Echoes of a strange past haunted Roisin. She dimly knew her destiny lay far beyond the South Downs rectory where she had been so strictly reared. Manoeuvred into an uninspiring marriage, she escaped to make her own way in a society overshadowed by the Napoleonic Wars where values were a stark contrast to those at home.
She was to meet La Belle Madeleine whose brilliant establishment was not what it seemed; the stormy baronet whose young daughter was dying of consumption and whose half-mad sister had eloped with a penniless lord; the Brighton soldier who won her heart one enchanted evening, and as swiftly broke it.
It was through a dramatic sequence of events that she was lured inexorably back to her roots in the wilds of Cumberland, to Silvercragg Castle and the baneful spectre of Meg McCullough, the blacksmith’s daughter crossed in love. There the mystery began to unfold, but it was not until months later, on the battlefield of Waterloo, that Roisin’s future... More > was finally sealed.< Less
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By Rosy Cole
Apr 24, 2012
"MY MOTHER BIDS ME" Review by Nanette Donohue HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY Roisin Harcup was raised as the middle daughter in a clergyman’s family, but she feels like she’s meant for greater excitement. A secret trip to the Brighton Fair with her lady’s maid opens Roisin’s eyes to the world outside her provincial town and her betrothal to Anthony March, a kind, if dull, local gentleman. When her father’s punishment for escaping the house in pursuit of earthly pleasures proves too much, Roisin flees to Brighton where she finds a job as a seamstress—and a male admirer named Leo Penrose. Roisin soon discovers that the dressmaking shop is a front for a house of ill repute and escapes yet again, this time to work as a governess. While employed as a governess, Roisin begins to discover the truth about her heritage—that she was adopted, and that her mother went insane when she was jilted by her lover. Now Roisin fears that she could take after her mother in unexpected ways. Cole... More > seems to be trying to accomplish too much in this brief novel, which shifts from a gothic tale of a doomed relationship to, in the last chapter, a blow-by-blow history of Napoleon’s final battle at Waterloo. The gothic aspects of the novel are far more successful, and Cole manages to avoid the clichés that tend to plague similar books. Roisin has pluck and spirit, and though the brevity of the book forces her relationship with Leo to develop and escalate quickly, it’s still believable enough to be entertaining. ____________________________________________________________ http://www.pilgrimrose.com http:/www.redroom.com/author/rosy-cole ____________________________________________________________< Less
