The Poor Clare

A weary old narrator looks back over a life tangled with strange events, beginning his tale in the remote Trough of Bolland, where Starkey Manor rises from a craggy peninsula. The ancestral house, built around a medieval keep, is surrounded by bleak hills, ancient gnarled trees, and modest cottages of rough stone and mud, giving the setting a distinctly haunting feel. The Starkey family, staunch Catholics bound to the old Stuart cause, live under the weight of religious rigidity and a history of exile that still colours every decision.

Into this austere world appears poor Lucy, known locally as the Poor Clare, whose quiet presence sparks curiosity and compassion among the manor’s inhabitants. As the narrator unfolds the first act, listeners will glimpse Lucy’s humble circumstances, the subtle tensions between faith and survival, and the lingering mysteries that draw the old man deeper into her story. The opening promises a richly drawn portrait of love, duty, and the quiet struggles that echo through a rugged Lancashire landscape.