The Deceivers

To avoid a forced marriage, sixteen year old Alison flees from home with her younger brother. A young knight who has seen her once and fallen in love with her, aided by his servant, traces and catches up with her in a moment of peril. Pleased to have two protectors, she chooses to hide in a dangerous woodland. In spite of his servant’s warnings, her knight stays with her. Disaster strikes and the two young people are forced to recognise their responsibility for the tragic consequences.


Barbara Leonie Picard was born in England in 1917 of mixed German-Venezuelan and French parentage. A long time resident of Lewes, Sussex, England, she died in 2011 at the age of 93. Several of her books were short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, and were selected as Notable Children’s Books by the American Library Association.