A Macclesfield authors sophomore release is set to come out next month.

Novelist Elisabeth J. Hobbes - who has lived in Macclesfield since 1999 - released her first novel in 2021.

Her debut novel topped the Amazon charts, as reported by Macclesfield Nub News, and was shortlisted for a literary award.

And on October 6, her next novel The Promise Tree will be released.

The book's setting is heavily based on South Park in Macclesfield and the surrounding areas.

This is Elisabeth's second novel writing as Elisabeth J. Hobbes with folklore and mythological elements as well as a historical setting and romance (her non-fantasy historical titles are written as Elisabeth Hobbes and the J is a nod to Crowley from Good Omens, one of her favourite books). 

The Promise Tree is the story of Edwin, a young orphan who climbs a forbidden sycamore tree on his grandfather's property. This defiance results in a broken arm, an encounter with a strange girl and banishment from his grandfather's house to relatives in Yorkshire.

When he's summoned back to begin working in the family silk business as a young man he has only vague memories of the incident until he meets Drusilla, a woman who not only claims to know him but claims to be the spirit of the tree itself.

The book spans the Edwardian period, Edwin's experiences in the First World War and the budding (no pun intended) romance with Drusilla when he returns.

Click the red link below to pre-order the book.

"The parkland and silk mill belonging to Edwin's grandfather and the industrial town where they live are heavily based on Macclesfield," said Elisabeth.

"Especially South Park where I walk my dogs daily. It's a gorgeous park with mature trees and views over the hills and town so plenty of space to spark the imagination.

"Readers who know the area will spot a few places they recognise, such as the Italian owned ice cream business, the square, red brick Methodist church and of course the various silk factories that populate the town."

The Promise Tree is published by One More Chapter, a division of Harper Collins and is available from 6th October in ebook and 12th October in paperback.

The blurb for the book can be read at the bottom of this article.

The book costs £9.19 on paperback and £1.99 on Kindle.

Macclesfield: You can also pre-order via other platforms on this link.

The blurb for the book can be read at the bottom of this article:

When does a story begin?

For Edwin Hope, it begins with a childhood dare and a forbidden tree. It begins with him falling … in more ways than one.

Called home from his studies by the grandfather who has always hated him, eighteen-year-old Edwin is once again trapped in a house that is colder than the winds whipping across the fields. Seeking sanctuary, he escapes into the untamed beauty of the Peaks and meets a woman who sparks an old memory. A memory of the sycamore that broke him, and the little girl who saved him.

Drusilla has had many acolytes over the centuries but none like Edwin. With the Great War looming and Edwin's future uncertain, she knows the right thing to do is to set him free from her spell, but can she do so if it means breaking her own heart?

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