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Gail Avery Halverson
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The Boundary Stone (The Stockbridge Series) Paperback – October 22, 2015

by Gail Avery Halverson (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 161 ratings
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Bound since childhood to an arranged marriage, Lady Catherine Abbott now finds herself torn between duty to her family and her deeply-held ambitions. Possessed of a nimble, curious mind, a love of science and the natural world, and a singular talent for illustration, Catherine desperately longs to accomplish something of note before she resigns herself to a loveless marriage and the idle, aristocratic whirl of parties and social gatherings within the confines of the palatial Houghton Hall. Banished before his final year of medical training for pushing harder on the boundaries of scientific knowledge than any student at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, the mysterious and driven Simon McKensie has blurred the lines between research and criminality and must now choose between exile to the rural country village of Wells, or the hangman's noose. When the terrifying Great Plague of 1665 spreads from London to Wells, the town’s very existence is threatened and Catherine must confront her fears, her place in the world – and the burning desires she has long held inside.
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  1. Print length
    332 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    October 22, 2015
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.83 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    099690574X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0996905749
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"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
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From the Publisher

Utterly captivating
The writing sparkles with in-depth research and rich visuality
Elegant and romantic, Ms. Halverson's writing is absolutely exquisite

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knight Wenstrom Publishers
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 22, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 332 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 099690574X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0996905749
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.83 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 161 ratings

About the author

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Gail Avery Halverson

Gail Avery Halverson

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Award-winning writer, Gail Avery Halverson, is the author of three historical fiction novels, "The Boundary Stone," "The Skeptical Physick," and most recently, "A Sea of Glass." Set in mid-17th century England, "The Boundary Stone" is a Chaucer Award Finalist (historical fiction), a Cygnus Award Finalist (speculative fiction), and a Chatelaine Award Winner (historical romantic fiction). "The Skeptical Physick" also won the Chaucer Award for historical fiction and the Chatelaine Award Grand Prize for romantic historical fiction. Ms. Halverson is the playwright and composer of musical plays that have been performed for nearly 300,000 children since 2004, and has had two screenplays optioned by Longbow Productions. Writing for both theater and television, she holds a B.A. in English Literature/Communications from the University of California, Davis; and is currently at work on her fourth novel. She lives in Northern California with her husband and their rambunctious Wheaten terrier, Murphy.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
161 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this historical fiction book captivating and well-suited for book clubs, with beautifully descriptive writing and wonderfully complex characters. Moreover, they appreciate its historical accuracy, learning about period history and science, and one customer notes how it sweeps readers away to medieval times in England.

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40 customers mention "Readability"40 positive0 negative

Customers find the book captivating and enjoyable, with several noting it's great for book clubs.

"...I recommend the entire series as an informative and satisfying read!" Read more

"I absolutely loved this book. One of my favorite reads of the past twelve months and I read a lot of books." Read more

"I enjoyed reading this book! I liked the history, the characters and the marvel of the story...." Read more

"Boundry Stone is a most rewarding read I can not recommend enough. A well resesrched historical Sevententh century non fiction novel, at its best ...." Read more

38 customers mention "Storyline"38 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storyline of this historical fiction book, describing it as intriguing and beautiful, with one customer noting how it sweeps readers away to medieval England.

"I enjoyed reading this book! I liked the history, the characters and the marvel of the story...." Read more

"...I can't wait to read the sequel! This book would make a great Historical television or Netflix or Prime series!" Read more

"...Ms. Halverson's writing is beautiful with a narrative that tells a great story but doesn't dawdle as so many tend to do...." Read more

"...Ms. Halverson uses some interesting devices in telling the tale, the most clever being the tracing the path of the fleas that carry the deadly..." Read more

24 customers mention "Character development"24 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, noting the wonderfully complex characters and strong female protagonist, with one customer highlighting how historical facts are woven into the fictional narrative.

"...I was, for the most part, mesmerized! The characters are so well drawn that they almost instantly come to life and jump off the page!..." Read more

"I enjoyed reading this book! I liked the history, the characters and the marvel of the story...." Read more

"...Award-winning writer Halverson has given us a character so completely believable, and so empathetic that readers will fall in love with her from the..." Read more

"...The writing was excellent. The characters came to life over the pages and it was hard to put the book down...." Read more

23 customers mention "Historical accuracy"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book, learning about period history and science, with one customer noting the author's careful research and another highlighting the fascinating period in England and Europe.

"...I recommend the entire series as an informative and satisfying read!" Read more

"...He recognizes Catherine’s remarkable medical talents and begins to envision a way he and she might someday make a medical partnership...." Read more

"...The plague in the mid 1600's was such a great parallel to the recent world pandemic, and I found so many things to identity with...." Read more

"...Catherine is beautiful, yes, but she is also thoughtful, determined, resourceful, and her own woman...." Read more

20 customers mention "Writing quality"20 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, noting its beautifully descriptive style and rich idiomatic phrasing, with one customer highlighting the amazing attention to historical detail.

"...and their journeys,and their stories; such is the affect of well written works. I highly recommend." Read more

"...And employing rich idiomatic phrasing and restrained but appropriate accents as needed, she shows her gift for the sound as well as the sense of well..." Read more

"...I am so happy they selected this book. The writing was excellent. The characters came to life over the pages and it was hard to put the book down...." Read more

"...Ms. Halverson's writing is beautiful with a narrative that tells a great story but doesn't dawdle as so many tend to do...." Read more

5 customers mention "Enjoyment"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, with one describing it as equally enrapturing.

"...you’ve read and enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth, the Boundary Stone is equally enrapturing...." Read more

"I really enjoyed The Boundary Stone by Gail Avery Halverson! I love history and reading about characters living in very different eras...." Read more

"The Boundary Stone is a great read. I love historical fiction and this didn't disappoint...." Read more

"The Boundary Stone is a satisfying, warm and richly woven book!..." Read more

Fabulous and enchanting!
5 out of 5 stars
Fabulous and enchanting!
The Boundary Stone is one of the remarkable books that you fall easily in love with before you know it! The story sweeps you away to medieval times in England, and features a strong woman and a strong man...and of course a few scoundrels. I couldn't put the book down, and finished it on our trip in just a couple of days. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in love with historical fiction....just wish I could continue reading the story in a subsequent book! P.S. Book Clubs would love this book....lots to talk about over wine or coffee!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • sparky
    5.0 out of 5 stars Drama, Trauma, and stardust!!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is a review for the THREE books in Halverson's The Stockbridge Series. I'm writing only one review because the books are so connected that it is difficult to separate them. Honestly, I couldn't put down these books. I went from one to the next and then the next eager to read what would happen next to the wealth of characters, events, and places in the series. I was, for the most part, mesmerized! The characters are so well drawn that they almost instantly come to life and jump off the page! My favorite was Viola, a cranky, critical older woman adept at honing in on the very worst in every situation. But in the end, I realized that Viola was simply afraid that life would go awry, and it did, many times. Deaths from the plague, smallpox, and finally a devastatingly destructive fire rip Viola's world apart. It takes years, but in the end, life returns to a normalcy that everyone can live with. The ending is surprising and inspiring. I recommend the entire series as an informative and satisfying read!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Carrie Du Bois
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic love story
    Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I absolutely loved this book. One of my favorite reads of the past twelve months and I read a lot of books.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kathryn L. Curry
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good read!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed reading this book! I liked the history, the characters and the marvel of the story. I liked meeting the author too, and hearing about her research and how she built the storyline and characters. Good read!
    One person found this helpful
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  • John Thurston
    5.0 out of 5 stars A most rewarding Read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Boundry Stone is a most rewarding read I can not recommend enough. A well resesrched historical Sevententh century non fiction novel, at its best . A compelling read that draws the reader in. In the low lights it draws heavily on the human narrative and human condition. I easily became subsumed with the characters and their journeys,and their stories; such is the affect of well written works. I highly recommend.
    Helpful
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  • Chanticleer Book Reviews
    5.0 out of 5 stars Set against the backdrop of the Black Plague, one woman of note risks everything to follow her calling and find her true love.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Catherine Abbott has everything a young lady of quality could wish for in England, 1660's. She lives on her father’s comfortable estate in the village of Wells, Buckinghamshire and she’s soon to be wed to Miles Houghton, a childhood friend recently returned from several years in France. For Miles, the wedding is just the ticket to free him from his rather large gambling debt. His heart isn't in it, though, as he still yearns for the Parisian nightlife.

    However, Catherine has had an interest in science, books, and “the mysteries of this world” that inspires her to make complex drawings of butterflies and track the constellations in the night skies. Can she be happy as an idle wife? When she meets Simon, a young doctor who has been assigned to care for her aging, gout-ridden father, she begins to dream of a different future, impossible, she understands, but she still can dream, right?

    Then the Black Plague strikes England. Taking orders from Simon whom he has grown to respect, Lord Abbott orders the village of Wells to be quarantined and ships Catherine’s brother Charles off to the colonies. Miles, unwilling to be hemmed in, flees without a word to Catherine, ignoring their planned nuptials. She, who once helped a servant girl in the throes of childbirth, finds a way to assist Simon in treating plague victims. He recognizes Catherine’s remarkable medical talents and begins to envision a way he and she might someday make a medical partnership. Or will their relationship go beyond the professional?

    Award-winning writer Halverson has given us a character so completely believable, and so empathetic that readers will fall in love with her from the opening scene, when, as a little girl, Catherine sneaks out one night to observe the movements of the stars. We are hooked and are convinced that this heroine is a prodigy who will only find what she seeks in life by breaking the bounds of convention. Drawing on events of the time, such as England’s trade with India, the colonization of America, the controversial issue of autopsies as a means of studying illness, and of course the horrors of the plague itself, Halverson reveals extensive research into the century she writes about. And employing rich idiomatic phrasing and restrained but appropriate accents as needed, she shows her gift for the sound as well as the sense of well-constructed prose. In a short Afterword, the author relates the story of a little English village on which she patterned her fictional Wells, where quarantine did serve to save lives at the time of the Black Plague.

    Set against the backdrop of England's Black Plague, one woman bravely challenges the rules of stature and class to find her true love and true calling. Historical romance readers will enjoy curling up with Halverson's first book in The Stockbridge Series and look forward to reading the next one.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Madame2u
    3.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, but...
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018
    This author has clearly read her share of historical fiction. While she's good at regurgitating and imitating scenes from other novels, staying true to her genre, she is trying too hard: her writing is florid, with far too many adverbs. Use of the word "literally" took me right out of the story. The reader has to stumble over contrived pith to get to the story line. A lot of promise here, but she needs a guide. Overall, fairly clean writing mechanically, but book has line errors a solid proofreader should have caught. She needs a Max Perkins clone with a machete.
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  • princess leah
    5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging 21st Century Relevant Historical Fiction - A Must Read
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I don't normally read historical fiction, so I was a little hesitant to read The Boundary Stone for our Book Club. I am so happy they selected this book. The writing was excellent. The characters came to life over the pages and it was hard to put the book down. The plague in the mid 1600's was such a great parallel to the recent world pandemic, and I found so many things to identity with. Even though Gail Avery Halverson wrote this 4 years prior to the start of the 2020 pandemic, her foresight was reminiscent of Tom Clancy and left me wondering what else she might be predicting in the sequel(s)! I can't wait to read the sequel! This book would make a great Historical television or Netflix or Prime series!
    One person found this helpful
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  • weeble
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Full disclosure says I have to say that historical fiction/romance is not my genre, but I made an exception for this book and am so glad I did. This is so much more than just a "period piece". Ms. Halverson's writing is beautiful with a narrative that tells a great story but doesn't dawdle as so many tend to do. Her descriptions of characters and scenery pull the reader right into the story. But the thing that makes this a great read more than anything, is the character of Catherine is not the breathless, vapid heroine of so many books of this type. Catherine is beautiful, yes, but she is also thoughtful, determined, resourceful, and her own woman. A message of hope in a story told against the backdrop of a terrible time in the history of the world, this is a book I heartily recommend. Copies have already been purchased to take a place under several Christmas trees of family and friends this season.
    5 people found this helpful
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