Season of the Hedge Gypsy

Marriage to the chairman's niece secures Richard Nye's place on the Board and an estate in the country. Acquitting himself brilliantly in the field he becomes a darling of the Countryside Alliance and a target for the hunt saboteurs. What Nye's besotted wife fails to see is that it is not just in the field where he and her uncle ride neck and neck. Blind to her husband's sexual exploits, how can she know they underlie a sneering contempt for women?The Hedge Gypsy seemed to have been around the Sandpits area for years, her birdlike form fluttering along the hedgerow, muttering at her schizoid delusions with nothing more to her name than a passionate love of nature. It is unlikely that Nye and this dishevelled little woman would ever meet. When their separate worlds collide Nye finds himself facing a volatile, unpredictable force and their bizarre encounter brings about alarming and irreversible changes.Patricia Young tells a powerful contemporary story with pace and suspense. Her writing combines a quirky sense of humour with a deep compassion for her characters. She entertains and illuminates, testing the reader's judgement right through to the last page.