17th century drama
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
Wonderful, wonderful, I adored this book. I read the stand alone sequel over a year ago, always meaning to get to this too, and the author very kindly sent me a review copy. I loved it so much I think I might have to read the sequel (The Gilded Lily) again!
(part of) The blurb:
The year is 1660. The King is back, but the wounds of Civil War remain. In rural Westmorland, artist Alice Ibbetson has become captivated by the rare Lady's Slipper orchid. She is determined to capture its unique beauty for posterity, even if it means stealing the flower from the land of the recently converted Quaker, Richard Wheeler.
Fired
by his newfound faith, the former soldier Wheeler feels bound to track
down the missing orchid. Meanwhile, others are eager to lay hands on the
flower, and have their own powerful motives.
The story is told most adeptly from many points of view: Alice, Richard, Margaret (I loved her section) and the troubled Geoffrey Fisk... also his son, Stephen (who begins to reject his upbringing in favour of the ways of the Quakers), the sly maid, Ella, and a couple of others. Each character was so well portrayed that I could imagine him/her immediately. The plot is unusual and well thought out, the strands work together so smoothly. I was completely absorbed in the past while reading this, taking it slowly, stopping to imagine the setting. A bonus was the part on board ship at the end; I've long been fascinated by seafarers of this time
Love, love, love Deborah Swift's writing; I'm just sad that I've read all her books now, and have to wait for her to write another!
The Gilded Lily reviewed HERE
A Divided Inheritance reviewed HERE
Shadow on the Highway reviewed HERE
Spirit of the Highway reviewed HERE
Past Encounters (written as Davina Blake) reviewed HERE
Fantastic review, oh if only I could read books all day a nothing else, I could get to all these wonderful tales.
ReplyDeleteOh Rosie, I know, I know! If I didn't have this mad writing compulsion I'd do the same. I'd love you to read Deborah's stuff, if you do I'd start with The Gilded Lily, like I did - it's the sequel to this but totally stand alone.
DeleteI love it when you can get totally consumed in a book, the only trouble is when you have to come back to the real world! Lovely review and fabulous book covers.
ReplyDeleteShelley, I love her books so much, I want everyone to read them!!! :)
DeleteWe must create a colony for book readers and hide there reading books all day long. Must try and get to them too.
ReplyDelete