Deborah Swift (born 1955), who has also written as Davina Blake, is an English writer of historical fiction, based in north west

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

. Her first published novel was ''The Lady's Slipper'' (2010), which alludes to the lady's slipper orchid found in the Silverdale area near her home. Levens Hall features as one of the locations of the book, which is set in 1660 and involves the persecution of local

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. ''The Gilded Lily'' (2012) follows some of the same characters but moves the location to London and considers aspects of beauty and cosmetics. ''A Divided Inheritance'' (2013) starts in London in 1609 but the action moves to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

during the expulsion of the Moors and reflects this turbulent period of European history. Swift's ''Shadow on the Highway'' (2014) is the first of ''The Highway Trilogy'' of

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

s, and is based on the life of

highwaywoman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foot ...

Katherine Fanshawe, also known as

Lady Katherine Ferrers Katherine Ferrers (4 May 1634 – c. 13 June 1660) was an English gentlewoman and heiress. According to popular legend, she was also the "Wicked Lady", a highwaywoman who terrorised the English county of Hertfordshire before dying from gunsh ...

. The second in the trilogy, ''Spirit of the Highway'' (2015) is told in the voice of the ghost of a roundhead farmer's son who loved Katherine. ''Lady of the Highway'' (2016) completes the trilogy. ''Past Encounters'' (2014), published under the name Davina Blake, is a story set in Carnforth which features the filming of ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life (play), Still Life''. Starring Celia Jo ...

'' at Carnforth railway station in 1944 and uncovers a husband's wartime secrets. ''Pleasing Mr Pepys'' (2017) is a " re-imagining of the events" from the diary of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no marit ...

. It forms a trilogy with ''A Plague on Mr Pepys'' (2018) and ''Entertaining Mr Pepys'' (2019). ''The Occupation'' (2019) is set on

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

under

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

in 1940.

List of works

* ''The Lady's Slipper'' (2010, Macmillan: ) * ''The Gilded Lily'' (2012, Pan: ) * ''A Divided Inheritance'' (2013, Pan: ) * ''Past Encounters'' (as Davina Blake, 2014, SApere: ) *''The Occupation'' (2019, Sapere: )

''The Highway Trilogy''

* ''Shadow on the Highway'' (2014, ) * ''Spirit of the Highway'' (2015, ) * ''Lady of the Highway'' (2016, )

''Mr Pepys'' trilogy

* ''Pleasing Mr Pepys'' (2017, ) * ''A Plague on Mr Pepys'' (2018, ) * ''Entertaining Mr Pepys'' (2019, )

References

External links

* ''As Deborah Swift'' * ''As Davina Blake'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Deborah 1955 births Living people English historical novelists Writers from Lancashire 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers