Books by Phyllis Harrison

Gilles Montroville is like any other bored teenager: He’s tired of school, doesn’t want to go into the family business, and he’s tired of people telling him what to do.

Rebellion is not an option. Life in France in the Year of Our Lord 1640 is difficult under any circumstances but especially for those who have fallen from favor with the all-powerful church and the guardians of that power. The King and Cardinal Richelieu oversee a network of priests who set snares for the Huguenots, those not following closely enough to the official interpretation of Catholicism. Wealthy citizens are in danger, too, as they are often accused of heresy for the purpose of seizing their land to pay for the costly ongoing war.

Young Gilles cares nothing about politics or religion, but a glimpse into another world, a world of complete freedom and exotic strangers, leaves him wanting more from his life. He attempts to live the life that his parents have planned out for him but a sudden turn of events launches him into a world far away from his protected childhood and provincial home, a world that he could never have even imagined. More about the book.

The book can be purchased from this website, Quail Ridge Books, Bulls Head Bookshop, iUniverse Online Bookstore and other major outlets.

During the 17th century religious struggles in Europe, French Protestants or “Huguenots” are obliged to flee their Catholic homeland or face execution. Although it has already been ravaged by the many battles fought in that region during the Thirty Years War, one small German state, the Rhenish Palatinate, offers refuge to anyone who wants to try and live there. After fleeing France and living for a time in Holland, a young Huguenot tries to reconnect with his former countrymen and his heritage, bringing his growing family along with him as he joins a group of French colonists who have come to this rural outpost seeking religious freedom. Establishing a viable settlement on the banks of the Rhine River proves to be a greater challenge than anticipated, threatening collective as well as individual survival. The hardships that they endure take the pioneers to the limits of their mental and physical capacities, testing their faith in their god and their faith in themselves. More about the book.