“The separation between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” The truth of those words, spoken by Albert Einstein, is experienced by Eleanor MacLean, who travels back to the past to the reign of the wicked King John of England. There she is a witness to some of the major events in world history, including the signing of the Magna Carta and the king’s loss of all the crown jewels of England in a quicksand-filled bay off the coast of England. As an old woman, back in the present, Eleanor wants—she needs—to tell her story to her beloved granddaughter, Dona, before it’s too late for Dona to locate the priceless Hand of Maud. An epic adventure that combines two great love stories spanning eight centuries, The Hand of Maud will answer the question: What happened to the lost crown jewels of England?
History tells us that in 1216, as the evil King John (yes, he of Robin Hood fame) was attempting to cross a body of water called the Wash off the coast of England when his miles-long train was partially washed away and dragged beneath swirling, bubbling quicksand. Many soldiers and others traveling with the train died, along with horses carrying wagons filled with provisions for the war that the king was waging against the French.
One of the wagons dragged down by the quicksand contained almost all of the crown jewels of England. When the king eventually died, there wasn't even a crown to place on his dead head. King John was so stingy, and terrified of losing his jewels, that he carried them with him everywhere. Little did he know that nature would eventually claim them.
Many of the jewels were bequeathed to the crown by John's grandmother, the Empress Matilda -- often called Maud. One of those priceless relics was described as a golden, life-sized hand, encrusted with jewels ... the Hand of Maud. The main characters in my book known where the Hand of Maud is, as well as several other crown jewels.
In 2022 a metal detectorist in England, using sophisticated detection technology, claimed to have found the 800-year-old lost treasure of King John. He has not as of this writing been able to retrieve the jewels, but ... stay tuned.
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