Can she save herself from a witch’s fate?
Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha’s life is spent running her father’s meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and … driven by religious bigotry and poverty.
As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs – opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village – she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers.
But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch’s persecution and death…
A brilliant and accomplished novel that perfectly captures the febrile atmosphere of Elizabethan village life in an age when suspicion and superstition were rife. Perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier.
Praise for The Wheelwright’s Daughter:
‘It’s a gripping story and such accomplished writing. I really enjoyed every moment of working on it.’ Yvonne Holland, editor of Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier
‘A brilliant debut novel’
‘An interesting read and an impressive debut novel’
‘A wonderfully written story’
‘A skilfully crafted story of love, betrayal, superstition and fear in 16th century England.’
‘This is a story of courage, trust, betrayal and love.’
‘A great historical novel I loved.’
‘Keeps you hooked till the end.’
‘An excellent read, highly recommended.’
‘Full of historical detail and atmosphere’
‘I enjoyed this thoughtful and well-written story by Eleanor Porter.’
‘Atmospheric and evocative’
more
This was an engrossing read for me, and I found myself captivated by the plot and pulled into the plight of Martha. I ended up starting and finishing the book all in one sitting. It didn’t help my sleep schedule, but I love when a story hooks me early on and won’t release me until I finish the final page.
Martha lives alone with her father in a small village filled with superstition. Martha learned a great deal about herbs from her grandmother, and so she is known in the village as a bit of a healer. Her father educated her himself, and so she has more learning than most women in Elizabethan England, and so the locals are already intimidated by her. But when some rare natural phenomenon occur in her area, and a baby doesn’t survive after birth, tongues start wagging, and Martha finds herself at odds with the villagers and gets labeled a witch.
This book did surprise me with a cliffhanger ending. Unfortunately, book 2 is still to come, and so I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.
This is a beautiful book. It works on so many levels. Characters are three-dimensional. Their relationships have depth. The plot evolves carefully, drawing you in, building to the final scenes. The narrative voice of the main character, Martha, allows us inside the character and keeps us engaged with her throughout. Most beautiful are the descriptions of the countryside and nature that are interwoven with the plot and character giving a real sense of place and era. Pictures are left in your mind long after you’ve put the book down – crystal clear images of moonlit landscapes, the warmth of a Christmas stable, mornings at dawn, the sound of birdsong. The ending leaves you wanting more. In lockdown I had stopped reading fiction so have only come to this a year after it was published – which allows me to move straight to the sequel The Good Wife. Oh goody!
Martha’s struggles for fulfilment in her village community make for a compelling read in Eleanor Porter’s powerful debut novel, The Wheelwright’s Daughter. Set against the backdrop of suspicion and change in 16th century Herefordshire, she fights to stay true to her loved ones even as the landslide known as the Wonder shifts public opinion and puts her in danger. Steeped in natural lore and descriptive detail, the writing style reminded me of Hardy.
Beautiful, vivid, and utterly immersive, this is a wonderful book, and Porter is a writer to watch.
Almost everything about this book was unexpected. I loved that! It was part historical fiction, part fantasy, and part romance. I am a reader who highly values voice, and this is one I could read forever. It had a mystical, storybook quality to it. That made me a happy camper. Also, I appreciate how the author took a slice of documented (via page and landscape) history and created a delicious tale around it. This was a book I didn’t want to set aside. It’s a quick but satisfying read, the end of which is reeled out in just the right number of sentences. There are some gentle, mild sex scenes. I personally would have preferred more innuendo but most readers of romance probably won’t have an issue with it.
I really wanted to love this book, but it had a slower start to it. While I did end up liking it, its momentary lulls that I had to fight through at times.
I would have liked it more with an ending. This left you hanging.
Beautifully written but as depressing a book as I have ever read, like the autobiography of an inmate of auschwitz
While this is probably a good book for some, it is not my type if book. I can not stand the idea of anyone being killed due to an uneducated group of people. Not my cup of tea.
Fantastic historical romance. I got completely lost in the atmospheric story of witches, a landslide as well as a super romance. I totally fell for the heroine Martha and was gripped by the twists and turns of the plot. Historical authenticity adds to the enjoyment of the story. A great read!
The Wheelwright’s Daughter is Eleanor Porter’s debut novel. This historical fiction novel was an amazing read for me that was set in the mid to late 1500’s Elizabethan period.
The protagonist is Martha, raised only by her father, the village wheelwright –in Herefordshire Village. Martha is a brilliant character and a strong woman. She runs the household, helps in the school, is well educated and able to read. This gives her knowledge on the basics of herbal remedies. It’s so unfortunate that her small village, townsfolks are more prone to religious bigotry, suspicions, gossips and superstitious beliefs. Martha longs for independence and to live a life where women are respected. Instead, an unfortunate incident in the village points fingers to Martha blaming her and suspecting her of being a witch.
The Wheelwright’s Daughter was exceptionally written Historical Fiction read that transported me to 1500 Elizabethan period with the beautiful language used appropriate for the time set in this story. The research was impeccable and found this adds to make this book an even more powerful, and a captivating read that I really enjoyed from the very first page. I loved the characters and most especially Martha our heroine who was so ahead of her time. What a spellbinding read I thoroughly enjoyed!!
Martha is a feisty and articulate young woman, the daughter of a wheelwright, living in a Herefordshire village in Elizabethan England. With no mother Martha’s life is spent running her father’s meagre household and helping out at the local school whilst longing to escape the confines and small-mindedness of a community driven by religious bigotry and poverty.
As she is able to read and is well-versed in herbal remedies she is suspected of being a witch. When a landslip occurs – opening up a huge chasm in the centre of the village – she is blamed for it and pursued remorselessly by the villagers.
But can her own wits and the love of local stablehand Jacob save her from a witch’s persecution and death…
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4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
The Wheelwright’s Daughter is Eleanor Porter’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more from her.
The book takes place in the late 1500s and the author very seemlessly uses a historic voice that makes everything seem more real and helps this story of Elizabethan England come to life. The wording she used sets the perfect tone for this time period so that you feel immersed, but not to so far as to make it hard to understand. But if you’re not a native English speaker reading this book, it may be a little tough.
There is a large cast of characters in this book and many of them are quite unlikable, but your not meant to. And as for our main character, Martha is also often difficult to like. She is constantly making more trouble for herself. She is in a percarious position in her village with almost no protection, but still she lashes out and invites danger everytime she meets with opposition. Her pride and naivety make her foolish. The further I read, the more sympathetic I became with her character and then I was so invested in her fate. She may be prideful and angry, but she is also young and lonely. The poor girl has such terrible luck, I’m sure if she didn’t have her pride then she would feel as though she had nothing. And not having all the facts puts her at a disadvantage for far too long. But I’ll say no more on that, you’ll have to read to see for yourself.
I rated this book 4.5 stars instead of 5 because I found the book a little slow to start and therefore it took me a bit longer to become invested in the story. Plus I was a little disappointed that the book ended on a cliffhanger. There is enough information given that I can infer as to how way things may have turned out for Martha, but then I still won’t know for certain. With all that happened over the course of the book and how the storyline pulled me in, I would have preferred to have a little more closure at the end of the book by knowing Martha’s fate. But perhaps there will be a sequel and I’ll find out for certain? I nearly rounded my 4.5 down to four stars, but after thinking on it, I really think this book deserves to be rounded up to the five instead. Any book that can start(and continue until about the halfway point) with my not really liking the main character much and to then so fully pull me in and have me rooting for her character? That is deserving of 5 stars for me.
The Wheelwright’s Daughter is a little slow to start, but then it really pulls you in and through both the mundane and fantastical you’ll want to keep going side-by-side with Martha to see how her fate plays out. This was a brilliant debut novel and I look forward to seeing more by Eleanor Porter in the future and would be interested to see if Martha’s story is ever expanded upon. If you like historical fiction and have ever been intruiged by the poor women forced to endure witch trials, then I strongly recommend this book to you.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sharing a copy of The Wheelwright’s Daughter by Eleanor Porter with me for reviewing purposes. This is my honest review.