In 1630, the long peace of the early Stuart period begins to fracture. At Morland Place, Richard returns with a Puritan wife while his brother Kit joins Prince Rupert and the Royalist cavalry. Their father Edmund tries to preserve both the estate and family unity, but the conflict between King Charles I and Parliament enters the household and turns political disagreement into personal estrangement.
As the English Civil War becomes prolonged and brutal, early idealism gives way to exhaustion, bereavement and distrust. The brothers’ opposing commitments divide marriages and generations, while Edmund’s attempt to remain between the factions satisfies no one. The oak apple becomes a symbol of Royalist loyalty, but the novel’s deeper concern is the price paid when civil war makes neutrality impossible.
