Watchman

By the 18th century, the Romani ""wandering'' that first brought gypsies into England is veering towards a landed, settled respectability. In the person of magnetically handsome Jess Bayless, this drive is to bear fruit, albeit evil, through six generations. Wealthy from his contraband dealing, Jess begins the construction of his dream house, Lavenham, in the Sussex village of Apuldram. Built on an ancient foundation, Lavenham has a beauty imbued with menace and ancient carnality. There Jess fathers a child with his obsessed sister; to his estate he brings his young Saxon bride, Lavinia, who suffers from the haunting terrors as she fosters the next generation. In this first of a projected series, Finlay defines the rich territory of the ``traveling people,'' mixing recorded and imagined happenings. Once past the thickets of gypsy history and lore, the reader will experience the palpable presence of the watchful house and its strange menage. (July)