Knight's Acre — Norah Lofts

Sir Godfrey Tallboys was a knight-errant, famous for his success at tourneys, but far from wealthy. In an attempt to make his fortune he left his wife Sybilla and travelled to Spain to fight a minor crusade against the Moors.
But treachery lurked in that far distant land and soon Sir Godfrey became a prisoner, a helpless slave in a hostile country. Back in quiet Suffolk he was reported dead. And so it fell to Sybilla to fend for the whole family. The modest house of Knight's Acre became the scene of much hardship and poverty, and only someone with Sybilla's determination could triumph at last. But Sybilla, resigned to growing old before her time, was to find that life still held many surprises for her...