In 1796 the promising young poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge came with his attractive wife Sara to live at nether Stowey in West Somerset, drawn by the beauty of the Quantock Hills and by his new friendship with Tom Poole, who owned a tannery business in Castle Street. Little did Tom realise then how closely he was to become involved, during the years 1796 to 1804, with Coleridge's brilliant, colourful and ultimately tragic life - with his fiercely democratic literary friends who descended on Stowey from time to time and shocked the locals: with his eccentric style of living, with his stormy marriage and hopeless love affair and with his agonised struggle to write great poetry. Overshadowing all, Tom had to watch Coleridge's gradual descent into the abyss of opium addiction

In 1411, ten-year-old Elizabeth Courtenay, the intellectually precocious and lively daughter of the Earl of Devon, starts to keep a diary in a light-hearted fashion as a relief from household tasks and embroidery. Little does she realise then that as an adult she will go on, not only to record the difficult day-to-day life of a Lady of the Manor, but also an extraordinary series of misfortunes and disasters. From the moment she secretly marries William Bonville of Colcombe Castle, her long life becomes one of desperate love and grim endurance, interspersed with moments of beauty, hope and humour. Through her own family and that of her husband, Elizabeth becomes involved in a vicious local feud which leads into the ruthless bloody battles of the Wars of the Roses, culminating in a terrible personal tragedy.

The world that Triffy Garland inhabits is one of videos, hot dogs and amusement arcades - all the trappings of the consumer age. But with it comes the cold reality of life in a children's home, creating a loneliness and emptiness which Triffy hides with a front of petulance and bravado. She runs away hoping to find a solution to her problems, an escape from the life she describes as 'dead boring'.Fate, however, has other plans for Triffy as her travels somehow take her to not only a new place but a new time. But can she survive in an era where the children must shoulder a heavy weight of responsibility and fight simply to exist? The modern girl will have to adapt to pre-First World War living if she is to endure this hostile yet invigorating life.'The Ghost of Branscombe Plats' evokes memories of an age where the true value of friendship means more than simple possessions. The mystery and beauty of nature hold the greatest allure and the hope of a better future is tempered with duty and responsibility. Only the strongest will survive.