In the village of Great Keynes, the Catholic Maxwells of the Hall cling to the ancient Faith under fines and suspicion. A stone’s throw away, the devout Puritan Norrises raise their children in the new religion. When young Hubert Maxwell falls in love with Isabel Norris, and her brother Anthony enters the household of the Archbishop of Canterbury, neither family can imagine where the coming years will lead. Priests are hunted, Jesuits arrive in secret, Edmund Campion preaches in hidden chapels, and the shadow of the Spanish Armada falls across the land. Faith becomes a matter of conscience and of life and death. Each member of these two families must decide where the true Church is found, and what they are willing to give up for it.

Written by Robert Hugh Benson, son of an Archbishop of Canterbury who became a Catholic priest himself, By What Authority? is one of the finest historical novels of the English Reformation. It is a gripping story of love, conversion, sacrifice and martyrdom, told with deep sympathy for people on both sides of the religious divide. This Glorious Heritage Books edition has been newly typeset for easy reading. It faithfully preserves Benson’s original text, with only minor spelling and punctuation corrections. It is a treasure for Catholic readers, homeschool families, and anyone who loves rich, faith-filled historical fiction.