A new book called Broken Angels, which is jointly written by Wells author Beth Webb, is based on a true story.

By the early 15th century, Glastonbury Abbey, one of the wealthiest and most important monasteries in Britain, had become a hotbed of gossip and rumour.

There were tales of internal feuds and lax discipline, illicit sex, and several questionable business deals.

Even worse, there were numerous complaints about the abbot, John Chinnock. At last, King Henry IV and the Church hierarchy decided to act.

In September 1408, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, visited Glastonbury with an entourage of influential men to resolve the situation.

The archbishop's visitation report still exists, but it's mostly a list of punishments meted out, not the actual crimes.

Broken Angels uses that report and many of the people mentioned in it, to imagine what was going on.

The story by Beth Webb and Mark Hutchinson will take you back 600 years to a time that's often over-spiritualised and romanticised, but in reality was cruel and brutal, especially for the ordinary working people.

advertisement

Broken Angels costs £4.99 and can be ordered from any bookshop, or bought directly from: [email protected] at £6.99 (including £2 UK P&P).