Bloodstone Margaret Drabble is about to return to

is about to return to Ulster for Alisons second wedding

who turns out to be one of the few likeable characters in this wickedly amusing romp

seemingly unconnected

its author is an arrogant but brilliant homosexual whose life has crossed with that of Darwin with startling regularity

Bloodstone Margaret Drabble is about to return toDecember, 1380. When the corpse of Sir Robert Kilverby, a wealthy Cheapside merchant, is discovered in a locked room, Brother Athelstan accompanies the King's coroner to investigate. For the late Sir Robert had in his possession a priceless relic, a sacred bloodstone which he was planning to donate to the Abbey of St Fulcher on Thames. The bloodstone has disappeared and the Regent, John of Gaunt, who covets the relic for himself, is taking an