Bladys of the Stewponey is a historical romance set at the close of the seventeenth century, a time when the country on the road to Chester is infested with highwaymen and the caves pockmarking the Red Sandstone country surrounding Shrewsbury are their refuge. Bladys Rea, daughter of the landlord of the Stewponey Inn near Stourton Castle, is powerless to do anything but endure the shame of being offered as the prize of a bowling match by her own father. But when Bladys is whisked away by the winner to wed a man she barely knows, she chooses to rebel. Escaping his clutches, she seeks shelter in the sandstone caves. What follows is a gripping story that includes dangerous highwaymen, buried treasure, black magic—and murder. The novel, though fictionalized, is based on real places and events, including the last public execution by burning that took place in Shrewsbury in 1789.