Buchan novel'' Financial Times

France, 1754. William and Jeanne Neilson, together at last, are living in the deep country and are happier than either ever expected to be. Their children, the foundling Marie-Ange and young William, are growing up. Jeanne devotes her mornings to scientific research while William has exchanged soldiering for agricultural improvement.

Yet both are restless. Jeanne, herself married to a poor Scotsman outlawed in Great Britain, is determined her adoptive daughter shall have a throne. Marie-Ange''s grace and rich dowry have caught the eyes of princes all over Europe. But Marie-Ange''s heart is firmly elsewhere.

William, still haunted by the loss of his men at the battle of Culloden in 1746, dreams of one last fight to purge his shame.

Then war breaks out again with England, and the family is torn apart and scattered into the unknown.

Praise for A CHALICE ARGENT, the second William Neilson novel:

''Delightful ... William Neilson continues to exhibit basically all of the virtues. He''s brave, stoical, generous, truthful, constant, protective towards the weak and honourable to a fault. Yet entirely likeable. The nearest series to this I can think of is Patrick O''Brian''s Aubrey-Maturin cycle'' Francis Spufford, winner of the Costa First novel award

What readers say about A STREET SHAKEN BY LIGHT, the first William Neilson novel:

''A tight and bright romp of a read'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

''His rollicking romp ranges widely across the world, taking in the French Revolution, the Jacobite rebellion, love affairs, duels, general skullduggery and much else besides, in prose as elegant as it is witty'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐