"Well, I was twenty-one years old now; I was my own person. I was not perfect, not beautiful, not elegant or refined. I spoke with a different accent and lacked society manners, but she would just have to take me how I was..."
The Cornish Rebel by Nicola Pryce is a historical novel, set in Cornwall, 1801. This beautiful and thought-provoking tale is the seventh novel in the Cornish saga series. It reads as a standalone.
Blurb:
In the wake of her mother's death, Pandora Woodville is desperate to escape her domineering father and finally return to Cornwall. Posing as a widow, she safely makes it across the Atlantic, bright with the dream of working ar her Aunt Harriet's school for young women. But as Pandora is soon to learn, the school is facing imminent closure after a series of sinister events threatened its reputation.
Acclaimed chemist Benedict Aubyn has also recently returned to Cornwall, to take up a new role as Turnpike Trust Surveyor. Pandora's arrival has been a strange one, so she is grateful when he shows her kindness. As news of the school's ruin spreads around town, everyone seems to be after her aunt's estate. Now, Pandora and Aunt Harriet must do everything in their power to save the school, or risk losing everything.
However, Pandora has another problem. She's falling for Benedict. But can she trust him, or is he simply looking after his own interests?
Pandora Woodville arrives to Cornwall in March 1801. While travelling alone on board Jane O'Leary, she poses as a widow, for safety reasons. Behind, in the States, she leaves her authoritarian and despotic father.
Cornwall is more than her childhood home, it is a symbol of freedom and dreams of becoming independent. Pandora was six when her parents left Corwall in a hurry, with a promise to come back later. Only it didn't happen. Pandora's mother died, and her father has had different plans for her.
She believes once she is safely with Aunt Harriet, at St Feoca, all the issues will be hopefully resolved. She will find a job at the school for young ladies, and make her aunt proud.
Pandora's expectations of a happy reunion come to a rather bitter disappointment. She is dismayed to find out that her aunt's school is on the point of being shut down. There's been a series of alarming, menacing events in and around the school, and now all the students have left.
Aunt Hetty is also not a kindly matron from her childhood that she remembers.
"No warm embrace. No sign of love. No holding me, no asking me about my mother and how she died. No questions about my journey. Just her stiff upper lip and haughty tone, her chin in the air, her penetrating eyes."
The refuge Pandora has been dreaming about for so long is an illusion. The harsh reality is that there is a very strong possibility that the school will be closed soon, and the house and lands will go to a distant cousin of grandfather's, as stipulated in the school's constitution.
On arrival to Falmouth, Pandora meets Benedict Aubyn. He kindly offers to help her, despite her protestations. While waiting at the inn, she eavesdrops on the conversation between Aubyn and The Turnpike Trust men. He is expected to sign a contract to provide an efficient route from Truro to Falmouth to link with the Penzance and Newlyn turnpike.
The gossip spreads about the imminent closure of the school. With the Turnpike project going ahead, the local hawks are circling around St Feoca. There's big money to be made from the new road, and who is going to think twice about the dwindling fortunes of the spinster headmistress of the closing school and her niece?!
Pandora is in two minds about Benedict. He is kind, attentive and considerate. Yet can she trust him at all, seeing that he's employed as the surveyor by the Trust?! Is he just another unscrupulous and manipulative man?
Saving the school's reputation is no mean feat, given the circumstances and time constraints Aunt Harriet and Pandora are fighting against. They are on the brink of losing everything. Someone is trying their hardest to get hold of the St Feoca estate. Who is the merciless enemy, taunting them?
With growing suspicions and dramatic revelations, can Pandora and Benedict discover the truth behind the mystery of St Feoca, and find romance?
Pandora is an appealing protagonist. As someone who enjoys painting, I liked the idea of Pandora painting miniatures on shells.
Pandora is intelligent and talented, she is also very insecure and emotionally needy. Growing up in a disfunctional family with an odious tyrant of a father, she feels she has to prove herself. She is jealous of her aunt's protegee Grace, who is more beautiful, and appears to be everything Pandora would like to be. Jealousy is not a pretty quality, even if understandable. That Pandora is not without flaws, makes her more realistic and easier to relate to.
This is the third novel by Nicola Pryce that I've read (see also
The Cornish Lady and
The Cornish Captive). All three have spirited female protagonists, who don't conform to the views of society of what women's role in life should be.
The latest book in the Cornish series keeps exploring the themes of the women's rights (or lack of them) and identity against the social and political restraints of the times. It's fascinating to meet some of the characters who appear in the previous books, like Lady Clarissa Crew, Mrs Lilly and Angelica Trevelyan, compassionate and strong-minded ladies.
There is a passionate discussion between Pandora and Benedict on how the society does not accept a woman having a life of her own.
"Men consider women their property - that's how they view us. Either they shield us like delicate orchids and allow us to go nowhere or, if we do dare go somewhere, they brand us as forward and inviting trouble. We must marry and give up our freedom or become drab governesses and spend the rest of our lives avoiding unwanted advances from those who see us as fair game".
And while the society has moved on regarding women's rights, there is still a lot of work to be done for the women's empowerment and gender equality.
The Cornish Rebel is a compelling novel, where history and its vivid characters come alive. Pryce has drawn a portrait of a complex and talented young woman. A storyteller of immense talent, Nicola Pryce creates an absolute treat from start to finish.
The book cover design deserves a special mention. A young woman, looking at us with a defiant expression on her face. She is not a mild and feeble simpering young lady, a man's subordinate, but someone who knows her mind and is ready to challenge the societal constrictions on women. Her hair is windblown, just like the blooms of the coastline, with birds floating free in the sky, as a symbol of freedom.
This book review is part of the blog tour for The Cornish Rebel.
Many thanks to Nicola Pryce, Corvus and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
If you enjoy historical fiction, don't forget to enter the giveaway below.
Giveaway to Win a The Cornish Rebel Tote Bag and Paperback (Open to UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.
Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.
The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email.
If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.
Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information.
This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.
I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Please note that this giveaway appears on several blogs, taking part in the blog tour.
Chez Maximka is hosting the Rafflecopter gadget for free for the purposes of the book promotion.
I do not have access to the data collected, do not pick the winner or dispatch the prize.
Good luck!
I read The Cornish Rebel on our holiday to Cornwall. The waves and the beach in this super short video are properly Cornish.
No comments:
Post a Comment