A Cumbrian fiction author has published the sequel to her first historical novel. 

Bridget Gunston, writing under the pen name Bridget M Beauchamp, lives in Kirkby Stephen and has published her latest novel Cleave to the Crown which is a sequel to her first book Maiden of Middleham. 

Bridget, who is a member of the Richard III Society which aims to restore the reputation of this much-maligned monarch who reigned between 1483 and 1485, used her first novel to combine fictional tales, factual events, and characters to explore her views on the historical King. 

This followed a renewed interest in the monarch following the discovery of his grave in 2012 and subsequent funeral in 2015.

Bridget's second book follows her chief protagonist Eleanor after the death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 while also following Richard’s loyal knight Francis Lovell, the battle of Stoke, and the two 'Pretenders'.

The story also features a number of Cumbrian connections.

She said: "I have written Cleave to the Crown, which like my first novel, is set mainly in Wensleydale and partly in Furness and I feel will have much local interest, as it describes Edward V’s invasion in 1487 when his army landed at Furness before marching inland to meet Henry Tudor’s army at Stoke.

My narrative also features Sir Thomas Broughton of Furness who was rumored to have escaped from the battle and returned home in secret.