Book Review - By Love Divided by Elizabeth St.John

I was lucky enough to be offered a review copy of all three books in this series. I have chosen to review "By Love Divided" as I am fascinated by the English Civil War. I was concerned this book might not stand alone, but it does. Scroll down to read my thoughts!

The Lady of the Tower

By Love Divided

Written in their Stars

By Elizabeth St.John

Publication Dates: 2016 - 2020.  Publisher: Falcon Historical. Genre: Biographical Historical Fiction

Duty, passion, and power collide in The Lydiard Chronicles, a gripping trilogy inspired by true events. Follow three courageous women—survivors, strategists, and storytellers—who defy the constraints of society to shape their family’s fate and England’s future. Their voices echo through time. Their legacy changed a nation.

The Lydiard Chronicles is an award-winning, best-selling historical family saga which brings to life the remarkable true stories of the St.John family. Spanning three compelling novels—The Lady of the Tower, By Love Divided, and Written in Their Stars—the series follows the legacy of resilient and intelligent women who lived as spies, courtiers, and diarists during England’s most turbulent century, navigating the quicksand of love and war, political upheaval, and personal sacrifice. 

Bound by fierce family loyalty and unforgettable love, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles defy the limits of their time with passion, courage, and unshakable independence. They endure captivity in the Tower of London, exile in the Louvre Palace, and the heart-wrenching divisions of the English Civil War—fighting not just for survival, but for their beliefs, their families, and the right to choose their own fate. Meticulously researched and vividly told, this epic saga reveals how these women created history from the shadows, leaving a legacy of resilience, defiance, and enduring influence.

Rooted in original diaries, letters, and family papers, The Lydiard Chronicles offers an intimate, biographical portrait of women who moved behind the scenes of power. Serving as trusted secret agents, military wives, and confidantes of kings, they were deeply engaged in the political and religious conflicts of their time. Through tragedy and triumph, the women of The Lydiard Chronicles shape their destinies—and the fate of a nation—in this richly researched and vividly told historical epic.

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

Book Review

By Love Divided

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

By Love Divided by Elizabeth St. John is a deeply moving story set during the English Civil War, which sees a family torn apart by the conflict.

This novel really moved me to my very core. The story, based on real historical characters and told from various perspectives, really brings home to the modern reader how terrible it must have been in this era and the effect it had on all who were caught up in the fight between King and Parliament.

The author has incredible skill in crafting realistic and relatable characters. Even if they lived hundreds of years ago, there are still things that the reader can relate to, such as love, loyalty, and family. 

The author has done a fabulous job in really depicting the era of this period, and this novel is much like a looking glass that shows the reader what it was like to live during this period of history.

There are many characters in this family, but it is Lucy who stole my heart. Seeing her family divided and fighting on different sides of the war, she is determined that her family will somehow survive this terrible ordeal and come out the other end. She finds strength in prayers and clings to the hope that the war will end peacefully, and her sons will come home, and they can pick up their shattered lives. 

I think for anyone who enjoys quality fiction set during the English Civil War, then this book is certainly a must-read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

This book truly is one in a million! I am going to recommend it to everyone I know!

You can pick up this series on Amazon

This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Elizabeth St. John

Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.

Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.

Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.

Elizabeth's works include The Lydiard Chronicles, a family saga set in 17th-century England during the Civil War, and The Godmother's Secret, which unravels the medieval mystery of the missing princes in the Tower of London. Her latest release, The King’s Intelligencer, follows Franny Apsley in the treacherous court of Charles II as she risks everything to uncover the dangerous truth behind the discovery of the princes’ bones.

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