A tale of horror and self-discovery in Georgian Britain
The young Welsh duchess Andronica Llewellyn is a rebel - she reads Caesar, shoots pistols, and is not amused when her elders decide she is to marry some English fop for his money. Waking in the forest one morning, naked and covered with blood, Andronica realises that rebellion was only the beginning. Her beloved cousin Bronwyn is dead - decapitated and mauled by a wolf - and hunting parties hired by her own father are searching for the beast. When she vomits a bucketful of blood and passes her cousin's engagement ring into the chamber-pot, Andronica suspects that she has become a monster.
As months pass and more innocents are killed, her desperation grows and she searches frantically to find a cure for her condition. Finding no answers and unwilling to kill again, she finally decides to end her life with a silver bullet. At the last possible moment, a letter arrives which changes everything - emblazoned on its seal is the She-Wolf of Rome, and the message contains startling revelations about Andronica's past and future in the enigmatic Sisterhood of the Wolf.
Sent to London by her father to escape the horror at home, Andronica enters the realm of finer society, where she entertains the nobility with her virtuosity at the harpsichord and studies music with the composer Handel. Through the instruction of her Aunt Margaret, a keeper of secrets and purveyor of information, she also learns how women can wield true power in a male-dominated culture. Dazzled by the glittering world of Georgian London, Andronica nearly forgets her affliction, but it soon reasserts itself with a vengeance and a series of brutal murders shocks the city. Newspaper headlines scream of the 'St Valentine's Day Massacre' and 'The Were-Wolf of Brompton Lane'.
Struggling to control her animal instincts and accept the dire consequences of her actions, Andronica faces even greater danger when she encounters a male of her species, who vows to destroy her when she rejects his advances. This leads to a terrifying confrontation between male and female, which is certain to end in dismemberment and death for one or the other.
In this first volume of her autobiography, Andronica introduces us to the world inhabited by the Sisterhood of the Wolf, and we meet some of the characters who will accompany her subsequent adventures in the royal courts of Europe and on the battlefields of the Seven Years' War in Europe and America.
The standard edition contains Andronica Llewellyn's original text. In the illustrated historical edition are included numerous historical engravings and portraits, giving the reader a more personal perspective on the people and places central to Andronica's life in the eighteenth century. Furthermore, it includes additional background information in the form of footnotes, as well as recommendations for recordings of the music which represents a central element in her story.
About the Author
In her present incarnation, Andronica Llewellyn was born 1835 in India, but can trace her origins back to the Druids of ancient Britain. Through her centuries-long association with the Sisterhood of the Wolf, she has often been involved in pivotal events of world history. In the eighteenth century, Andronica first practiced the art of espionage in service to William Pitt and Frederick the Great. Since 1923 she has been employed by MI6, the British secret intelligence service, and served as liaison to the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, her activities included several tours of duty in East Germany and the Soviet Union. Her current assignment is confidential.
The publication of Andronica's memoirs has been facilitated by her human friend and collaborator, Dr Brian Stewart, who holds a Ph.D. in historical musicology from Stanford University.
