LADY OF MILKWEED MANOR

Author: Julie Klassen ISBN: 9780764204791 1/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: BETHANY HOUSE
Time Period: Regency

As Charlotte drew closer to the looming grey edifice that was to become her temporary home, she could not help but notice the secretive shuttered windows. Then she noticed the milkweeds... Even a proper vicar's daughter can make a mistake—and now Charlotte Lamb must pay a high price for her fall. To avoid the prying eyes of all who know her, she hides herself away in London's forbidding "Milkweed Manor," a place of mystery and lore, of old secrets and new birth. But once there, she comes face to face with a suitor from her past—a man who now hides secrets of his own. Both are determined, with God's help, to protect those they love. But neither can imagine the depth of sacrifice that will be required. Sprinkled with fascinating details about the lives of women in Regency England, Lady of Milkweed Manor is a moving romantic drama about the redemption of past failings and the beauty of sacrificial love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

LADY OF MILKWEED MANOR is a Regency-era novel like none I've read before. There are more references to historical day-to-day, mundane affairs than to ball gowns and frivolities. It is an interesting foray into a time I thought I knew well. Apparently there was a lot for me to learn, and this book made the learning easy and interesting.

Charlotte finds herself in a situation that many women have found themselves in, one that many women will find themselves in in the future. She is unmarried and pregnant, and must journey from her clergyman father's home to the Manor Home for Unwed Mothers. There, young Charlotte must make many decisions, not only about her own future but the future of her infant as well.

There is no way to read this book without becoming attached to Charlotte. The price she must pay for her indiscretion, the way she longs to have her dead mother back in her life and the issues she faces at the Manor all serve to help make her a very sympathetic character. This is a well-written novel, filled with many historical details. I had never considered the wet-nurse issue, or postpartum depression (called puerperal insanity here) as fully as the references here encouraged me to. Too, I'd never truly appreciated how hard it might be to even consider raising a child single-handedly during this era.

LADY OF MILKWEED MANOR is a story that will stay with me for a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kay Johnson