020 - Chapter 36 THE DISCOVERY

‘St. George and St. Michael’ unfolds a captivating historical romance set against the backdrop of the English Civil Wars, where a young couple finds their loyalties tested. As tensions escalate between the king and parliament, and the Church of England clashes with independent puritans, seventeen-year-old Dorothy Vaughan remains blissfully unaware of the impending conflict. She believes her loyalty belongs to her king and her nation. When she challenges her childhood friend, Richard Heywood, to prove his worthiness for her hand in marriage by engaging in the larger political tumult, he discovers that his beliefs align with those of the puritans and his father. Torn between love and conscience, Richard grapples with the weight of his convictions, even as his heart yearns for Dorothy. While primarily grounded in realism, ‘St. George and St. Michael’ also weaves in elements of the fantastical and rich spiritual insights, hallmarks of MacDonald’s profound storytelling.