Review by Francine.
On occasion the unusual falls into
one’s lap, so to speak, and this charming novel set in Georgian England (City
of Bristol and Somerset) is a gem read. The heroine, Bess of mixed racial heritage,
has reached the time of life in which blossomed young women attract the
attention of male eyes. Although she is street wise in so many ways Bess tends naive
in matters of the heart, and overwhelming momentary desire and disappointment
leaves her bereft. Whilst her position in the Liston household was at best tolerable
before the master expired, with the death of the mistress her situation becomes
dire, as dire as the daughter of the house, Artemisia Liston.
Richard Liston has already assumed
his role as head of the immediate family, his sister thus marked for an expedient
marriage and less costly to his ailing purse. As for Bess, the unpaid servant, dare
he dispose of her with profit in mind? Rebellious Artemisia has other ideas to
that of her brother’s plans, and caught up in the whirlwind of Artemisia’s
battle with her brother, Bess in the meanwhile is propositioned, not once, but
twice, and learns the bitter truth love and lust are closely allied but the
former is often devoid of the latter. Where a good deed administered to another
party leads to disappointment in love for Bess, the truth is unknown, as unknown
as the absolute truth behind why old Mr Liston brought her to his house in
Bristol. Curiosity is a wondrous thing, but dig too deep dead bones may surface
and present a wholly different picture than Bess has believed. Amidst the shock
of reality, both young women find a true path to love and romance despite moments
of envy and little jealousies along the way. Whilst I am not a fan of
first-person narrative, the narrative flows with vitality, despair, and every nuance
of Bess through her eyes, thoughts, and words, she battles societal prejudice
and embraces men and women of integrity and kindness: kindness her forte.
Book's Premise:
Bristol, England, in the early Nineteenth Century. The slave trade has
been abolished but slavery itself has not yet been outlawed. Bess, a young
woman of mixed heritage, has an ambiguous position in the home of the
once-eminent Liston family. Raised and educated alongside the family’s
children, Richard and Artemisia, she has been increasingly confined to the role
of a domestic servant since the death of Joshua Liston, the household’s head. When
Richard Liston instigates an introduction between Captain Adam Bryce, a Royal
Naval officer of repute, and his sister, Artemisia, Adam shows greater interest
in Bess. Pressed by Artemisia to stalk Adam, Bess’s problems begin. And when
the ailing matriarch, Elizabeth Liston, presents Bess with an impossible
choice, the weaving of a web of deceit commences that will ultimately push Bess
and Artemisia’s friendship to the brink .As the scene shifts to rural Somerset,
things are far from serene: Sebastian Weston, occupant of the grand Milton
Abbey, means to hold both Bess and Artemisia in his thrall. Rivalries ensue,
the bond between Artemisia and Bess being strained by their allegiances to the
men in their lives. Charting the turbulent waters of family commitments and
amorous liaisons, it’s hard to fathom who to trust and whom to love.
