Today's historical fiction takes us to Victorian England and Bath. Published by Boldwood today on December 16th, A Widow's Vow is the first in the Ladies of Carson Street saga series by Rachel Brimble.
From grieving widow...
1851. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of
prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then
a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath
hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left
of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling.
To a new life as a madam.
Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds
more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means
of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But
this time, she'll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel
for upper class gentleman. And she's determined to spare the girls she saves
from the street the horrors she endured in the past.
Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared
boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never
envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?
My Thoughts
Plunged
into Victorian Bath, you get to see a section of society which is not
often featured. An underclass of prostitutes and shady characters
co-exist alongside the prosperous middle classes and at times, on the
surface, are indistinguishable from the respectable citizens. This is
the first in a trilogy and you are introduced to three women who are all
surviving despite everything. A Widow's Vow centres on Louisa and Jacob who both have huge trust issues, following difficult childhoods.
Because of her past life, Louisa is determined to retain her
independence and to set up a brothel which she will run in the interests
of its staff. The three women, Louisa, Nancy and Octavia form a tight
household, a surrogate family even and I am sure that future books will
shed more light on their backgrounds. This is an enjoyable historical
novel which has a strong sense of time and place and which poses some
interesting questions about the place of women in society, their right
to establish their own lives as individuals, rather than as goods
'owned' by men.
In short: Sharply drawn characters and a great sense of the period.
About the Author
Rachel Brimble is the bestselling author of over thirty
works of historical romance and saga fiction. The first book in her series, The
Home Front Nurses, is set in Bath.
Thanks to Rachel Brimble, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Be sure to check out the rest of the tour!
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