The Midwife’s Apprentice

It is the summer of 1665. Jane Sharp is on the eve of taking her oath to serve as midwife when her father falsely accuses her of practicing witchcraft. She narrowly escapes being captured and leaves her mother and her first love, Isaac Newton, behind in her puritanical hometown of Woolsthorpe, England. She travels through the plague-ridden country en-route to London. Along the way she meets a young actress, Nell Gwyn. Nell gives her a new name— Effie Barsham,— a position in the King’s Company of Players, and an introduction to the beguiling young playwright Aphra Behn. 

Effie hides within the licentious and luxurious royal court, but she cannot hide forever. When her pursuers close in, the only way she can protect her found family is to leave them behind. In her self-imposed exile, she discovers a plot that puts both the women she loves in mortal danger. Returning to save them sets her on a path that leads to her father and the past she tried to leave behind.

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It is a story of unconventional women carving out a place in a patriarchal society. It is inspired by historical figures and events... but with a lot of creative license.