A Timeless, Beautiful Allegory of the Biblical Love Story of Ruth and Boaz The Great Rebellion of 1857 was a remarkably bloody business. At a time when Britain’s imperial influence in India was sparking brutal clashes on both sides, no one could have expected Rena, an Indian woman, to marry a British officer–nor do they understand her decision to follow her mother-in-law to England after her … to England after her husband’s tragic death.
Once the two widows are in Abbotsville, the stern yet compassionate Lord Barric attempts to help them despite his better judgment. Soon he is torn between the demands of reputation and his increasing desire to capture Rena’s heart for his own.
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When all the exoticness of the Far East arrives in the quiet countryside of Victorian England, rumors abound—and so does love. Shadow among Sheaves is a fresh retelling of the story of Ruth that adds a whole new way to look at the Biblical account. Poetic prose. Strong Characters. And a drama that gets under your skin.
A stunning retelling of Ruth that will hold you captive until the last page.
Set in 19th century England, Shadow among Sheaves is the tale of an Indian widow and her beloved mother-in-law. Amidst fear, self-sacrifice, and starvation, the young widow finds desperately needed assistance in the form of Lord Baric—an earl who soon finds himself torn between his reputation and his heart. Lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this elaborate retelling of Ruth and Boaz.
I want t to first start off my saying that I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.In return for my honest thoughts and my review. I got myself smiling and wanting scream. Now this retelling of Ruth was done well. With that being said the book of Ruth is my book in the bible. Highly recommend this book even if you don’t read the bible.
About Book:
Rena is young girl from India who lost her husband who has died. And her father in law who has recently had passed away. That leaves her and her mother in law. When Rena founds out that her mother in law is leaving for England. She makes a vow to leave with her and take care of. No matter what the cost are. Rena does anything in power to care for her mother in law. Getting gains from the fields dealing with people shutting her out. And saying mean things to her. Again thank you Goodreads for this amazing giveaway. Highly recommend this book.
I very much enjoyed Shadow Among Sheaves. I was hooked from page one and struggled to put the book down. I found the characters to be uniquely endearing and realistic. My favorite aspect of this novel is the realism: the depiction of 1850’s British class systems and social hierarchies, the palpable tension created between the hero and heroine due to societal constructs at the time, the illustration of the backbreaking, tedious work communities did in order to bring in a harvest, and the loyalty exhibited between two widows desperately trying to survive after the deaths of loved ones proves Shadow Among Sheaves is a well-researched, highly captivating story, one I will not soon forget.
My number one, most favorite moment in this story occurs when Rena accepts Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I promise not to spill the beans on how or why this moment happens. Instead, I want to share a story. I have four brothers — Clint, Chris, Joey, and Vinnie — and one sister — Conni. We were all raised in the same fashion — to love, honor, respect, and follow God. I have been a follower of Jesus since I was six years old. Three of my siblings share my beliefs in God, one never talks about God, and another proclaims to be agnostic (which breaks my heart). Belief in God matters on SO many levels, but it really matters where death is concerned. Losing my dad unexpectedly was one of the most difficult ordeals of my life. It’s still hard to handle. BUT I know where my dad is. He is with Jesus in Heaven. Roughly three weeks after my dad died, my sister and I were talking on the phone. She had noticed that our one brother was not handling dad’s death very well. I explained to her that this brother is agnostic — she didn’t know this — and so it makes sense he’s struggling because to him death is final. You could have knocked my sister over with a feather she was so shocked. My sister, rightly so, was devastated for our brother. There is no hope without Jesus Christ. Death is permanent when one chooses not to believe in God. When we believe in God, we still hurt when a loved one dies, but we know our loved one is still alive with Jesus. We know we will see him/her again, and this brings comfort. Without Jesus, there is no real comfort available when a loved one dies.
For 98% of this novel my heart hurt so badly for Rena. Not having been raised with Jesus as her Lord and Savior meant that when her husband died, for her, Edric became nothing. Death, for Rena, was so permanent. When you don’t know that Jesus defeated Death, life on this earth can be so ugly, so dark, and so pitiful. I am always so happy when people come to believe in God. Believing in God is freeing, wholesome, and the right path to walk. But, I am most happy because believing in God allows for actual, true HOPE — hope here on earth and after in Heaven. I cried happy tears when Rena accepts Jesus into her life because it means she knows the Truth: Jesus saves, and He’s got our loved ones (who have passed) right by His side. The peace this knowledge brings is priceless, and I was so relieved that Rena understood this life-changing information.
I could talk about this novel all day. It is jam packed with so much goodness! But I won’t continue because I do not want to ruin any part of this excellent story. Suffice to say, I HIGHLY recommend Shadow Among Sheaves. Purchase a copy immediately. You will not be disappointed.
I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Celebrate Lit. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
What a wonderful retelling of the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz. The setting of Victorian England and the colonization of India was an excellent choice. The one thing I disliked was the character, Barric, who was the equivalent of Boaz. I just didn’t like him at all. But if you go into the story understanding that there are not perfect equivalents of every characters from the bible. However, the racial and religious issues that are presented are similar to what Naomi and Ruth would have experienced.
Thank you to NetGalley and Shiloh Run Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
5 Stars In an elegant writing style, Naomi Stephens moves Ruth & Naomi’s story to a brooding gothic setting to share the tale of determined heroine Rena, who sacrifices her dreams, her dignity, and her future to be true to her mother-in-law Nell. Rena suffers prejudice and ill-treatment by many before she is finally befriended, accepted, and loved. This is a quiet tale of those who rise above the ugliness of life to reach for what is true, noble, right, pure, and lovely. A treat for inspirational historical fiction lovers!
Quotes I liked . . .
“You think your desert sands are everything, but there is a whole world beyond this heat. Someday I will take you to England. We’ll pluck apples from the trees and lie in the grass all evening while we eat them. And then I’ll whisper in your ear all the ways I love you.”
“But Nell. . .” Rena whispered after a moment, as if hearing his questions. “I could not watch her board that ship alone, with nothing. She begged me at the docks to stay behind in India. But Nell is my family too, as much as my parents, and I must take care of her.”
“No. I have spent more than enough time being taken care of. We all must suffer now and then, and I am strong enough to bear it. There is no other option than to endure.”
In the end, Rena’s own words had persuaded her to follow Nell to church that morning. “Your home is my home,” she’d said all those weeks ago, when she’d begged to remain at the woman’s side. “And everything you are and everything you love—that is all I ever wish to be.”
“She realized she’d stopped breathing. Blessed. The word clanged around inside of her. Blessed to mourn? To feel empty? Blessed to be poor and starving, she added bitterly, to have nowhere else to turn?”
“But I miss the sand that gathers between the tiles in the entryway of our home, and the hibiscus that grows outside my chamber. I miss the way my father’s study smells in the early evening, of spices and ink, and the way the endless heat drags on for forever, hazing the horizon until the monsoon season comes. And if you look just right from the outer terrace, you can see men and women as they walk to the market, or the crimson coats of soldiers as they pass. . . .”
“Rena had given up everything to follow Nell to England. Her family and her home. Yes, even her future. . . . For as long as Rena cleaved to Nell – for as long as she loved her and look after her – she clung, in a way, to Edric.”
Heartbroken after the death of her husband, Rena Hawley leaves war-torn India with her British mother-in-law only to find that England is not any more of a home than what she left behind. Reduced to begging to prevent the two of them from starving, Rena unknowingly meets her husband’s second cousin, Lord Barric, who kindly offers Rena and Nell some semblance of refuge. But it comes with a price, for Rena’s elegant, exotic beauty, even under duress, causes those in the small town of Abbottsville to assume that she has offered herself on the altar of Barric’s carnal pleasure. Will he rescue her, destroy her, or possibly admit to loving her?
While this book faintly resembles the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, there is much about it that does not parallel Boaz’s kinsman redeemer role in the least. Rena has much to learn about the one true God and her painstaking journey towards faith is both pitying and empowering. To her credit, Rena continually attempts to draw attention away from herself, while Barric continually demands her attention, only to end up treating her with far less dignity than she deserved.
Although considered a clean read, I found the occasional profane words and repetitive suggestive innuendos to be unnecessary and distracting. On the positive side, the historical elements surrounding Britain’s attempts to “civilize” India according to their western standards and the resulting prejudices against those originating from that country, were interesting; adding a strong backdrop for the story. And admittedly, the characters will prove memorable simply because they were so unique. Ultimately, it’s my opinion that this author’s best work is yet to come and readers will be eager to invest their time into her next story.
A retelling of the biblical story of Ruth, native Indian Rena follows her mother-in-law Nell to Britain after both of their husbands die.
There were parts of this book that I really liked and parts that really frustrated me. There was a lot of thinking and observing, so I didn’t feel like Rena and Lord Barric really had a chance to connect in a meaningful way. I tend to prefer stories for more action and less reflection.
I also prefer stories with lots of conflicts. There’s essentially one conflict in this story — Rena’s an Indian woman in England, where she’s rejected and insulted. She has to find a way to survive and provide for her mother-in-law in the process.
Overall, it was a sweet story. I just would have preferred to see more of the relationship develop between Rena and Lord Barric.
Rated PG for thematic references/situations
Author did a great job in presenting the story of ‘Ruth’ using characters from a different time and place. An easy read – told from the perspective of each character as needed.
Occasionally, the history major in me starts reading a book expecting to be disappointed. This novel is set in 1861 just after the Sepoy Uprising of 1857 (for those of you that don’t know, the Indian army revolted brutally against British occupation resulting in the death of not only British military officers but their wives and children. While not condoning the brutal murders, I personally have a lot of sympathy for a country full of people forced to live subservient to a foreign power in their own home. But I’m an Irish Cherokee American in 2019 not a British national in 1861). So when I read that a junior British officer convinced a Brahmin’s daughter to elope with the help of a missionary, I was ready chalk this one up to allegory. 1) Because the British officers during the unrest leading up the Sepoy Uprising made them even more suspicious and divisive about their Indian neighbors. 2)A Brahmin man had a responsibility to protect the women in their family to prevent them from being tainted, and as the priestly class of their culture this was even more important. Allowing his daughter to marry outside her caste and religion would have been unheard of if not impossible. 3) She would never have left India to go to a place where she would be treated as subhuman with no man to protect her. So clearly the English major side of me had to take over and say that LOVE CONQUERS ALL.
Once I shut the history major side of myself up, I loved this so much! If you have never read the story of Ruth in the Bible, then this would be a total surprise. But as it is one of my favorite stories, I loved looking for parallels. And there were a lot of them! My only complaint is that its over!
The story itself is okay, but if you were expecting, as was suggested, that this was similar to the Ruth/Boaz story in the book of Ruth, you will be disappointed. Neither of the main characters was particularly admirable.
I enjoyed reading about characters in this period in history.
A new perspective on the story of Ruth. Made me see a few things in a new light
A familiar story line that has been used by other authors. Good story line, well written, but found it very wordy.
Biblical story of Ruth takes on a new slant when moved to Victorian England! Very interesting and well written!
Slow moving and dark
I don’t think I could describe it any better than the blurb! “A Timeless, Beautiful Allegory of the Biblical Love Story of Ruth and Boaz” Love, family and faith were the main thought of this young ladies life. Good story! I received a copy through the publisher and NetGalley, no review was required, my review is voluntary.
Rena Hawley and her mother-in-law leave India after both of their husbands die, leaving them destitute widows. Rena, being Indian, begins to be ridiculed by the towns people of Abbotsville because of her race and because she married a British officer during the Great Rebellion of 1857. Completely broke and denied assistance from her mother-in-law’s family, the two widows are forced to accept shelter in a brothel closet and to scrounge for scraps to survive.
Lord Barric attempts to help them despite his better judgment by allowing Rena to harvest the remaining wheat left on the ground after his workers harvest the stalks. As he keeps an eye on her to be sure the wheat is all she takes, he grows more and more interested in her.
When Lord Barric sees where these widows are staying, he offers them a cottage behind his steward’s house on his own property, free. Rena is called Lord Barric’s whore because of this and Rena begins to wonder if accepting his charity is wise.
This book is the first one I have read by this new-to-me author and while I find her very talented, I did have some issues with the story. I felt Lord Barric to be a bit on the mean side, but I guess most would call him stern as described in the book’s blurb. One minute he was kind and compassionate and the next he was being mean and hurtful to Rena. Still I liked the book and am interested in reading Naomi Stephens’s next novel.
This book has been a joy to read. The author has taken a story from the bible and retold it in a way that brings readers right into the scenes with ease. I felt like I was there as the story unfolded. My heart broke for Nell and Rena as they found themselves penniless and no where to live. The deep compassion Rena has for her mother-in-law is compelling. The depths that Rena will go to in order to keep Nell safe and well is what I would call unconditional love.
Rena and Nell both are grieving a loss but must find a way to survive when there is no one willing to help them. I can’t imagine how hard it was for Rena to be called such horrible names by people and still honor her promise to her mother-in-law. I really admired Rena’s strength and integrity and she found ways to provide for Nell. The time period was quite fascinating to read about and I loved the British theme in the story.
It is easy to see Rena out in the fields as she collected the loose grains left behind by workers. She never complained about how hard it was to be in the field all day as the hot sun cast heat across her body. When we are introduced to Lord Barric I was immediately drawn to his compassion and humbleness. He was a character that gave off quiet strength and a heart that was pure. Being of British descant Barric is enthralled by the young woman from India. The rumors abound when he takes interest in her. The people who surrounded Lord Barric were concerned that his reputation would be damaged if he was to show any sympathy for Rena. It is funny how people jump to conclusions that Rena must be after Lord Barric’s money and that since she is a foreigner she is not worthy of him.
The story is similar to Ruth and Naomi from the bible but is told in a way that delves into more of what it was like to be an outcast and feel like you have been forgotten by God. It also highlights how a person is treated if they are from another country. The author kept my attention by telling a story that went into detail of the struggles of a young woman who made a promise she was willing to keep at all costs. The story flows easily and reminds readers that there is always hope.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.