The Secret Within the Wall

About the Book

Robert Bray, an apprentice seaman, takes part in Sir Francis Drake's invasion of Portugal. He is captured in Peniche. About to be executed, he asks for a priest. As a secret Catholic in Queen Elizabeth's English Navy, he is spared only to be enslaved on a Spanish galley. An English priest obtains the release of ninety-three galley slaves in Cadiz and frees Robert. Disguised as Robert's executed shipmates, Father Blount and other priests cross into England. For seven years, Blount and his servant, Bray, find work at Scotney Castle in Sussex. In 1598, Fr. Blount is betrayed. Pursuivants break into the castle to seize him. After hiding for a week with very little food, Robert gives himself up as the priest, allowing Fr. Blount to escape. Later they are trapped again within Scotney's walls. With only their breeches, shirts, one cassock, a bottle of wine, and a small loaf of  bread, the two men subsist for ten days in the dead of winter. Outside awaits Edgar Rivers, their mortal enemy. Only a miracle or a particularly brave man can save them.

About the Author

Allene Gordon Keller is a retired public school teacher. She holds a masters degree in Allied Arts and Humanities. An avid history buff, Allene travels and reads extensively. A music teacher for 36 years, she also taught art and jr. high writing. She makes her home on her childhood farm in mid-Missouri. This science fiction epic is her first finished work. She is presently working on another book, “Secret in the Wall,” an Adult/Young Adult historical fiction novel based on an actual event that occurred in 1591. It will be published in late 2001. * * * The cover art, “Fantasy,” is by Michael Grossekaemper of Nordhorn, Germany. More of Michael’s delightful work can be seen at www.forkemania.de