John and his mother Susan have returned to live in the small village of Buckland after Susan, pregnant and unmarried, leaves her place at Buckland Manor, ancestral home of Sir William Freemantle. But their refuge is threatened as intolerant religious reformers seek to drive out every vestige of the old country beliefs. Inevitably a mob drives them from the village with accusations of witchcraft.
Taking refuge in the depths of Buccla's Wood, John's mother shows him how to forage for food and shelter in the forest. She teaches him from an ancient book that tells of an older Eden, where men and women lived and loved and kept a Feast of harmony and plenty. That Feast, she tells him, is his birthright and his destiny is to restore it. But the cold of winter is too much for Susan and she does not survive.
The orphaned John is sent to Sir William at Buckland Manor and given a place in the kitchens where he rises from scullery boy to Master Cook, renowned for his culinary arts, until even the King of England himself comes to dine at Sir William's table. So pleased is the King that he grants Sir William's petition to approve the marriage of his only child Lucretia to her cousin Lord Piers Callock, thus reuniting the family lineage and preserving the lordship of the Manor. But unfortunately Piers is a fop and a braggart and a bully. Lucretia refuses the match and vows to fast until her father breaks the betrothal. John is ordered to tempt her appetite and coax her to eat. But John sympathizes with Lucretia's resolve and smuggles in food to help her resist the marriage.
Events conspire to throw them together in a struggle to survive when the English Civil War intervenes. They become co-conspirators in the effort to hold the Manor secure against the attacks and depredations of Cromwell's fanatical followers, Yet even in the worst days of misery and want, John makes the Feast in secret for Lucretia. A fascinating tale weaving history, folklore, life and love together in a Feast for all the senses.
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