Shortlisted for book of the month
AMAZON UK £8.99
AMAZON US $10.37
AMAZON CA $11.81
family drama
1840s
England
Set in Wiltshire during
the 1840s, this debut novel truly brings home the hardship of the people who
had to endure poverty which was increased by the Enclosures Act and landowners
who reaped the profits while those struggling to survive were forced into the
choice of the workhouse or death.
Sue Tindall lives in
Amesbury with her drunk of a father. She is a seventeen-year-old laundry
presser, who is a first-hand witness to the Swing Riots that took place ten
years before. The traumatic memories of the desperate labourers who tried to increase their pitiful wages still linger
with her and her community. Her father is persuaded to produce some threatening
notes to be signed by ‘Captain Swing’ and Sue has to sell buttons to earn extra
income, but her life begins to improve when she finds a pair of pearl buttons,
and the attention of apprentice blacksmith, Jack Straker also seem to promote
the possibility of a better future. But Jack abandons Sue for another, and
pregnant, Sue leaves Amesbury – and against all odds, has to fight to survive.
Engrossing, beautifully
written, absorbing and in places, heartbreaking, Captain
Swing and the Blacksmith is a
fabulous first novel, but in addition to this delightful (if haunting) story, the
book is accompanied by a CD which
compliments the narrative in the folksongs
of the period. Both are a Diamond of a bargain!
© Helen Hollick
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