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There’s a certain magic in pursuing something one cannot quite grasp.

Introducing Sheila Atley and her debut novel, Discovering Caroline.

Set against the backdrop of Jacobite uprisings, Discovering Caroline is a romantic adventure following one woman’s unexpected journey to a land she did not know. Alive with history, it is a story of hope, faith, and survival that celebrates the endurance of the human spirit.

Stay tuned for the March Release of Noble Secret, the sequel to Discovering Caroline!

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There’s a certain magic in pursuing something one cannot quite grasp. Introducing Sheila Atley and her debut novel, Discovering Caroline. Set against the backdrop of Jacobite uprisings, Discovering Caroline is a romantic adventure following one woman’s unexpected journey to a land she did not know. Alive with history, it is a story of hope, faith,… Continue reading Home

Beyond the Book – here you will find items of historical interest and some of what went into creating Lady Caroline’s adventure.

After years of writing, much research, hours upon hours of editing – and more than a few tears – Discovering Caroline is finally printed, bound and published! And to think – it all started at my dining room table with… a laptop and an idea. A sailor’s bunk on the Susan Constant at anchor in… Continue reading Beyond the Book – here you will find items of historical interest and some of what went into creating Lady Caroline’s adventure.

A sentry at his post on the Duke of Gloucester St. Williamsburg, VA

A view of the James River

Tenbury Hall sits along the James River making it easy for hogsheads of tobacco to be rolled down to awaiting cargo ships. – Discovering Caroline The first photo is from a wood near Westover Plantation. The other two were taken at the excavation site at the Jamestown Settlement on Jamestown Island.

One man’s whisky, is another man’s whiskey…

…it depends on what country you are in. While Irish and American distillers spell it with an “e,” it is missing from Scotch Whisky. This accounts for the varied spellings in Discovering Caroline.

Sugar – a decided luxury.

Cones of sugar, or sugar loaves, sitting atop a sugar loaf box on display at the Randolph House in Williamsburg. Imported from the Caribbean and Brazil, the art of processing sugar cane into these loaves was neither easy nor simple – nor was it cheap – unlike the refined sugar we consume today.

Caroline's Dictionary

Confused by the language and dialect found in Discovering Caroline? Here you will find a list of the most common words and phrases used in the novel and their origin. Published in 1785, Frances Grouse broke new ground in collecting slang words and phrases used by both the polite and the not so polite. I… Continue reading Caroline's Dictionary