Hi friends! Happy Tuesday! I’m very excited to welcome back author Barry S. Richman to Austenesque Reviews today!

You might recall that Barry S. Richman was here just one month ago to share about his new Pride and Prejudice prequel about a very beloved secondary character. 📖

And there was the promise hinted of more…as he announced that these characters’ stories will continue in his upcoming release After the Fall! 🤩

Barry is here to share an enticing excerpt from After the Fall and an exciting giveaway opportunity! 🙌🏼

We hope you enjoy! 

~ Book Description ~

In a duel, there are two sides. We read of the hero who prevails.
What of the others—who fall?

When the Walton family defied the House of Matlock, their ruin was swift and complete. Fortune, name, and standing were stripped away—but not the will to endure.

From that wreckage rises Winnifred Walton—her father sold her to settle a debt—remade as Catherine Murray, and determined to avenge herself on those responsible.

Years later, Colonel Fitzwilliam’s daughter, Lady Lydia, grows to womanhood beneath the burnish of his legend. Bright, brave, and restless, she begins to question the quiet cost of victory—and the unseen lives lost to preserve it.

Across London’s parlours and alleyways, two women—one shaped by ruin, the other by privilege—move toward an inevitable reckoning between the victors and the forgotten.

After the Fall is a tale of inheritance and vengeance—of daughters who live in the choices their fathers made and make their way by instinct and grit.

~ Excerpt from After the Fall ~

The fire in the study was down to fading embers when he left the room.

The glass still stood on the desk, Roark’s smear on it.

Upstairs, his sons lay swaddled in bandages, dosed into silence. Wallace stared at nothing. Walter wept in his sleep.

His wife’s door was shut.

He found Winnifred in the parlour.

“We can recover,” she said, calm as a parson at prayer. “There must be a way. We can petition—”

“Petition?” The empty glass in his hand shattered against the hearth. She flinched. “Petition whom? The same peers who stood by while one of their own broke your brothers’ bones and left us bleeding in the dirt?”

Her voice sank. “That cannot be true.”

He fell into the chair, hand trembling as he ran it down his face. The fire hissed softly, wet from bad coal. Somewhere behind the wall, a rat scrabbled. A knock. The butler entered, a folded note on a silver salver. Soon, that too would be sold.

Your club awaits your presence R

Roark.

He could still hear that level voice across the desk: If a virgin, worth twenty-five hundred guineas. Sell her to Tom King. He drew a slow breath, smoothing his expression.

“Put on your best dress. Whatever jewellery you have.” He softened his voice. “We are paying an associate a visit.”

Ooh definitely seems like a story with tension and turmoil! But also a lot of strength and resilience! 😮

I’m looking forward to following the paths of such admirable women as they face some challenges and adversaries! 👏🏼

~ Connect with Barry ~

Instagram    ❧    Facebook    ❧   Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Barry is generously giving away 1 paperback book of After the Fall in conjunction with his visit to this blog!!  Woot woot! 

To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment, question, or some love for Barry!

• This giveaway is open worldwide  (international readers will receive a gift card in lieu of a paperback). Thank you, Barry!
• This giveaway ends May 26th!