Chez Maximka: The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear

Thursday, 27 January 2022

The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear

"The very thought gave her palpitations of the heart. A man such as he shouldn't look twice at her. Yet, he had. He had looked more than twice at her when she'd met him by the beck, out walking in the field and then again just now. A man of his standing had no need to concern himself with the likes of her. So, what did it mean?"

"My dreams are as varied as the flowers in our garden. There are times when I never want to leave the cottage and then there are times when I wonder what it would be like to explore the world as you did."

The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear is a Victorian historical romance set in Yorkshire in 1850. This engaging historical family saga, a tale of love, family secrets and loyalties, is filled with hope and resolve.

Annabelle lives in a secluded little cottage on the outskirts of the village of Hartledale near York, with Widow Wallis who adopted her as a baby. She thinks of her home as a little piece of paradise, as the cottage is bordering the wide pastures, and has a well-cultivated herb garden.

Widow Wallis and her ward grow medicinal herbs in their garden, to sell to the village shops. "Widow Wallis saved many of them [villagers] from death or aided them in sickness, delivered their babies into the world, or healed their injuries with her doctoring ways". Annabelle is slowly learning some of her ways to heal. She understand the medicinal properties of herbs and can do tonics, but she is not involved in the more challenging medical practices like her Ma.

Annabelle is twenty two, and by the standards of the young women in the village she is late to be married. A local shepherd Dickie is trying to court her. He is kind and sweet, has a secure position on the Hartley estate and would make a good husband. Ma encourages her to marry Dickie to secure her future, but Annabelle hesitates. "The thought of being married to Dickie didn't fill her with joy, and it should, for she liked him a lot. He was her best friend... but none of it was enough for her to promise herself to him".

A chance encounter with John Hartley, the wealthy estate owner who is back from his travels abroad, sets her heart aflutter. She is flattered by his attentions, but is also feeling confused. "She understood the class divide between them. She was a girl from the village and he a man born to money and privilege. He'd travelled to different countries and she'd only gone as far as York and Harrogate".

When a tragedy strikes, Annabelle has to rethink her future options. "Ma had been her rock, the rudder to steer her through life. From now on she was alone and the idea was unimaginable". While the villagers had a full respect and trust in Widow Wallis, they don't believe her young ward is able to step into her shoes. Annabelle is on the point of losing her home and livelihood, when the events of one stormy night will change her life forever.

As the storm is raging and the darkness blackens the windows, there's a bang against her front door which makes her jump. A young woman, heavy with child, is on her doorstep. Annabelle recognises the woman. It is Lady Eliza Hartley. Eliza insists on staying in the cottage to give birth, and forbids Annabelle from calling for help. She says that no one must know she is there. She has nowhere to go, and cannot confide in her family. As an unmarried woman, she will bring disgrace on her family if her secret is exposed.

Annabelle has helped Ma with a few births in the previous years, but she is not experienced and has never delivered a baby by herself. "Now, faced with the prospect of being solely accountable for the safe delivery of a Hartley baby, she felt winded. An overwhelming sense of responsibility and alarm frightened her".

The baby girl is born. Her mother leaves the cottage in the early hours, while Annabelle has nodded off in exhaustion. She also leaves her silk peacock shawl and a letter, imploring Annabelle to look after the baby, promising to pay for her care. "I beg you to keep my secret for the sake of my family's reputation and my own. My disgrace should not tarnish my family. If you have any respect for them, I implore you to never reveal my secret. The baby's fate lies in your hands".

Eliza arrives home, heavily heamorrhaging after the birth, and collapses in her room. She will not recover.

When Annabelle hears the news that Lady Eliza Hartley is dead and her family is trying to trace her last steps, she is terrified that she will be blamed for Eliza's death. And there's a poor innocent baby who might end up in the orphanage, unloved and neglected.

"To give her to an orphanage would condemn the child to a life of servitude and questioning her parentage. She'd be simply an unwanted child in a building fill of other unwanted children. Unloved and only cared for in the most basic terms. Could she subject this tiny little thing to that terrible life? A life she would have suffered if it hadn't been for Ma taking her in".

In fear and despair, Annabelle flees the village for the filthy slums of York. She plans to find a job and raise the baby as her own. Life in the slums is hard and dangerous. Annabelle is not streetwise, and she finds it hard to adjust to living in the smelly, overcrowded, noisy and squalid environment. This is also not the right place to bring up a baby.

John Hartley is determined to find the child of his late sister, searching around for any information. It seems like an impossible task, but he is adamant. He keeps thinking about Annabelle, who has got "under his skin, into his heart and mind". Meeting Annabelle has changed him, he realises that she is totally unsuitable in every way, being not of his class, but she makes him feel alive.

If only he could find both Annabelle and the baby.

Annabelle can't hide forever from the Hartleys, but how can she give up the child she loves?

The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl is a moving and compelling story, with captivating characters and a strong sense of place. Using her extensive historical knowledge and research, the author creates a page-turning historical drama that will tug you on your heart strings.

It celebrates the courage and independence of women, even in the constricted and suffocating Victorian society, their strength and the power of sisterhood. There are wonderful female protagonists. Apart from the main character, there is a wise and caring Widow Wallis, loyal Ginny (Annabelle's friend) and her warm-hearted cousin Nellie who provides Annabelle with a place to live in York and helps with nurturing the baby.

This beautifully written saga made me think it will make a wonderful costume drama on BBC or Netflix.

The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl would appeal to fans of emotionally-charged historical family sagas.

AnneMarie Brear books tell the tales of women who find strength in the most hopeless circumstances. Check out my reviews of the other books by the author - The Tobacconist's Wife and The Promise of Tomorrow.

Purchase Link - https://amzn.to/3bvURLt

This post is part of the blog tour for The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl.

Many thanks to AnneMarie Brear, NetGalley and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!

Author Bio –

AnneMarie Brear is the bestselling historical fiction writer of over twenty novels. She lives in the Southern Highlands in NSW, and has spent many years visiting and working in the UK. Her books are mainly set in Yorkshire, from where her family hails, and Australia, between the nineteenth century and WWI.