Set in early 1800s, England…Martha Hopwood, who lives with her sisters and parents in Cambridgeshire, meets a gentleman named Mr. Samuel Woodhead, a friend of Alexander Harker of Eastease in Lincolnshire.Mr. Woodhead takes up residence at the nearby estate of Copperbeeches and pursues Martha both in Cambridgeshire and at Eastease, when her family is invited to visit there.His sudden departure … there.
His sudden departure from Eastease, when all were still asleep, prompts Martha to consider an alternative future. Martha pursues her independence, until the return of the gentleman who stole her heart, and upon whom her family’s financial future may depend.
In a time when a woman could not be married and independent, Martha Hopwood has to consider where her true future lies.
This is the third book in the Redway Acres series. The others are Book 1 – Helena and Book 2 – Maria.
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This historical fiction/romance series is very much a favorite comfort food. I find myself picking up the next book whenever I’m in need of a good, heartwarming read. I very much enjoy the relationships between the characters and the general tone and setting of the novel as each girl gets her own story. In this third book, Martha was especially a favorite. After things with Mr. Woodhead do not turn out as she had hoped and he is quickly turned away (thank you, Nathaniel!), Martha turns to her inner strength and builds a life for herself. I found Martha very endearing as a character. Described as big-boned, a talented embroiderer, loyal in her friendships, and selfless in thinking of others, Martha cleverly sets up a shop in town and not only does well in selling fabrics, but also arranges donations from her friends for the less fortunate, and runs a charitable shop in the back portion of her store. I enjoyed her relationship with her sisters, her dear friendship with Nathaniel, and just her strength in being able to stand on her own. The scenes where she retorted back sharply with Mr. Woodhead, well, let’s just say, you go, Martha.
Martha is strong and practical. She is resilient. She is the recipient of not one, but two extremely unappealing proposals of marriage, and rather than wilt, she informs her would be suitors precisely why she finds their proposals unappealing and goes on about her life alone. I liked so much the ending it turned out she got (at the very end.) Martha was a special favorite.
Book #3 in the Redway Acres Series concentrated on Martha Hopwood, one of 3 sisters from Thornbane, in Cambridgeshire. She is wooed by Samuel Woodhead, a friend of Alexander Harker, whom we have followed in the first two Redway Acres books. Since Martha’s family did not have a major part in the happenings at Eastease and Redway Acres in book#1 & #2, There was much back-story covered early in this book to bring Martha and her family into the story. Therefore it seemed like we were rereading many events we had already covered in the previous books. This resulted in making it a little hard to keep track of the time frame at first. However, it always tied into Martha’s relationship to the timing of the events.
Martha is an extremely strong-willed and independent woman in a time when men were totally domineering. She, like Helena from Book #1, understood the importance of a woman to do whatever was needed to be in control of her own life and fortune and not to fall prey to a man who only wanted her hand in marriage to take control of all she had obtained on her own. The way she stood up to family pushing the norms of the time to get what she wanted made her into an extremely likeable character!
I love how author Trish Butler brings forth the absurdity of women’s suppression of this time in the early 1800’s. Her female characters portray the strength that women through the years have had to show to make their needs and voices heard when those around them tried to keep them silent! I am anxious to move onto Book #4 – Harriet!!
If you’re like me and couldn’t get enough of Redway Acres a couple of months ago, have no fear! Today is all about the third Redway Acres book, Martha.
As you likely guessed, this book is primarily told of Martha’s point of view. She’s not like her sisters… “big boned” as her mother calls it, with a beautiful but different look. Her family is in financial trouble and, although she is the middle sister, her father seems to view her as their way out; as long as Martha marries well, it will save them from losing their home. People aren’t always who they make themselves out to be in public, however, and Martha has dreams of her own. You’ll have to pick up the book yourself to read more about the bumpy road Martha finds herself heading down!
I have thoroughly been enjoying this series. I can relate to many of the women and am inspired by them, despite this being a work of fiction. Plus some of the romance scenes… phew!
My biggest comment that brought me to a four star rating was that while you’re seeing events from different points of view, this book still rehashes some events from previous books. I like to think about things from different perspectives but on some level, it feels like it’s being rehashed. That’s a big challenge though when you have a series with overlapping time frames and, for the most part, it keeps things moving.
I also felt like the “big reveals” of this book just didn’t quite climax as much as book 2 especially. That’s a slight disadvantage when I read a series… I can’t help but compare the books! Likely not something I would have picked up on had I not been reading these books in order… which I feel comfortable saying is doable. You could likely pick these books up at any part of the series and still have it make sense and fall in love with the characters!