"A Newton takes their own life, or that of another."

So says the curse of the Newtons.

As the river rises and rain lashes down, The Watering is filled with smoke. In the early hours, a charred corpse is found in the brew house. Mercy Newton is arrested and sent to Shrewsbury assizes.

But is she guilty?

Pieced together from historical records, the life of the nationally notorious Mercy Newton is presented for the first time. Lost to history, this real-life story of a family curse, a jealous daughter and a suspected murder has been forgotten for over 100 years.

Until now.

Emma Woodhouse worked for the Ironbridge Gorge Museum as a Victorian demonstrator at Blists Hill Victorian Town for seven years, whilst completing her BA (Hons) in Literature with the Open University and a PGCE with the University of Worcester and becoming a teacher. She has been teaching for 15 years now, holds an MA in Education from the University of Worcester and is currently studying for her MA in Contemporary Creative Writing with Northeastern University London. She has performed her own poems at two international book launches for Candlestick Press. Emma enjoys historical realism and engages in in-depth research, to ensure that the novels she creates from the lives of real women are accurate and truthful. She likens her novel-style to creative non-fiction, in that it is as true to fact as fiction can possibly be. She believes that there are astounding histories out there just waiting to be rediscovered, histories which have been forgotten due to class status.