Lush, green, fragrant: the Indian hills of Assam are full of promise. But eighteen-year-old Clarissa Belhaven is full of worry. The family tea plantation is suffering, and so is her father, still grieving over the untimely death of his wife, while Clarissa’s fragile sister, Olive, needs love and resourceful care.Beautiful and headstrong, Clarissa soon attracts the attention of young, brash Wesley … brash Wesley Robson, a rival tea planter. Yet before his intentions become fully clear, tragedy befalls the Belhavens and the sisters are wrenched from their beloved tea garden to the industrial streets of Tyneside.
A world away from the only home she has ever known, Clarissa must start again. Using all her means, she must endure not only poverty but jealousy and betrayal too. Will the reappearance of Wesley give her the link to her old life that she so desperately craves? Or will a fast-changing world and the advent of war extinguish hope forever?
Revised edition: This edition of The Tea Planter’s Daughter includes editorial revisions.
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Genre: Historical
A couple of years ago I have read the ARC of the third book in this series, The Girl from the Tea Garden and I liked it a lot. Each book can be read as a standalone as they have different characters and settings. The Tea Planter’s Daughter’s first 25% is set in India and the remaining portion is in London.
The story is about Clarissa Belhaven and her younger sister Olive who under some difficult circumstances will have to leave India and their plantation and go live with a cousin in England after their father passes away. The story starts in 1905 when Clarissa is around 18 years old and continues until she is in her 30s.
Like the other book I read in this series, Janet MacLeod Trotter focuses a lot on the character development of all her characters, the main as well as the secondary ones. The cultural aspect of the story is beautifully done too. The author has the ability to stick to fine details when describing the settings in that time period without boring the readers with unnecessary information. The flow of the story and its events is another aspect that deserves to be praised here. There are no dull moments.
I am going to continue reading the other books in this series because it is obvious that Janet MacLeod Trotter is the kind of author that writes stories and characters that catch my attention and interest.
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Very good read. Enjoyed the characters and getting insight to what it might have like to be in India during the period of unrest, and what the nature of the land is like. The author has an easy to read style that reveals the plot without being tedious and over descriptive. I enjoyed all 4 books in this series and sincerely hope there will be more volumes added to the series. I will seek out more titles by this author.
I wanted to love this book and I made myself stick it out and finish reading it. Several times I found myself skipping ahead when the overabundance of words became tedious. It felt as if the author was trying too hard to create a sweeping saga of family, love, sacrifice, heartbreak and enmity. Entertaining and informative at times, it dragged along at a snails pace in others. The characters are likeable enough, but I grew tired of the younger sister’s incessant whining and Clarrie’s martyr-like behavior. Will was the one bright spot in the novel and I could not help but love his irrepressible good nature and openness in showing his love and affection for Clarrie.
I enjoyed learning more about the life of the British tea planters and then also their counterparts in England. What a restricted period for women. I am glad not to have lived during this time.
Best book of 2018 I have read!
An enjoyable story that starts out on a tea plantation in India, but all too quickly switches to Scottand. That part was disappointing. I was hoping the setting would remain on the tea plantation. Still, entertaining, enjoyable and well-spun. Looking forward to the second book, The Tea Planter’s Bride, even though it appears to follow the same geographical format.
This book has been out for a couple of years. I’d read lots of great reviews of it, but I’ve only just got round to reading it. I’m so glad I did! It’s a page-turner right from the opening. The tea-growing district of Assam is beautifully portrayed and makes a fascinating backdrop to the start of the story, but it’s the characters that make the book come alive. This is a tale of hardship, of being an outsider, of grit and determination, and of love. I highly recommend!
It reminded me a bit of the PBS series, Indian Summer, although most of the book takes place in England. Looking forward to the next book.