In Pursuit of the Green Lion - (Margaret of Ashbury) by Judith Merkle Riley (Paperback)

About the Book

Riley returns readers to the time of Margaret of Ashbury, the reluctant bride of the defrocked Brother Gregory who resumes his former name of Gilbert. When Margaret realizes that she must have her husband back at any cost, she works to free him from an evil warlord using her only weapons--a burning cross, a poison ring, and most powerful of all, the alchemy of love.

Book Synopsis

The unforgettable Margaret of Ashbury returns in the second book of the trilogy that began with A Vision of Light.

Margaret, a resourceful midwife, is living with the insufferable relatives of her third husband, Gilbert de Vilers, known as Gregory. She is carving out a life for herself and her daughters despite the hostility and greed of her in-laws. But when Gregory is captured in France and held for ransom, Margaret knows she must take action--her in-laws are too tight with money to be of any use--so she teams up with her old friends Mother Hilde, the herbalist, and Brother Malachi, an alchemist on a quest for the secret of changing base metals into gold. Together, the trio plan to rescue Gregory and bring him back to London, where he and Margaret can start a new life away from his meddling family. And thus begins a wild romp across fourteenth-century Europe. Murderous noblemen, scheming ladies, truculent ghosts, and a steady stream of challenges plague the journey. Margaret will need not only her special gift of healing, her quick mind, and her independent spirit but the loyalty of her friends and the love of her new husband to carry them all safely home.

Review Quotes

Praise for A Vision of Light

"Fascinating and factual...If all chronicles of earthly life were recorded with such drama, flair, and wit, the world would be filled with history majors." --Los Angeles Times

"Fast paced...arresting and absorbing...rich with the ambience and flavor of the Middle Ages...a fourteenth-century story told with a twentieth-century sensibility." --The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Judith Merkle Riley is a professor of political science and has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is also the author of A Vision of Light, the first Margaret of Ashbury novel, and The Water Devil, the concluding book of the trilogy. She lives in Claremont, California.