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The Black Madonna (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Stella Riley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 366 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Roundheads & Cavaliers

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B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree & 2023 Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Gold Medallist.
As England slides into Civil War, master-goldsmith and money-lender, Luciano Falcieri del Santi embarks on his own hidden agenda. A chance meeting one dark night results in an unlikely friendship with Member of Parliament, Richard Maxwell. Richard’s daughter, Kate – a spirited girl who vows to hold their home against both Cavalier and Roundhead – soon finds herself fighting an involuntary attraction to the clever, magnetic and diabolically beautiful Italian. Hampered by the warring English and the quest itself growing daily more dangerous, Luciano begins to realise that his own life and that of everyone close to him rests on the knife-edge of success … for only success will permit him to reclaim the Black Madonna and offer his heart to the girl he loves. From the machinations within Parliament to the last days of the King’s cause,
The Black Madonna is an epic saga of passion and intrigue at a time when England was lost in a dark and bloody conflict.

Stella Riley is the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medallist for Historical Romance and proud to have been awarded 14 B.R.A.G. medallions.
“Engrossing read from start to finish.”
“Brilliant writing by a brilliant storyteller.”
“Historical fiction at its best.”
“Oh, what a story! There's the civil war, a mystery, and the personal romances of the Maxwell siblings. This book is well worth the read for history buffs who like a little romance and mystery thrown into a historical timeline.”

Book 1 of 4

Roundheads & Cavaliers
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622 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

May 30, 2013
File size

4782 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D4CF3LM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 2nd edition (May 30, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4782 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 622 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #400,544 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #15,551 in Historical Romance (Kindle Store)
- #27,275 in Historical Romances
- #41,336 in Romance (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 366 ratings

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Stella Riley

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Winner of 4 gold medals (Readers' Favourite 2019, Book Excellence Awards 2020, Global Book Awards 2022, Book Excellence Awards 2023) and 14 B.R.A.G. Medallions, Stella Riley lives in the beautiful medieval town of Sandwich in Kent.

She is fascinated by the English Civil Wars and has written six books set in that period. These, like the 7 book Rockliffe series (recommended in The Times newspaper!) and the Brandon Brothers trilogy, are all available in audio, narrated by Alex Wyndham.

Stella enjoys travel, reading, theatre, Baroque music and playing the harpsichord. She also has a fondness for men with long hair - hence her 17th and 18th century heroes.

Visit Stella at https://stellarileybooks.co.uk for all the latest information on her books and her 'Who's Who' and Extras pages.

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4.5 out of 5

366 global ratings

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Huffer

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2021

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Wow! This long, but engrossing historic tale is filled with swashbuckling action, intrigue, mystery, suspense, and, of course, romance. I'm in awe of the creative process this work must have required. This is high quality work, and I'm ready and excited for the next installment.

Taking place over a period of almost ten years in the 1600's, the two main characters are Luciano Falcieri del Santi and Kate Maxwell. Luciano is a skilled jeweler and craftsman, and also a money lender, on a quest to find out who murdered his father when he was a child. Kate is the daughter of a man of some importance in the political scene of the time. Their paths cross when Kate is chosen to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.

Stella Riley is a skilled storyteller who knows how to develop a plot, and populate her works with characters that you can care about. If you're thinking that, because this is historical fiction, that the plot will be dull, you'd be dead wrong. There are a great many details and names supplied that were important in the events of this era, and sometimes it does get kind of overwhelming, but many of the prominent people interact with the author's characters, and thus they become so much more real and relevant. Ms Riley manages to make this lesson in history very engaging and exciting.

As in the other books by this author that I've read, this is first and foremost a romance, and it's a wonderful one. The road to happily ever after is always a rough one, but the journey is lovely. Our hero is dark and mysterious, and our heroine is spunky, smart, and fearless. And they're not alone. I wanted to be friends with so many of these loveable characters, and all of their trials and joys just drew me in. There are, of course, plenty of villains, but the generous number of good guys made this tale uplifting, in spite of their extreme difficulties.

There were a fair number of editing errors, but in a book of this length they were insignificant. The writing is superb, and the story is worthwhile. I recommend it highly.

3 people found this helpful

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AngelArtist

Hooked

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2016

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I absolutely love this type of historical fiction. The only better write I've read was Dorothy Dunnett. This novel is full of the part of British history that rarely is written about. The love story that twines around the historical events is full of passionate tension.

I have just a few criticisms. Character development was a little slow to develop. Some sentence structure makes the narrative a little confusing, as did some referencing of names and places.

This all being said, I am hooked and just ordered the rest of the series. M

One person found this helpful

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OLT

Excellent balance of history, mystery and romance.

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2015

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As I wait for the March 2015 release of the third book in Riley's Georgian Rockliffe series, I've gone back to reading some of her older novels. This one, in particular, from 1992, the first in her Roundheads and Cavaliers series, is perhaps my personal favorite.

This begins in the 1640s, when Charles I and Parliament aren't getting on so well, there are problems with regard to religion (Catholic v Protestant), Ireland and Scotland, taxes...well, you name it as an issue and there are two or more vociferous sides to the problem. Riley manages to get her readers informed about the unrest without being boring. (Sometimes confusing, what with all the references to historical persons and places, so I had to get out my trusty British History For Dummies at the beginning to get myself better oriented.)

The historical time of this civil unrest serves as an excellent backdrop for the personal stories of Riley's fictitious characters, in particular heroine Kate Maxwell, her parents, siblings and friends, and hero Luciano del Santi, goldsmith and moneylender transplanted to England from Genoa and those around him in his life, such as a spoiled sister and Selim, his exotic bodyguard.

Oh, what a story. There's the civil war, a mystery, and the personal romances of the Maxwell siblings. A standout romance is that of brother Eden and his wife Celia, who is not only spoiled and self-centered but a Royalist on top of that, a big problem since the Maxwell household tended towards favoring the Parliamentarians (with some reservations).

And of course there's the difficult romance of Kate and Luciano, somewhat star-crossed by the disparity in their social situations but also by the fact that Luciano is obsessed with avenging his father's unjust death years ago and can't be sidetracked by any feelings of love. This particular plot line, his trying to solve the mystery of who masterminded his father's downfall, is particularly interesting.

And the romance is satisfying. I love both the H and h. The H is quite flawed but with an inner nobility, and the h is both intelligent and mature for her age. There are lots of great characters in this in addition to the H and h. This book is well worth the read for history buffs who like a little romance and mystery thrown into a historical timeline.

9 people found this helpful

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Carol Cork

A masterful blend of history, politics, suspense, intrigue, revenge, and romance.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2021

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The turbulent years of the English Civil Wars, a time of tragic conflicts and divided loyalties, provides the dramatic backdrop for Stella Riley’s highly acclaimed Roundheads and Cavaliers series. Set in the period leading up to and during the First English Civil War (1639 to 1642), The Black Madonna, the first book in the series, is a masterful blend of history, politics, suspense, intrigue, revenge, and romance.

Ms. Riley’s characters are never one dimensional - to me they always feel like real people I have come to know and care about. I was immediately drawn into the lives of the Maxwell family - Richard, his wife, Dorothy, and their children, Eden, Kate, Amy and twins Tobias (Toby) and Tabitha. - and seeing everything through their eyes gave an immediacy to the story.

I love Richard and Dorothy - they must surely win an award for being one of the most loving and devoted couples to grace the pages of a book. Richard, a Member of Parliament, is an honest and moderate man who wants what’s best for his country but has no desire to take sides in the dispute between Parliament and the King. The safety of his family comes first, but as the country moves closer to civil war, there is no way to avoid taking sides.

Despite his parents’ efforts to dissuade him, Eden makes an ill-fated marriage to a Royalist. Kate is single-minded and often too outspoken, while coquettish Amy risks scandal, and Toby gets involved in some illicit goings on.

Richard sums it up perfectly...

’You know, Dorothy and I used to congratulate ourselves on having reared sensible children. Now look at them. Eden’s married to a selfish shrew; Amy had to be hustled to the altar before she could ruin herself; and I suspect that Toby is up to no good with son-in-law Geoffrey. All I need now is for Tabitha to run off with a troupe of mummers or decide to take the veil and we’ll have a full set.’

I admire Ms. Riley’s ability to create unique and complex heroes like the enigmatic Luciano del Santi. He doesn’t immediately wear the cloak of a romantic hero, but Ms. Riley imbues him with a charisma that makes him irresistible.

Now a wealthy master goldsmith and moneylender, Luciano came to England from Genoa 4 years ago to set up his own business, with a substantial loan from his uncle, Vittorio Falcieri. Luciano offered The Black Madonna, a simple obsidian figure, as surety for the loan. It has little monetary value, but has been revered by the Falcieri family for generations. If he does not pay the requisite interest on time each year and repay the capital after ten years, he stands to lose everything. Luciano is also on a mission to discover the identity of and seek revenge on the man who arranged for his father to be wrongly accused of treason for which he was executed. He is drawn into the lives of the Maxwell family when Richard and Eden rescue him from a viscous attack. I like how a unlikely but genuine friendship develops between Richard and Luciano. While others might despise him as moneylender, Richard sees Luciano’s true worth.

The romance between Kate and Luciano is slow building, because they both try to deny the attraction, which leads to some rather cutting banter.

‘He must be a brave man.’
‘Who?’ she snapped. And immediately regretted asking.
‘This suitor of yours. Or doesn’t he know that you dip your tongue in vinegar every morning?’
‘No. Why should I boast? Some people dip theirs in hemlock.’

Kate tries to convince herself that what she feels for Luciano is no more than a passing fancy, while Luciano tries to push Kate away believing his desire to avenge his father could endanger her life. Ms. Riley does an excellent job of building the sexual tension, and when they finally admit their feelings for each other, it leads to a love scene that is both tender and sensual without being explicit.

Ms. Riley’s extensive research and knowledge of the time period is evident in her skilful and seamless blending of history and fiction into an engrossing story; sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between the real characters and fictional ones. Luciano’s search for the man who arranged his father’s death provides some heart-stopping and heart-breaking moments, culminating in a nail biting climax during the final, bloody siege of Basing House, when Luciano confronts the man he’s seeking.

As always, there’s a fascinating and well drawn cast of secondary characters including -

Francis Langley - an elegant Royalist and Eden’s childhood friend

Celia Langley/Maxwell - Francis’s sister and Eden’s self-absorbed wife

Gianetta - Luciano’s bejewelled sister

Selim - his knife-wielding, Turk bodyguard

I enjoyed the brief appearance by Captain Justin Ambrose and a young Abigail Radford, who are the hero and heroine of A Splendid Defiance, set in 1644.

MY VERDICT: An engrossing story with fascinating characters and a meticulously researched historical setting. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Beatrix Fitze

Couldn’t put it down

Reviewed in Germany on June 7, 2019

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This is one of the most interesting and exciting books I’ve read. From around chapter 2 onwards I couldn’t put it down! Set just before and during the English civil war it gives fascinating insights into the political happenings of the period together with an interesting story full of relatable characters. I’m moving straight on to the next in the series!

jdyshw

reasonable romance in a well drawn setting

Reviewed in Australia on September 29, 2016

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I found it difficult to rate this. The background of the events that lead to the Civil War was interesting and detailed and how it affected the central family in the novel well drawn. I found the central romance troubling, firstly because I do not like revenge plots and secondly because it reminded me too much of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles, where the tortured hero and practical heroine were far better drawn. But Kate was a likeable character as was the rest of her family. And it was nice to have a reasonable romance set in this time period.

One person found this helpful

Caz

A gripping saga of intrigue, revenge, romance and civil war.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Stella Riley's work, so anyone reading this could be forgiven for thinking that the five star rating was a foregone conclusion. And perhaps it was - I've always found her writing, characterisation and storytelling to be of consistently high quality, and The Black Madonna is no exception. But in fact, I'd venture to say that she's set an even higher bar with this book because it is, without doubt, a really superb example of how to craft a compelling piece of historical fiction.

The events of The Black Madonna take place between 1639 and 1646, in the run up to and during the events of the "first" English Civil War.

In it, we follow events as seen through the eyes of the members of the Maxwell family and their friends and acquaintances; and along the way take in romance, politics, family dilemmas and a years old mystery and quest for vengeance.

Richard Maxwell and his wife, Dorothy are a happily married couple with five children (and how lovely it is to read about an older couple who are still very much in love and attracted to each other). Richard is a member of the Commons, and while he is frustrated by the King's actions in (among other things) levying taxes to fill his coffers without the support of Parliament, he does not adopt an anti-royalist stance either. Rather, Richard is a good, honest man who wants the best for his family and his country; and who doesn't want to take sides, but eventually finds he cannot do otherwise.

Running alongside the momentous political events of the time, we are drawn into the life of the Maxwells and all the ups and downs that family life entails. Eden, the eldest son, falls in love with a woman who is completely wrong for him; Amy the middle daughter is an inveterate flirt who is going to get herself into trouble if she's not careful and Kate, the eldest daughter is sometimes far too forthright and clever for her own good.

Add in to all that the mysterious Italian goldsmith and usurer, Luciano Falcieri del Santi - a man with the face of an angel, a mind like a steel trap and a tongue like a razor-blade - and the stage is set for a truly gripping read.
The fate of the Maxwells becomes bound up with that of del Santi when Richard and Eden Maxwell rescue Luciano from a severe beating one night in the murky backwaters of the City of London. Thereafter, Richard and Luciano strike up an unexpected, yet very genuine friendship, which is one of the joys of the book; and which brings the latter into closer contact with Richard's family. The youngest son Toby, is riveted by the goldsmiths' art and wants to be apprenticed to del Santi, while Kate, finding herself utterly fascinated and reluctantly drawn to him, is trying desperately to resist what she thinks can only be a stupid, girlish infatuation.

Luciano, however, is not the man for her (as he tells her several times) - he has no room for emotional entanglements in his life. He is, of necessity, focused on his business and, as we later discover, on finding the person responsible for his father's execution for treason several years earlier. He knows his quest is a dangerous one and is therefore reluctant to involve anyone else in it, although he eventually admits to himself that he needs help and therefore confides in Richard.

It is, however, impossible for Luciano to avoid the growing unrest in England and the tensions between King and Parliament erupt into Civil War.

Stella Riley handles her large cast of characters with aplomb once more and again skilfully integrates her fictional storylines and characters with actual events and historical figures.

Her research is impeccable; and although I will admit that, especially in the first few chapters, I felt a bit overloaded with background detail to the extent I felt the need to go and look up a few things! - once the setting has been established and we have been introduced to the Maxwells, the Langleys, del Santi and assorted other characters, things take off and the book became hard to put down.

The multiple plot strands are woven very skilfully together. The war progresses, initially in the King's favour, but inescapably, the tide begins to turn; Luciano begins to close in on his quarry and becomes a target; and the Maxwells are plunged into danger and tragedy. Amid all this is the slow-burning romance between Kate and Luciano, an attraction they are both desperate to deny. Their exchanges throughout the first part of the book are ascerbic and sometimes deliberately hurtful as Kate, desperate to hide her feelings, tries to repel him; and Luciano, who isn't the least bit fooled, tries to warn her off. But the thing is - the more the reader sees of them - apart and together - the more it becomes apparent that these two are a matched pair; intelligent, quick-witted, passionate and - in their own ways - unique.

Luciano's reluctance to become involved with Kate is as much due to the fact that he has to focus all his attention on his business in order to repay a massive loan from his uncle as it is about his fears for her safety. In the original version, there are hints that he feels more for Kate than he lets on, but for the most part, he plays his cards very close to his chest. In the ebook version, the author has made a number of small changes and added some new scenes which give the reader more of an insight into how Luciano is thinking and feeling that I think are a truly valuable addition to the romance and to the story as a whole.

On a side note, I particularly enjoyed seeing glimpses of some of the characters featured in Ms Riley's earlier novel A Splendid Defiance - the thirteen year-old Abigail Radford near the beginning, and later, members of the Banbury garrison and Captain Justin Ambrose.

As the Maxwells story continues, the war escalates and the King's fortunes begin to worsen; and things come to a head for Luciano and Kate at the ill-fated siege of Basing House. The Black Madonna has it all - adventure, romance, heartbreak (I don't mind admitting that there were a couple of real "lump-in-throat" moments), tenderness and humour. It's a real page-turner and I honestly didn't guess the identity of the bad guy until fairly close to the end.

I'll finish by saying that I've waited over twenty-years to get my hands on a copy of this book, and it was every bit as good as I'd hoped.

Brava!

2 people found this helpful

Aretè

Pity it has no Audible version

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

The beginning is rather slow and ponderous and the historical chronicle could have been synthesised a little more. Having said that, it’s a greatly enjoyable book. And possibly worth an audio book version.

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The Black Madonna (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 1) Kindle Edition

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