On my blog today, I am welcoming JUSTIN NEWLAND, to find out more about his soon-to-be-published historical novel, The Spirit of the Times, a story set in fourteenth century Central Asia that is part history, part fiction and part speculation…
As well as finding out more about the book, here you can read an article from Justin about the part roses play in his novel…
What is the book about?
From a land of milk,
And a Road of Silk,
To a ring of roses,
And a dance of posies,
Comes the tale of the spirit of the times!
In fourteenth-century Central Asia, Karia is a young woman living under the yoke of Mongol occupation. But she’s different. She’s a fighter with supernatural powers. She could use them to keep the Black Plague at bay and solve the mystery of the purple skies at dawn – if only she could overcome her self-doubt.
Travelling in caravans on the Silk Road, she faces dangers seen and unseen – from sandstorms and slave traders to the desert djinn and folk who believe she’s a witch. She fears losing Abi, her little cousin, who’s fascinated by roses and the dance of the Whirling Dervishes of Bukhara.
When Karia falls in love with an English sailor fleeing the Knights Hospitaller, they sail to England with Abi to unravel the meaning of the purple skies, a dance, a posy tree, and a ring of roses.
The Spirit of the Times is part history, part fiction and part speculation: on the origin of disease; the power of innocence; the unfortunate aspects of custom and dogma; and humanity’s ability to respond to the governing influence or spirit of the times.
Ring a Ring a Roses
By Justin Newland
This guest post is about roses, and the part they play in my novel, The Spirit of the Times.
One of the reasons that prompted me to write this novel was that I had read that, in the 14th century, whole villages were decimated by the Black Plague, and that often the only survivors of the apocalypse were the village idiot and the children. That I found to be very curious.
Delving into it, I suspected that both were protected by their innocence! The children especially, were protected by the nature and rhythm of the classic plague song as follows:
Ring a Ring a Roses.
A pocket full of posies.
A-tishoo, a-tishoo.
We all fall down.
What did it mean? Why a ring? What’s a posy? Why the a-tishoo, the sneezing? Why the falling down? And most of all, why roses? Was it anything to do with the black rose, because the buboes on the neck and armpits and groin of those afflicted by the plague often adopted the appearance of a black rose. In those days, they had no conception of immunity, but I suspect that their instinct for survival, heightened by the existential threat of the pestilence, informed them about a protective ring.
Exploring it further made me realise that often a nursery rhyme, a fable, a fairy tale, or a myth, was a cloak that covered a deeper truth, a veil that hid a wisdom that could only be drawn aside by those who knew how, exactly like the legend of King Arthur pulling out the sword from the stone.
So, was the Ring a Ring a Roses a way of conjuring just such a protective ring?
I discovered that roses and their derivative – rosettes – are ubiquitous across all cultures, all eras, all peoples.
The ancient Persians were supposed to have created the first rose – the blue rose. The myth was that they forgot how to cultivate it when evil entered the world, hence the reason why the blue rose is no longer naturally cultivated today. The symbol of the rose was used in ancient Egypt, where it was associated with Isis, the goddess of rebirth. They used rose balm to anoint the dead and placed dried rose petals inside the wrappings of mummies.
In my novel, The Spirit of the Times, Karia’s sister gives birth to a little girl, Abi, who has a birth mark that looks like a rose. Later, when the plague arrives, her sister dies of it, and Karia takes the child and joins a caravan to escape. As Abi grows, so does her fascination with roses.
When their escape from the plague takes them to Samarkand, the City of Oases, Karia ventures into the nearby Zarafshan Mountains. There, she has an extraordinary encounter with a snow leopard, an animal which, by coincidence, is connected to roses.
Then later, Karia and Abi head to Mount Sherkala, which in Persian means the Lion’s Castle, in what is now Kazakhstan. There, Abi has another wonderful encounter to do with roses, this time with a swarm of fireflies at dusk.
The theme of roses and rosettes runs through the novel, which culminates when Karia, who by now has met and fallen in love with an English sailor, docks in Melcombe Regis, near Weymouth in England. The rest, as they say, is history.
Book details
The Spirit of the Times will be published on July 28th 2026 by Troubadour Publishing, and is available from Amazon and many other outlets.
Buy Links
Author’s Website • Publisher website
Waterstones • TG Jones • Coles Books • Shakespeare & Company
About the author
Justin Newland’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres, from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism.
Undeterred by the award of a doctorate in mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies. Next came The Old Dragon’s Head (Matador, 2018), set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.
The Coronation (Matador, 2019) features the Great Enlightenment and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution. The Abdication (Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.
At this point in his writing career, after four self-published books, Justin was offered a part-funded contract with the Book Guild.
The Mark of the Salamander (Book Guild, 2023) is the first in a two-book ‘The Island of Angels’ series. It tells the epic tale of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era. The second in the series, The Midnight of Eights (Book Guild, 2024), charts the uncanny coincidences of time and tide that culminated in the repulse of the Spanish Armada.
His latest novel, The Spirit of the Times (Matador, 2026), is to be published in July. It tells the story of a young Kyrgyz woman’s journey westwards along the Silk Road. With purple skies at dawn, and a supporting cast of Genghis Khan, the Black Plague, a perplexing rhyme, a ring of roses, it explores the greatest mystery of all – the spirit of the times.
Justin’s enduring passion is to explore the origins of our current time. This prompted a broad research into what we’ve inherited from history – encompassing Egypt, China, Prussia and Tudor England. He also writes entertaining talks which he gives to the WI, U3A, Probus, Rotary and local historical associations. Please visit his website for a current list of the talks.
Alongside the talks, Justin promotes his work with regular book signings at TG Jones (ex. WH Smith) high street stores, selling over 3,500 books since 2019. He has sponsored over 40 UK and US blog tours, given frequent radio interviews and penned many guest posts.
His current book signing motto is: Enjoy, Imagine, Discover.
As a member of the Society of Authors, he has Public and Products Liability Insurance.
Born in Essex, England, three days before the end of 1953, he lives with his lady in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
You can connect with Justin online:
Amazon Author Page • Goodreads
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