But First Maintain the Wall

But First Maintain the Wall – first in the Dymchurch trilogy

Historical fiction

Family Saga

Romance

Overcoming adversity

Artist: Zoe Beardsley from Greatstone

Places: Dymchurch

18th Century

So, this was Romney Marsh. Full of demons and witches if legend was to be believed… A land of low-lying mists, riddled with watercourses and plagued by killer mosquitos. A place to pass by as quickly as possible. He wouldn’t be staying here; he would be gone before the day was out.

Harry is travelling through Dymchurch when the seawall breaches and events force him to stay. As an outsider, he struggles to belong and gain the respect of the locals. Phoebe is Dymchurch-born and wanting answers to her past. A tentative friendship is forged as they both seek acceptance in the small coastal village.

Emma Batten takes readers to 18th-century Dymchurch. A settlement where newcomers are unwelcome, illicit trading is almost unchallenged and villagers live under the shadow of the great seawall.