In Plain Sight

Based on the True Story of Leicester's Jesuit Martyr

by Kate Myers

“Rest easy, William, Leicester will look after you and keep you safe from harm.”

A heartwarming biography of William Bentney,

Leicester’s long–forgotten Jesuit priest.

For fans of Niall Williams and James Martin, SJ.

In Plain Sight documents the life of a man who deserves to be remembered. He died for his faith and was loved and respected by a town that was tolerant, a relatively safe haven for nonconformists.

When it was treasonous to be a priest, William Bentney kept a low profile in Leicester for forty years. Not judged a high flyer by the Jesuits, he was sent as chaplain to a prosperous but not distinguished wool merchant. Those who knew him guessed his real role, but they liked the ‘gardener’ and out of kindness they let him be.

Betrayed when old and frail, the people of Leicester refused to testify against him. Confined to his prison cell, he felt useless without a sacramental life, without the chance to look after those who had been placed in his care. Father Bentney survived into his eighties. He felt a burden to those who supported him. Until he found a new vocation.

Something was different about this man. Something was different about Leicester.

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About the Author

Kate Myers

American by birth, Irish by marriage, Kate Myers has lived for over fifty years in the East Midlands, both teaching and writing, following postgraduate studies at Nottingham University. She has previously published short stories, a memoir( Patchwork: An American Childhood), and several books on local history, Faith Built on Love: A History of Scared Heart Parish, Leicester, 1883-2008 and more recently, In Plain Sight published in 2017, the novel based on the life of William Bentney, a Jesuit who worked as a secret priest in Leicester from 1652-1692.

Kate Myers is listed on the GrassRoutes Writers Gallery on the website GrassRoutes: Contemporary Leicester Writing through Leicester University.