The Gypsy Crown (11 page)

In seventeenth-century England, the Rom primarily made their living by hawking (selling small homemade goods) and tinkering (repairing pots and pans). Seasonal work harvesting fruit and vegetables was also an important source of income. Some families were known as animal trainers, especially of bears and horses. Others were known as musicians and entertainers, while others were renowned for their metal-working ability.

However, fortune-telling is the talent for which the Rom are best known. Fortune-telling was exclusively a woman's occupation, and many times kept the family from starving. Called a
drabardi
, a fortune-teller would read tea leaves or tarot cards, look into a crystal ball and read palms. While there were undoubtedly imposters, most women of the Rom firmly believed in their abilities to see into the future. The Rom are also well-known for their belief in magical talismans or charms. The charms that Emilia and Luka are searching for are based on ones that were commonly prized by the gypsies.

 

Oliver Cromwell
was a leading figure in the bitter and bloody wars that tore England apart between 1642 and 1649, resulting in the execution of King Charles I on 30th January 1649. For the next eleven years, a period usually called the Commonwealth, the land was in great turmoil as the leaders of Parliament tried to find an alternative method of government.

In 1655, Cromwell dismissed Parliament and divided England up into eleven areas which were each governed by a major-general that Cromwell trusted. The major-generals were so strict that they became very unpopular. Fifteen months later, Cromwell was forced to dismiss them. Soon after, Parliament offered Cromwell the chance to be king but in the end he refused it. So they offered him the same powers but omitted the word ‘king'. Cromwell accepted their offer and in 1657 was invested as Lord Protector in Westminster Abbey. He wore purple velvet and ermine, just like a king.

 

Gerard Winstanley
was the leader of a group of early communists called the True Levellers or, more commonly, Diggers. Although they initially fought with Cromwell against the king, they were disappointed that Parliament's attempts at social and political reform did not go far enough. In 1650 Winstanley and his followers attempted to cultivate common land to provide food for the poor, but were driven off the land. Over the next few years they tried to establish communes in several different places, but were persecuted and imprisoned. Winstanley was a prisoner at the Stockhouse Gaol in Kingston-upon-Thames during the late 1650s, though exact dates are unknown. This gaol was indeed located in The Hand and Mace Inn, with the gaoler paying for the prisoners' food and drink with money raised by selling ale.

 

Colonel Pride
was one of Cromwell's generals, and best known as the instigator of ‘Pride's Purge'. With his regiment, he took part in the military occupation of London in December 1648, which was the first step towards bringing King Charles I to trial. The next step was the expulsion of the Royalists from the House of Commons. He arrested about a hundred members, leaving the minority of eighty to bring the king to trial. Pride was one of the judges of the king and signed his death warrant.

He died at Nonsuch Palace, in Surrey, in 1658. After the Restoration of 1660 his body was ordered to be dug up and suspended on the gallows at Tyburn along with those of Cromwell and other key instigators of the regicide. Nonsuch was later demolished by one of Charles II's mistresses. Only a few stones remain.

The Silver Horse
Book 2 in The Chain of Charms

Emilia and Luka seek the second precious charm – a small silver horse. The charm, they believe, lies with the horse-trading Hearne family. But the Hearnes are reluctant to help. It will be a race against time if they are to convince the tribe to give up their treasured talisman and still manage to escape the clutches of the brutal thief-taker Coldham.

The Herb of Grace
Book 3 in The Chain of Charms

Emilia and Luka have secured two of the six ancient lucky charms – an old gold coin and a small silver horse. They must now travel to the New Forest to find the Wood tribe, whose charm is a rue flower, the herb of grace. Its power is that of plants and herbs – which can both heal and poison.

 

On the way the children tangle with an impoverished widow, a highwayman and a witch, and find themselves caught up in a Royalist plot to restore King Charles II to his throne.

The Cat's Eye Shell
Book 4 in The Chain of Charms

The quest to secure their family's freedom continues for Luka and Emilia, as they flee into Sussex. Only the Catholic underground can help them all escape and they must still find the elusive gypsy tribe of the cat's eye shell, if they are to secure the fourth charm.

The Lightning Bolt
Book 5 in The Chain of Charms

Luka and Emilia must find the fifth charm, a finely-wrought lightning bolt, which lies with the Smith tribe who are working for Parliament, making cannons and weaponry. Here, amidst the smoke and noise, the gypsy children run into old friends … and old enemies.

The Butterfly in Amber
Book 6 in The Chain of Charms

Luka and Emilia travel to London to find the last of the Graylings tribe, who possess the sixth and final charm. As well as all the perils of the capital city, the children must escape the vengeful Coldham who is determined to see them hang by the neck. And then Cromwell is mysteriously struck down. Can the children save their family in time?