by
ROSIE GOODWIN
Marrying for love was all well and good but it wasn't always enough...
Nuneaton 1875.
Lily Moon, the local miner's daughter, spends her days as a parlour maid for Lord and Lady Bellingham at Oakley Manor, and lives a happy life. But one day, everything changes when she becomes lady's maid to the Bellingham's daughter, Arabella, who is pregnant with an illegitimate child.
When Arabella suddenly disappears and Lily is left holding the baby, it is only Louis Belligham, the handsome son and heir of the estate, who shows an interest in the child. Soon a friendship forms between him and Lily. Or, perhaps more than a friendship if the village gossips are to be believed.
Could Lily dare to believe that she might be more than just a parlour maid?
Ah, the old “feel good” romance that I don't tend to go for! But I was given this as part of a bundle, and the historical aspect of the novel appealed. The proofreading was not without discrepancies- on page 59 Arabella's baby was referred to as Anastacia's baby (incidentally, Anastacia is a lovely name- Russian, I do believe...) And on page 328 there was a serious case of bad punctuation in a paragraph containing tautology, but I accept that proofreading is difficult- in my own writing I often come across things I've missed, despite reading and re-reading. Enough of the judgement! This book must have had something going for it as it didn't take me long to finish it.
I have to say, I did find the character of Lily a bit too good to be true, and would loved for her to have some discernable faults; even if only minor. I did also find the whole storyline nice but unbelievable. Would a lord of the manor really (spoiler alert, although to me it was obvious where the storyline was going!) marry someone who hailed from the working class, even if she had managed to better herself through sheer talent? And is the kind of good luck Lily was subjected to really realistic? Not in my experience it isn't, but maybe I'm just a cynic and a realist! Having said that, maybe it's good to immerse oneself in escapism every now and then. I found we had a good mix of characters in this book, and generally they appeared to be genuine, kind, forgiving and understanding people, especially for the time frame of 1875. I was brought up with parents who came across as being judgemental and censorious, and they were born much later, but that kind of attitude did pop up in the book in the shape of village gossips (and I have a personal loathing of that kind of small-town attitude).
I enjoyed reading about the rise of Lily and her move to London, although I did find the word “awe” used repeatedly and too much, and I liked the foil of her ex Robbie and his craziness, and her sister Bridget who had to lie in the bed she'd selfishly made. The accident down the mine was heartfelt and it was good to have the realities of life displayed on the page. I also found the way the writer depicted regional accents as general but considered, and this wasn't a bad touch. This was an okay read if you can suspend your disbelief (and really, isn't reading a novel about just that?
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