The Burning Bride

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

When Silas returns to visit his wife's grave, he finds she's still alive, pretending to be someone else. But has he re-found his old love… or discovered a new? A gentle romantic co... show more ▼medy about love, loss and hope.A year and a day after losing his wife, Silas still can't cope with her death - but he couldn't cope with her alive either. Was Bianca just too good for him - or was he just too bad for her? When he returns to visit her grave, the past comes back to haunt him: Bianca is still alive, pretending to be someone else! But is this beguiling, flirtatious woman really his saintly wife? Has he re-found his old love… or discovered a new? This gentle romantic comedy about love, loss and hope is based on the old English folktale 'Mossycoat'.

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• 845

• Published: 2014

The Widower's New Bridegroom: A Modern Folktale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

A melancholy young gay man marries a widower, and becomes intrigued by the idea of his dead predecessor: the man he would love to be, and even love to love...When shy, reticent Eli... show more ▼as gets married to a dynamic older man, he hopes to say goodbye to his melancholy former life and make the most of their modern civil partnership. But soon he finds himself haunted by the beguiling idea of his dead predecessor: the man Elias would love to be, and even love to love.Inspired by Chaucer's medieval dream romances, this modern day folktale uses gothic themes to explore the differences between civil partnerships and traditional notions of love and marriage.

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• 819

• Published: 2012

The Monument: a ghost story

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Frustrated musician Jamie finally gets some luck: a beautiful girl who understands him and an amazing record contract. But is the song that haunts his memory really his own creatio... show more ▼n, or did something whisper it to him long ago... the sinister something that haunts the windswept monument?A lonely, windswept monument stands overlooking the sea, where misunderstood songwriter Jamie escapes to be alone with his doubts. The monument proves lucky when he meets a beautiful girl there, who reminds him of a brilliant song he composed years before... but no sooner does he find love and success than a sinister figure begins to haunt him, demanding retribution.

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• 792

• Published: 2011

The Witch of Cromer

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

A twisted tale of what can happen when you turn to witchcraft to heal an aching heart.Besotted Steven is so desperate to make Bridget love him that he decides to try supernatural m... show more ▼eans to win her heart. But is he ready to face the consequences of dabbling in witchcraft? And dare he try to outwit the famous and fatal Witch of Cromer?

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• 725

• Published: 2011

The Castaway

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Arabella tries to escape the entanglements of love, and flees to the countryside to find her sense of self. But she soon meets a handsome young Cornishman whose mysterious history ... show more ▼draws her in against her will. He was a foundling baby, washed ashore in a lonely cove, and she comes to realise that his fate is strangely linked to the sea. But as she prepares to risk her heart one more time, she little realises that his heart was longsince lost beneath the jealous waves. Part of the collection The Sleight of Heart and Other Stories.

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• 616

• Published: 2009

The Castaway: a modern folktale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

A foundling baby is washed ashore in a lonely Cornish cove, and as he grows up his fate is strangely linked to the sea. When he meets a young woman who is escaping her past, he lon... show more ▼gs to pledge his heart to her... without realising that his heart was lost beneath the jealous waves, long ago.Arabella tries to escape the entanglements of love, and flees to the countryside to find her sense of self. But she soon meets a handsome young Cornishman whose mysterious history draws her in against her will. He was a foundling baby, washed ashore in a lonely cove, and she comes to realise that his fate is strangely linked to the sea. But as she prepares to risk her heart one more time, she little realises that his heart was longsince lost beneath the jealous waves.

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• 608

• Published: 2011

The Green Lady

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Comedy, mystery and the battle of the sexes… all set in a haunted castle! Armed with only cunning and charm, who will see it through the night when the ghostly Green Lady walks?In ... show more ▼this tale of comedy, mystery and the battle of the sexes, cheating-heart Hamish has finally driven his wife Elizabeth out of her senses. She has fled into the crypt of her ancestral home, convinced that she's the ghost of the Green Lady, whose spectral footsteps stalk the dark passages of Brackley Castle. But Hamish's friend Max isn't so sure. He suspects Elizabeth has a trick or two up her sleeve, especially as she's being aided and abetted by her clever, bewitching cousin Mina. Armed with only cunning and charm, who will see it through the night when the ghostly Green Lady walks?

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• 548

• Published: 2014

The Drowned Sailor

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Cunning beauty Ravella means to have millionaire James Trevick, even if she must wreck her best friend's romance to get him. But her wiles stir up more trouble than even she expect... show more ▼s...Scheming fortune hunter Ravella is determined to charm, beguile and con her way to wealth and love - even if it means wrecking her best friend's future marriage. But her mischief stirs up dark forces, and the night before the wedding, a great storm roars over the house at Hurlevor, and an implacable stranger comes stalking out of the boiling sea...

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• 533

• Published: 2012

The Assassin's Assassin

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Hired to kill a killer, a discreet murderer tracks down the beautiful but deadly Thamesis. But what is the secret of her fatal allure? And in the end, who will assassinate who?Who ... show more ▼is the beautiful and mysterious Thamesis, born from the dirty waters of London's mighty river? Why does death persue those who love her? What is the secret of her fatal allure?When a discreet murderer is hired to kill her, the preternatural enigma of her life begins to unfold. But when two assassins are set against each other, who will assassinate who?

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• 509

• Published: 2013

The Canary: A Modern Folktale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Torn between loyalty to her sister and the man she loves, Damiah hopelessly pours out her heart to a golden canary - without realising that her little bird's song is full of the ho... show more ▼pe she lacks.Inspired by the twelfth century lais of Marie de France, this modern folktale tells of Damiah, a young woman torn between loyalty to her sister and the man she loves. One day she hopelessly pours out her heart to a golden canary - without realising that her little bird's song is full of the hope she lacks.

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• 500

• Published: 2012

The Tryst: a modern folktale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

When Kaveran meets Kayna and they fall in love, their romance seems to eerily echo that of their namesakes in a local legend. But little do they realise that their love is fated by... show more ▼ a sinister secret.An old Cornish folktale tells of the knight Kaveran and his passionate love for the beautiful Kayna. When a modern young couple, who share these legendary names, meet and fall for each other, their romance seems to replay the old story... but hidden in the past is a sinister secret, which their overpowering desire threatens to expose, with deadly supernatural consequences.

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• 484

• Published: 2011

The Glass Key: A Modern Folktale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

For ten years Sam neither saw nor heard of his beautiful Araminta, who vanished before their wedding day - but now, suddenly she steps into his life again, with a fantastic adventu... show more ▼re to tell: her journey to unlock the secret of the mysterious glass key.All alone on a howling night, with the fire blazing in the hearth, you hear a key turn in the lock - and see the apparition of your long-lost love enter the room...For ten years Sam neither saw nor heard of his beautiful Araminta, who vanished before their wedding day - but now, suddenly she steps into his life again, with a fantastic adventure to tell: her journey to unlock the secret of the mysterious glass key.

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• 469

• Published: 2012

The Sleight of Heart: a modern folk tale

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

A modern folk tale of love, deceit and murder... with a supernatural twist.In the middle of a quaint Cornish folk festival, Davey sees the beautiful Artemisia Parnell and immediate... show more ▼ly falls in love ...but her bullying husband stands between them. Davey defies his rival's violent threats to try to rescue his beloved, but soon discovers that rash oaths of love and revenge are more binding and dangerous than he expects.

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• 400

• Published: 2012

The Happy-Unhappy Bridegroom: a ghost story

Benjamin Parsons

Biographies & Memoirs / Politics / History

Brandon Stewart can't be happy without his beautiful new bride Lucille - but she can't be happy unless she's making him miserable. For a couple so enslaved by the cruel tyranny of ... show more ▼their own love, is death itself strong enough to part them?A tumbledown Victorian house, a neglected, overgrown garden, a deep, stagnant pool full of choking weeds - a strange first home for a newly-wed young couple. But their morbid relationship is more gothic still. Addicted to suppressing and being suppressed, neither can be happy unless the other is miserable - but when death overshadows them, will they finally find release from their tyrannous love, or is that love-cruelty strong enough to endure beyond the grave?

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• 250

• Published: 2011