The Bury Down Chronicles
  • Megge of Bury Down
  • Excerpt from Megge of Bury Down
  • Reviews
  • About the Author
  • Audiobook
  • 'Megge' Updates
  • Characters
  • Story Locations
  • Bury Down History
  • Acknowledgments
  • Reference Sources
  • For Booksellers and Librarians

CHARACTERS

                                                                                            
Adaem: (Ah-DEHM)
Captain of The Navigator
Husband of Gytha of Bury Down
                Father of Natalje
                Grandfather of Claris and “Mother”
                Great-grandfather of Megge and Brighida
Agnes Gough: (Goff )
                 Widow of Robert Gough
Mother of Michael and Jenifer
                Grandmother of Harold, Vivienne, and Gwyneth Penneck
Arjen:  Stonemason, builder, artist
Heir to The Book of Seasons
               Husband of Natalje of Bury Down
                Father of Claris and “Mother”
               Grandfather of Megge and Brighida
Aleydis: (Ah-LEE-dis)
               Rescuer of Natalje; nursemaid to Natalje’s daughters; huntress
               Daughter of Beatrix Couper Magor and Vitale Magor
               Sister of Arjen
               Aunt of Claris and “Mother”
                Great-aunt of Brighida and Megge
Alf:      Shepherd and shearer
Anwen: Archer; scribe of the writings of Murga
Arjen:  Stonemason, builder, artist. From Aldestowe.
                Heir to The Book of Seasons
                Husband of Natalje of Bury Down
                Father of Claris and “Mother”
                Grandfather of Megge and Brighida
Beatrix Couper Magor: Mother of Arjen and Aleydis
                 Widow of Vitale
                 Midwife, conjuror
                 Sister of Egbert Couper, Alchemist 
Brighida: (Bri-GEE-dah)
                 Daughter of Claris
                 Cousin of Megge
                 Apprentice seer, Heir to The Book of Time
Bryluen: (Bree-LOO-en)
                  Apprentice to Murga, Seer of Bury Down
Gregory Carver (Deceased): Master carpenter
                Husband of Claris
Claris:  Seer of Bury Down, Heir to the Book of Time
              Widow of Gregory Carver
                Mother of Brighida
Colluen: (Call-OO-en)
                 Blacksmith. Rejected apprentice to Murga, Seer of Bury Down
Dora Tucker: Wife of Gus, helps in his shop
                 Friend of the women of Bury Down Edmund, Second Earl of Cornwall (reign: 1272-1300)
                 Husband of Margaret de Clare, Countess of Cornwall
Elizabeth: Lady-in-waiting to Lady Margaret
Francis Penneck: Carter
               Husband of Jenifer
               Father of Tinker, Harold, and Gwyneth
Gregory Carver (Deceased): Master carpenter
                Husband of Claris
Gus Tucker:  Weaver, tucker, wool merchant
               Husband of Dora
Gwyneth Penneck: Daughter of Francis and Jenifer Penneck
Gytha:      Former Seer of Bury Down, Heir to The Book of Time
                Wife of Adaem, Captain of The Navigator
                Mother of Natalje
                Grandmother of Claris and “Mother”
                Great-grandmother of Megge and Brighida
Harold Penneck: Son of Francis and Jenifer Penneck
                Brother of Jenifer and Gwynneth
                Half-brother of Tinker
Hugh Caerlin: Herder
Jenifer Gough Penneck:  Second wife of Francis Penneck
                Mother of Harold, Vivienne, and Gwyneth Penneck
                Daughter of Agnes Gough, sister of Michael Gough
Mister Kendall: Surgeon at Restormel Castle
Mister Gynneys: Herder, shearer
                Father of Alf
Lowenna Caerlin: Mother of Hugh and Martyn
Margaret, Countess of Cornwall: Wife of Edmund, Second Earl of Cornwall
Martyn Caerlin: Weaver
Megge: Herder, apprentice weaver
               Heir to The Book of Seasons
Michael Gough: (Michael Goff)
               Blacksmith
Morwen:  Orphaned daughter of a Welsh bard
               Serving girl to Gytha;
               Companion and rescuer of Natalje
               Nursemaid to Claris and “Mother”
                Companion and mentor to Megge
“Mother”: Mother of Megge
               Healer of Bury Down, Heir to The Book of Seasons
               No first name.
               Widow of stone mason
Murga:     First Seer of Bury Down
                Originator of the writings that become The Book of Time and The Book of Seasons
Natalje: (Nah-TAL-jee)
                Heir to The Book of Time
                Wife of Arjen Magor, heir to The Book of Seasons
                Mother of twins: Claris and the unnamed baby who becomes Megge’s mother
Trelawney, Nellie: Wife of the village potter
                Patient of the women of Bury Down
Polly Pounfrect: Governess, Restormel Castle
Richard, First Earl of Cornwall (reign: 1257-1272)
                 Son of John, King of England             
                 Father of Edmund, the Second Earl of Cornwall
Robert Gough (deceased): Blacksmith
                 Husband of Agnes Gough
Tinker Penneck: Son of Francis Penneck and Francis’s first wife (deceased)
                 Half-brother of Harold, Vivienne, and Gwynneth Penneck
Vivienne Penneck: Daughter of Jenifer Penneck
                Sister of Harold and Gwynneth Penneck
                Half-sister of Tinker Penneck
Vitale Magor (deceased): artist
                Heir to The Book of Seasons
                Husband of Beatrix Couper Magore
                Father of Arjen



​"...Megge is a protagonist easy to fall in love with, to root for, to worry about, and when dark forces enter her world Kightlinger’s storytelling abilities shine. "

                 David Anthony Durham, author of Pride of Carthage

​​
​"... Kightlinger's heroine rallies supernatural strength and all matter of healing arts to find her path toward protecting books, the land, and most of all her fellow women... Readers will not forget the women of Bury Down."
                      
Elizabeth Searle, author of We Got Him  and librettist for Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera

​

"...As the timeless tale of the coming of age of Megge of Bury Down unfolds through the centuries, it offers readers a truth as unchanging as change: that accepting ourselves is the key to claiming our power." 
​                  Annie Finch, author of Among the Goddesses


​"...This would be a masterwork as the culmination of a series, but for a first novel, projected into a saga of three, it is simply stunning."
                 Boman Desai, author of The Memory of Elephants  and TRIO, a Novel Biography of the Schumanns and Brahms

 
  • Megge of Bury Down
  • Excerpt from Megge of Bury Down
  • Reviews
  • About the Author
  • Audiobook
  • 'Megge' Updates
  • Characters
  • Story Locations
  • Bury Down History
  • Acknowledgments
  • Reference Sources
  • For Booksellers and Librarians