In 1898 three young girls leave a Dublin orphanage to enter a life of domestic service. They are placed in the home of Captain Charles Whitmore but soon discover that the household is in turmoil. Charles, hoping to amass a fortune, is preparing to set off on a long sea voyage, deliberately leaving his wife Georgina almost penniless to fend for herself and the servants.Georgina, who has been … been desperate to break free from a life of violent marital abuse, is relieved that he will be gone for some years, but nevertheless the future is frightening.
Then help comes from an unexpected quarter. An organisation that helps women escape lives of abuse or genteel poverty makes Georgina an offer. They propose that her house should become a school designed to train such women to seek employment in the American West. The very idea is at once shocking and appealing.
Can Georgina step into the unknown and lead the women under her care into the future?
The orphan maids listen and wonder. Can they too dare to dream of a better life for themselves?
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Great story
Excellent
Georgina Corrigan Whitmore is the abused wife of Capt. Charles Whitmore plans to sail off to make is fortune with his five sons from previous marriages. He charges bills to Georgina in the hopes of ruining her financially. He is an evil man, and the reader roots for Georgina as she fights for herself and for other unfortunate women caught in the autocratic society where women are property.
The book ended quite abruptly and you wanted the story to reveal the fate of the characters. Very much up-in-the air ending and the next book in the series is abour different characters.Would like to know what happened next for all of them.
Abrupt ending
I was really rooting for the main characters and loved watching them develop and mature. Oppression of girls and women always make me a little angry but the strength and ingenuity of those characters win out!
Shows the power that one woman can have if she persist.
It is sad what women have endured through the years and how their strengths were suppressed. This book enlightens you on what it was like living in 1898 – 1900 in Ireland. The characters and story are developed well. I was sad when it ended.
I have not read anything that Gemma Jackson has written that I did not love! She is a wonderful storyteller and I enjoy the setting, Ireland pre-1900s and early 1900s. I am a bit of Irish myself. The rights of women of this period were next to none; men controlled it all, even when it was really the woman’s property. Such a great story of women rising from horrible situations; heartbreaking and true. The courage they had to seek change and the brave souls to help them. The Percy Place Series Book 1 and 2 are fantastic, could not put them down. There has to be a book 3 in the series!
Read all three books. This one showed how a person or persons can turn a bad situation into something good in their lives.
I knew women where bought as wives in the past but never realized that they where abused to the point specified in this book and as prevalent as it would appear. I knew they had many children and many infant losses, but this really opened my eyes to what they really went thru and what there lives where like
Loved the historical information.
Somewhat trite tale of women discovering their ability to join together and accomplish a dream. The simplistic way that the storyline develops as assets just appear when there is a need detracts from the storyline into fantasy. A light evening read. entertaining but unbelievable departure from reality.
The background story was informative, but the conversations were trivial.
A compelling account of women marshalling their inner strength to break out of untenable life circumstances.
Every book by Gemma Jackson is captivating.
Loved it! Love all her books.
The book started off great, but just didn’t develop enough.
Interesting story, mediocre writing
Can’t wait to read the next book!
This is a story of a woman who overcomes incredible obstacles to make a living and survive in late 1800s. She helps other women who are trying to get out of abusive marriages, unplanned pregnancies out of wedlock, etc. It’s a realistic look at life for the “weaker sex” in the late 19th century.