The Ropemaker's Apprentice

A SWEEPING HISTORICAL EPIC featuring:

• Authentic frontier life with meticulous historical detail

• The transformation of an innocent Yorkshire boy into the legendary "Red Bear"

• Complex, respectful relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples (Mandan, Blackfeet, Cree, Assiniboine)

• Real historical figures: Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and the mountain men of the 1835 Green River Rendezvous

• The devastating 1837 smallpox epidemic that destroyed entire Plains nations

• Richly drawn characters facing impossible choices and moral complexity

• A love story built on survival and sacrifice

• The building of family through blood, loss, and chosen bonds

From industrial Yorkshire in the 1820s to the soaring beauty of the Rocky Mountains in 1840, The Ropemaker's Apprentice is an unforgettable tale of survival, redemption, and the families we build when everything else is taken away.

Part Three: The Ropemaker's Daughter (Coming Soon) will follow Eleanor Arkwright as she becomes a force of nature on the frontier—building a trading empire at Abraham Lake, pioneering early wilderness tourism for wealthy eastern travellers, navigating life between two cultures, and proving that sometimes the most formidable person in the territories is a red-haired woman with emerald eyes who refuses to be told what she cannot do.

"A masterful blend of historical accuracy and compelling storytelling. Thomas Arkwright's journey from falsely accused Yorkshire boy to frontier legend is as brutal as it is beautiful, populated with unforgettable characters who earn their survival one hard-won day at a time."

Perfect for readers who love:

• Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series

• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

• The Revenant by Michael Punke

• True Grit by Charles Portis

• Frontier historical fiction with authentic detail and complex characters