What do you think?
Rate this book
Sleep In The Woods
New Zealand, fertile and undeveloped, was a place where rigid class distinctions could be forgotten, where the most eligible and most sought-after bachelor in Wellington proposed to a servant girl because he admired the arrogant slimness of her body and the spirit that made her confident she would be a good wife to him, although she would not pretend she was in love. So it was that Briar went to live with Saul Whitmore in his beautiful house in the heart of Maori county....
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
68 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Eden
93 books166 followersAka Mary Paradise.
Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.
Dorothy Eden was born in 1912 in New Zealand and died in 1982. She moved to England in 1954 after taking a trip around the world and falling in love with the country. She was best known for her many mystery and romance books as well as short stories that were published in periodicals. As a novelist, Dorothy Eden was renowned for her ability to create fear and suspense. This earned her many devoted readers throughout her lifetime.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 16, 2014
I'm rather surprised to see several two star ratings for this excellent book. Were we reading the same thing? I absolutely loved this!
A servant girl accompanies two young ladies to New Zealand in their gentlewomanly pursuit of husbands. In a Cinderella -like twist, the servant girl Briar sneaks into a masked ball where they're doing the ancient wedding dance and lands herself a husband. Unfortunately for her, it was not the man she was aiming to snag, and unfortunately for him, she was wearing her mistress's gown and he also got the wrong girl.
But he needs a wife and she wants a home so they decide to go through with it and this is where the story really cranks it up a notch.
While Saul and Briar seethe with an intense hatred/ begrudging admiration for eachother, their biggest challenge isnt their loveless marriage but where they decide to set up home; for Saul lives in a remote region where the Maori are warring with the settlers and those they tomahawk and kill, they eat in their ceremonies...
I found this a gripping read and so real as to human nature and emotions. I could feel the agonizing frustrations of both Saul and Briar and while I wanted them to "sort things out" and be happy, the story was realistic. True understanding and appreciation take time and is all the sweeter when it arrives.
Lovers of Emma Drummond, M.M. Kaye and Catherine Gaskin would like this!
CONTENT:
SEX: Fade to black but perhaps a little mature for young readers.
VIOLENCE: Maori warring, some descriptions of their ceremonies and "feasts".
PROFANITY: Mild
MY RATING: PG-13 for sexual content and disturbing imagery
A servant girl accompanies two young ladies to New Zealand in their gentlewomanly pursuit of husbands. In a Cinderella -like twist, the servant girl Briar sneaks into a masked ball where they're doing the ancient wedding dance and lands herself a husband. Unfortunately for her, it was not the man she was aiming to snag, and unfortunately for him, she was wearing her mistress's gown and he also got the wrong girl.
But he needs a wife and she wants a home so they decide to go through with it and this is where the story really cranks it up a notch.
While Saul and Briar seethe with an intense hatred/ begrudging admiration for eachother, their biggest challenge isnt their loveless marriage but where they decide to set up home; for Saul lives in a remote region where the Maori are warring with the settlers and those they tomahawk and kill, they eat in their ceremonies...
I found this a gripping read and so real as to human nature and emotions. I could feel the agonizing frustrations of both Saul and Briar and while I wanted them to "sort things out" and be happy, the story was realistic. True understanding and appreciation take time and is all the sweeter when it arrives.
Lovers of Emma Drummond, M.M. Kaye and Catherine Gaskin would like this!
CONTENT:
SEX: Fade to black but perhaps a little mature for young readers.
VIOLENCE: Maori warring, some descriptions of their ceremonies and "feasts".
PROFANITY: Mild
MY RATING: PG-13 for sexual content and disturbing imagery
October 5, 2015
Oh wow, that was so intense (and scary) at times.
August 4, 2017
Absorbing Story from New Zealand in the Late Victorian Era
Two authors I greatly admire, Heather Graham and Cordia Byers, recommended this book to me. I am so glad they did. Though it was published in 1960 (I bought it used on Amazon), it is a worthy story readers will enjoy today (with one caveat you’ll see below). It will definitely be on my list of the Best Historical Romances Set in Exotic Locales, which I’ll be posting later this month.
Set in the late Victorian period, the story tells of Briar Johnson, who as a baby was found in a cold ditch by the side of the road clutched in the arms of what was presumably her dead mother. Briar was fortunate to be raised in the home of a schoolmaster who found her intelligent and taught her to speak well and read the classics. When he dies, she takes a position as a maid and sails away to New Zealand with two young ladies sent by their family to find proper husbands.
Beautiful Briar (named after the briar rose) determines she will one day have the finer things in life, the life she believes she was meant for. So, when the opportunity comes, she attends a ball that would be forbidden to her and dons a mask for a masked game that has the men picking prospective brides. Alas, she did not get the man she wanted. Instead, she got the hard Saul Whitmore, cousin to an earl and wealthy in his own right with a sheep ranch and the finest house in the area deep in the wild country.
Saul, at his mother’s urging, intends to take a wife, but most of the women he meets are insipid creatures who can only talk of gowns and parties. In Briar, he sees a woman who has a fire in her green eyes that intrigues him. So he determines to have her. With few options and urged on by all, Briar accepts his proposal of marriage even though she hates the hard man who mocks her at every turn.
The title, “Sleep in the Woods” was used twice in the book, once as a euphemism for death, the death that was all around the pioneers living in Taranaki in the shadow of Mt. Egmont on the North Island of New Zealand. When they were under siege by a renegade band of Maoris, the Reverend prayed: “Grant us to live, and not to sleep in these woods, unless that be Thy will. If we must die, let us do so bravely…” But then later, Briar remembers a passage from Ezekiel 34: “…they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods,” which gives a more favorable aspect to the title and comports with the excellent and very happy ending.
Suspenseful action is infused throughout this well-researched story. Wonderful characters populate every page. Beautiful descriptions of both flora and fauna are tucked in without you really being aware. And the hero and heroine are striking. Saul, a man whose strength enabled him to carve out a destiny in New Zealand’s wild country, was a worthy hero, though often harsh. Briar, grasping at the security Saul’s wealth provided, had a tender heart for all. She was the mistress of his house and the courage of the people as they faced hardship and death. I could not help but love her.
The only thing this story lacked—and might have been better for it—were love scenes. So much emotion was left in the dark. What Saul and Briar shared in bed might have told us their real feelings for each other when their words did not. An entire wedding night was summed up with one word, “Afterward.” There is even a bodice-ripping scene rather late in the book but, without the follow through, it was a bit obscure. But one must make allowances for its year of publication—1960.
Still, it’s a great classic and a worthy read—and set in an exotic locale!
Two authors I greatly admire, Heather Graham and Cordia Byers, recommended this book to me. I am so glad they did. Though it was published in 1960 (I bought it used on Amazon), it is a worthy story readers will enjoy today (with one caveat you’ll see below). It will definitely be on my list of the Best Historical Romances Set in Exotic Locales, which I’ll be posting later this month.
Set in the late Victorian period, the story tells of Briar Johnson, who as a baby was found in a cold ditch by the side of the road clutched in the arms of what was presumably her dead mother. Briar was fortunate to be raised in the home of a schoolmaster who found her intelligent and taught her to speak well and read the classics. When he dies, she takes a position as a maid and sails away to New Zealand with two young ladies sent by their family to find proper husbands.
Beautiful Briar (named after the briar rose) determines she will one day have the finer things in life, the life she believes she was meant for. So, when the opportunity comes, she attends a ball that would be forbidden to her and dons a mask for a masked game that has the men picking prospective brides. Alas, she did not get the man she wanted. Instead, she got the hard Saul Whitmore, cousin to an earl and wealthy in his own right with a sheep ranch and the finest house in the area deep in the wild country.
Saul, at his mother’s urging, intends to take a wife, but most of the women he meets are insipid creatures who can only talk of gowns and parties. In Briar, he sees a woman who has a fire in her green eyes that intrigues him. So he determines to have her. With few options and urged on by all, Briar accepts his proposal of marriage even though she hates the hard man who mocks her at every turn.
The title, “Sleep in the Woods” was used twice in the book, once as a euphemism for death, the death that was all around the pioneers living in Taranaki in the shadow of Mt. Egmont on the North Island of New Zealand. When they were under siege by a renegade band of Maoris, the Reverend prayed: “Grant us to live, and not to sleep in these woods, unless that be Thy will. If we must die, let us do so bravely…” But then later, Briar remembers a passage from Ezekiel 34: “…they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods,” which gives a more favorable aspect to the title and comports with the excellent and very happy ending.
Suspenseful action is infused throughout this well-researched story. Wonderful characters populate every page. Beautiful descriptions of both flora and fauna are tucked in without you really being aware. And the hero and heroine are striking. Saul, a man whose strength enabled him to carve out a destiny in New Zealand’s wild country, was a worthy hero, though often harsh. Briar, grasping at the security Saul’s wealth provided, had a tender heart for all. She was the mistress of his house and the courage of the people as they faced hardship and death. I could not help but love her.
The only thing this story lacked—and might have been better for it—were love scenes. So much emotion was left in the dark. What Saul and Briar shared in bed might have told us their real feelings for each other when their words did not. An entire wedding night was summed up with one word, “Afterward.” There is even a bodice-ripping scene rather late in the book but, without the follow through, it was a bit obscure. But one must make allowances for its year of publication—1960.
Still, it’s a great classic and a worthy read—and set in an exotic locale!
August 2, 2017
Briar Johnson, an illegitimate orphaned servant girl, accompanied two young sisters from England to New Zealand in 1860. Ambitious, she intends on becoming a woman of respect with servants of her own one day. But for now, she pretends to have parents and lets her true feelings simmer below the surface.
Too soon, she finds herself married to Saul Whitmore, a man she doesn't love. He needs a wife and sees a 'strength' in Briar that he hasn't found in any of the other young women in this country. Their dependency and early marriage have all the earmarks of a 'bodice ripper' romance.
From the start, they barely know each other. Saul expects Briar to adapt to his lifestyle. In turn, Briar comes across immature and moody, assuming Saul will just leave her alone. Words become weapons. It seems as though their relationship is doomed. It also doesn't help that Saul is closed-mouth and allows their continued frustration to fester like an open wound. He is much older but patience is not his gift.
SLEEP IN THE WOODS comes from a biblical passage from Ezekiel 34:25, “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." Saul and Briar confront this new land with all its prejudices, wildness and danger; on the best of days it still poses a threat to their marriage. They each have their own 'wild beasts'. They need to find peace within themselves before they can find it within their marriage. To 'dwell securely' they will both have to put the other's feelings first: an important lesson that has to be learned.
Too soon, she finds herself married to Saul Whitmore, a man she doesn't love. He needs a wife and sees a 'strength' in Briar that he hasn't found in any of the other young women in this country. Their dependency and early marriage have all the earmarks of a 'bodice ripper' romance.
From the start, they barely know each other. Saul expects Briar to adapt to his lifestyle. In turn, Briar comes across immature and moody, assuming Saul will just leave her alone. Words become weapons. It seems as though their relationship is doomed. It also doesn't help that Saul is closed-mouth and allows their continued frustration to fester like an open wound. He is much older but patience is not his gift.
SLEEP IN THE WOODS comes from a biblical passage from Ezekiel 34:25, “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." Saul and Briar confront this new land with all its prejudices, wildness and danger; on the best of days it still poses a threat to their marriage. They each have their own 'wild beasts'. They need to find peace within themselves before they can find it within their marriage. To 'dwell securely' they will both have to put the other's feelings first: an important lesson that has to be learned.
October 27, 2017
This is my favorite Eden novel. Written in 1960, it's not a Victorian Gothic, just a straightforward romance-adventure about white settlers and their struggles to survive in 1800s New Zealand. This is well written, has varied and well drawn characters, lots of action/adventure and a romance that's frustrating yet ultimately very satisfying. The author was born in New Zealand in 1912 and her love for the country shows, even though she made the move to England in 1954.
Back in the day when I was growing up, American Westerns were the big thing, in movies, TV shows and books. Stories about the indomitable spirit of the intrepid white settlers trying to make a home for themselves in a new world. Back then I was young and not yet sensitive to the plight of the native people who had the most right to that "new world" so I enjoyed and was even inspired by those stories of 1800s United States.
My digression about these U.S. Westerns is because this Eden book has a similar feel to it, but in a different and more exotic (to me) location. English settlers trying to make New Zealand their new home. Eden does not paint a rosy picture and does not idealize these people. They have their warts and flaws. Some are desperate for a new life because of failures and mistakes in their old life. Some are trying to maintain social class and relevance as they had it in London, with balls and fancy dresses and bonnets and servants who know their place in society. And then there are some who genuinely love this new land.
Heroine Briar Rose Johnson was a foundling in England who was taken in by a kindly man and educated well, but after he died she had to make a scrambling living as a maid. She finds herself accompanying two young London misses to Wellington to stay with their aunt and uncle, in the hopes of finding husbands in New Zealand. Hero Saul Whitmore is a first-generation white New Zealander. This is his country and he's working hard to make something for himself as a farmer and rancher in Taranaki, Maori territory some distance from Wellington.
I won't tell you how, so that you'll have the fun of reading about it, but these two end up marrying, with Briar moving to Saul's place in Taranaki. It's a hard, dangerous, scary life, but Briar proves herself up to the challenge. What she and Saul don't prove themselves up to at first is making a good marriage. False expectations, assumptions about each other, and too little communication make for an estranged couple.
This is not just a romance, although the romance is quite satisfying. There's lots of human interest here as well, with characters from all walks of life, some poor and undereducated whites, some of the upper class, some natives and "half castes". There's illness, hardship, struggles not only to survive but also to find joy in life. As a New Zealander, Eden admirably describes the country, its flora and fauna, the settlers and their way of life, the natives with their resentments and threat to the English settlers, the prejudices to be found white vs Maori and upper class vs lower. That's all here and more and it's a very good and complete read.
Back in the day when I was growing up, American Westerns were the big thing, in movies, TV shows and books. Stories about the indomitable spirit of the intrepid white settlers trying to make a home for themselves in a new world. Back then I was young and not yet sensitive to the plight of the native people who had the most right to that "new world" so I enjoyed and was even inspired by those stories of 1800s United States.
My digression about these U.S. Westerns is because this Eden book has a similar feel to it, but in a different and more exotic (to me) location. English settlers trying to make New Zealand their new home. Eden does not paint a rosy picture and does not idealize these people. They have their warts and flaws. Some are desperate for a new life because of failures and mistakes in their old life. Some are trying to maintain social class and relevance as they had it in London, with balls and fancy dresses and bonnets and servants who know their place in society. And then there are some who genuinely love this new land.
Heroine Briar Rose Johnson was a foundling in England who was taken in by a kindly man and educated well, but after he died she had to make a scrambling living as a maid. She finds herself accompanying two young London misses to Wellington to stay with their aunt and uncle, in the hopes of finding husbands in New Zealand. Hero Saul Whitmore is a first-generation white New Zealander. This is his country and he's working hard to make something for himself as a farmer and rancher in Taranaki, Maori territory some distance from Wellington.
I won't tell you how, so that you'll have the fun of reading about it, but these two end up marrying, with Briar moving to Saul's place in Taranaki. It's a hard, dangerous, scary life, but Briar proves herself up to the challenge. What she and Saul don't prove themselves up to at first is making a good marriage. False expectations, assumptions about each other, and too little communication make for an estranged couple.
This is not just a romance, although the romance is quite satisfying. There's lots of human interest here as well, with characters from all walks of life, some poor and undereducated whites, some of the upper class, some natives and "half castes". There's illness, hardship, struggles not only to survive but also to find joy in life. As a New Zealander, Eden admirably describes the country, its flora and fauna, the settlers and their way of life, the natives with their resentments and threat to the English settlers, the prejudices to be found white vs Maori and upper class vs lower. That's all here and more and it's a very good and complete read.
July 28, 2019
Fun read wth adventure strong fighty heroine whose a bit arrogant and does things for the wrong reasons but still tough and you have to admire her courage. A bit of racism towards aborigines.. Not sure.. But overall interesting read
November 30, 2024
The book takes place in 1860 New Zealand. The main characters are arriving from England. I learned a lot. The country was inhabited by a native Maori people. They were not happy with these new settlers. For these newly arrived English, their living was that of a pioneer. I could see parallels to when the colonists arrived in my own country and the wars and fighting with the Native Americans. I found a lot to be frightened of as I read this. Surprise attacks, scalpings, and brutal murder. This story will stay with me. It's a part of history I never heard of or learned about in school or college.
February 13, 2024
So I thought The Secret Garden was borderline racist when the child protagonist smacked her Indian servants in the face and said things like "No wonder most of 'em's black". But that was a child who was supposed to be a spoiled brat, and that book had the benefit of being published in 1911.
Maybe this book was trying REALLY hard to be historically accurate, but the racism in this book was so blatant that I know it would be banned immediately if it were well-known enough to warrant it. Maybe it's one of the reasons this book was out of print for so long after initially being published in 1960, but it was incredibly uncomfortable to read how every character believes in British/white/colonizer supremacy and engages with racist rhetoric at every turn. I've honestly never encountered racism in a book like this before - I'm not talking Noble Savage tropes where natives of some land are viewed as uncivilized but have some positive qualities like being wise or innocent or "together with nature". Nope, this is just blatant, all-natives-are-cannibals-that-need-to-be-exterminated-so-that-this-land-can-prosper-under-the-white-man's-rule.
But to be honest, that's not even the biggest issue with this book. Because you could argue that the racism is the author's way of presenting a historically accurate portrait of white settlers in 19th century New Zealand. What you can't explain away is how utterly detestable the main character is. You can forgive her for marrying for money and for wanting to show up the other girls in town after living life as a servant, and you could even forgive her extreme arrogance and rudeness to everyone from her mother-in-law to her servants. But at some point, you'd expect some emotional growth, or her coming to terms with her marriage to the only decent character of the cast (although it's a low bar since he's obviously a racist / racial supremacist like everyone else). But no, even at the 2/3 point of the book, her priority is making it clear to other men (specifically, the husband of the girl she used to serve before marriage) what they missed out on by not proposing to other women rather than her.
Some examples:
To be clear, she's not angry over some kind of rejection or rudeness to her. She's just mad that he didn't notice her when she tried to catch his eye at a ball and that he proposed to Sophie instead.
Later:
The thing is, if the dude she was trying to impress had redeeming characteristics, this would have made sense (or if this scene occurred in the first half of the book, where there'd be time for the MC to realize she's pining after a man-child). If he was in any way comparable as a rival to her husband, then this obviously wouldn't have been anywhere near as annoying. But the fact of the matter is, Peter is described as a sniveling coward whose eye strays to the MC only after his wife gains weight due to her pregnancy. MC's husband Saul, on the other hand, is described as handsome, heroic, wealthy, etc and it just doesn't compute when you think about why she is so disgusted by her husband but desperate to take revenge on her former mistress's husband for daring to not notice her or propose to her when she was a servant. She ignores the guy who did notice her and want her as a wife even when he knew she only married him for his status, money, and house.
These decisions are just the tip of the iceberg though, because her insane shallowness and rudeness are really what make her intolerable. It is made extremely clear that her primary goal with her marriage was to be able to show off to other people and to live in the house her husband had built. A character can be manipulative and prideful while also being compelling in other ways, but her most prominent personality traits are just being shallow and spiteful. When her husband's mom comes to visit her and talk to her before the marriage, she refuses to answer any of her questions truthfully purely out of spite because she doesn't understand why the woman is there to evaluate her. When she finally sees the house her husband built over a 4-year period before meeting her, this is what goes through her head:
A reward for what exactly? For marrying far above her class and being rude to his mom? I mean, this is the girl who didn't bother telling her husband when asking him to marry her that she never wanted to have children despite knowing that that was his primary reason for looking for a wife.
At any rate, the only growth she undergoes comes in the home stretch, at the climax of the book, and it's just too little too late. And she doesn't start liking her husband because of some realization about herself; it happens because of an implied rough night in bed where she's confused by what she felt. If this had happened earlier on, I'd get it being a catalyst for her positive feelings for her husband. But after being so physically disgusted by her husband and being with odds at him for the whole book after he tells her that he sees through her act and knows she's a gold-digger (which she is unable to refute since she knows it's true), she does this 180. It's not convincing in the slightest, and her actions continue to contradict her thoughts, such as being sad about not saying goodbye to Peter when it's her husband who bravely rushes off to fight the natives.
There's a scene towards the end that's supposed to reflect the MC's "good side" where she goes to her friend's hut and helps her take care of her sick baby, but this is all ruined when you find out that her attachment to the baby is because it was named after her. She literally says to her husband while holding the dead body of her friends baby, "Rose was my child. She was named for me. I don't want any other. I've told you so." (pg. 233).
The only other good traits the MC has:
- she's a good shot
- she is a so-so housewife, although it's mostly out of spite to her mother-in-law
- she isn't attached to her belongings/sentimental
- she doesn't look down on working class people (originally being a servant herself) unless they're Maori
- she doesn't scare easily
It's not a great list. I can't remember the last time I hated a protagonist so much and still finished the book. The best thing that I can say about this book is that it has interesting sections when not focused on the MC, such as when describing the landscape and Wild West-like settlement. At its heart, this book isn't a romance (despite being advertised as one) but more of an adventure novel about colonizing New Zealand starring a spiteful and manipulative main character trapped in an unhappy marriage (made unhappy due to her horrible personality).
*2024 Around the Year Reading Challenge*
Prompt #8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
Maybe this book was trying REALLY hard to be historically accurate, but the racism in this book was so blatant that I know it would be banned immediately if it were well-known enough to warrant it. Maybe it's one of the reasons this book was out of print for so long after initially being published in 1960, but it was incredibly uncomfortable to read how every character believes in British/white/colonizer supremacy and engages with racist rhetoric at every turn. I've honestly never encountered racism in a book like this before - I'm not talking Noble Savage tropes where natives of some land are viewed as uncivilized but have some positive qualities like being wise or innocent or "together with nature". Nope, this is just blatant, all-natives-are-cannibals-that-need-to-be-exterminated-so-that-this-land-can-prosper-under-the-white-man's-rule.
But to be honest, that's not even the biggest issue with this book. Because you could argue that the racism is the author's way of presenting a historically accurate portrait of white settlers in 19th century New Zealand. What you can't explain away is how utterly detestable the main character is. You can forgive her for marrying for money and for wanting to show up the other girls in town after living life as a servant, and you could even forgive her extreme arrogance and rudeness to everyone from her mother-in-law to her servants. But at some point, you'd expect some emotional growth, or her coming to terms with her marriage to the only decent character of the cast (although it's a low bar since he's obviously a racist / racial supremacist like everyone else). But no, even at the 2/3 point of the book, her priority is making it clear to other men (specifically, the husband of the girl she used to serve before marriage) what they missed out on by not proposing to other women rather than her.
Some examples:
Her confused anger towards Peter had resolved itself into satisfaction that she could show off to him how well she had done for herself. And indeed allow herself the pleasure of flirting with him a little, making him aware of what he might have had, had his eyes been wider open. Foolish Peter. She could have made much more of him than Sophie ever would. (pg. 258)
To be clear, she's not angry over some kind of rejection or rudeness to her. She's just mad that he didn't notice her when she tried to catch his eye at a ball and that he proposed to Sophie instead.
Later:
She agreed sedately, and revolved in his arms, seeing with secret satisfaction the admiration in his eyes at last. She would like to have shaken him and said, "Why couldn't you see that I'd have made you a better wife than Sophie?"
The thing is, if the dude she was trying to impress had redeeming characteristics, this would have made sense (or if this scene occurred in the first half of the book, where there'd be time for the MC to realize she's pining after a man-child). If he was in any way comparable as a rival to her husband, then this obviously wouldn't have been anywhere near as annoying. But the fact of the matter is, Peter is described as a sniveling coward whose eye strays to the MC only after his wife gains weight due to her pregnancy. MC's husband Saul, on the other hand, is described as handsome, heroic, wealthy, etc and it just doesn't compute when you think about why she is so disgusted by her husband but desperate to take revenge on her former mistress's husband for daring to not notice her or propose to her when she was a servant. She ignores the guy who did notice her and want her as a wife even when he knew she only married him for his status, money, and house.
These decisions are just the tip of the iceberg though, because her insane shallowness and rudeness are really what make her intolerable. It is made extremely clear that her primary goal with her marriage was to be able to show off to other people and to live in the house her husband had built. A character can be manipulative and prideful while also being compelling in other ways, but her most prominent personality traits are just being shallow and spiteful. When her husband's mom comes to visit her and talk to her before the marriage, she refuses to answer any of her questions truthfully purely out of spite because she doesn't understand why the woman is there to evaluate her. When she finally sees the house her husband built over a 4-year period before meeting her, this is what goes through her head:
Excitement and pride made her heart swell and her eyes glitter.
Then she turned and saw the tall figure of her husband in the doorway [...] He was waiting for her to say something. What was there to say, except that she wished he were not there?
"Who picked the flowers?" she asked at random.
"Mabel Kingi, I expect. But you'll have to train her as a servant. She's lazy and ignorant."
He crossed the room towards her. "Well, what do you think of her house?"
My house! she longed to say. She had come so far and been so determined. She deserved a reward all for herself, not one to be shared.
"It's very fine," she murmured, not looking up into his face which she knew would be full of pride for something he had created. She didn't want it to be his creation, but hers.
A reward for what exactly? For marrying far above her class and being rude to his mom? I mean, this is the girl who didn't bother telling her husband when asking him to marry her that she never wanted to have children despite knowing that that was his primary reason for looking for a wife.
At any rate, the only growth she undergoes comes in the home stretch, at the climax of the book, and it's just too little too late. And she doesn't start liking her husband because of some realization about herself; it happens because of an implied rough night in bed where she's confused by what she felt. If this had happened earlier on, I'd get it being a catalyst for her positive feelings for her husband. But after being so physically disgusted by her husband and being with odds at him for the whole book after he tells her that he sees through her act and knows she's a gold-digger (which she is unable to refute since she knows it's true), she does this 180. It's not convincing in the slightest, and her actions continue to contradict her thoughts, such as being sad about not saying goodbye to Peter when it's her husband who bravely rushes off to fight the natives.
There's a scene towards the end that's supposed to reflect the MC's "good side" where she goes to her friend's hut and helps her take care of her sick baby, but this is all ruined when you find out that her attachment to the baby is because it was named after her. She literally says to her husband while holding the dead body of her friends baby, "Rose was my child. She was named for me. I don't want any other. I've told you so." (pg. 233).
The only other good traits the MC has:
- she's a good shot
- she is a so-so housewife, although it's mostly out of spite to her mother-in-law
- she isn't attached to her belongings/sentimental
- she doesn't look down on working class people (originally being a servant herself) unless they're Maori
- she doesn't scare easily
It's not a great list. I can't remember the last time I hated a protagonist so much and still finished the book. The best thing that I can say about this book is that it has interesting sections when not focused on the MC, such as when describing the landscape and Wild West-like settlement. At its heart, this book isn't a romance (despite being advertised as one) but more of an adventure novel about colonizing New Zealand starring a spiteful and manipulative main character trapped in an unhappy marriage (made unhappy due to her horrible personality).
*2024 Around the Year Reading Challenge*
Prompt #8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
March 29, 2016
Let me start off by saying this book could have been SO good. The writing was emotional, the female characters were diverse, strong, and all had unique development, and the setting/story premise was intriguing. HOWEVER, I warn anyone about to read this book that it is FULL of rape. It made me so uncomfortable and angry to read this, especially because of how it normalizes abuse, even romanticizes it at times, and the writing makes it so that Saul's constant domination and rape of poor Briar was, in some twisted nasty way, coming from a place of love?? It was absolutely terrible and unnecessary. The story could have been so so good, especially because Briar is such an interesting, well developed character, but to end the book by a having an abuse victim fall in love with her rapist? It's gross to read and in very poor taste. I'm so so sick of reading romance novels about dominant, controlling, "alpha" men who assault their wives/girlfriends/partners and we the readers are expected to interpret this as evidence of the man's love and care? NO. Do NOT read this book if you are uncomfortable with rape, sexual assault, colonialism, yada yada. Though there is no graphic description of rape, there is very detailed language and incredibly uncomfortable-to-read dialogue that comes from Saul during these episodes.
I wanted so much to like this book because the female characters are lovely and diverse, but there were so many times that I was uncomfortable and contemplating not even finishing the book (which I've never done before).
Another aspect of the book which I didn't like, though I would have overlooked or been more lenient of had the story not included so much sexual assault, is the fact that the writing switches POV all the time without any notice. Sometimes in one page it'll switch between three different POVs. I understand that this is likely supposed to be in 3rd person omniscient, but the way it's executed can be confusing at times. It's not really a big deal, just a little qualm I had with the writing.
Blahhh I really wish this book could have been better because it had so much potential and Briar, Sophie, Prue, Charity, Jemima, Katie, Mabel, Oriane: every female character was lovely and interesting and different! Alas, this book fell flat, fell right through the floor, plummeted right into the center of the earth, exploded into the void of nothingness in outer space, careened through space and time, all while emitting a loud, poignant fart noise. Because this book is literally one big long fart of nasty rape scenes and normalization of sexual assault. YUCK. No thanks. Pbbtttttttttt never reading again.
I wanted so much to like this book because the female characters are lovely and diverse, but there were so many times that I was uncomfortable and contemplating not even finishing the book (which I've never done before).
Another aspect of the book which I didn't like, though I would have overlooked or been more lenient of had the story not included so much sexual assault, is the fact that the writing switches POV all the time without any notice. Sometimes in one page it'll switch between three different POVs. I understand that this is likely supposed to be in 3rd person omniscient, but the way it's executed can be confusing at times. It's not really a big deal, just a little qualm I had with the writing.
Blahhh I really wish this book could have been better because it had so much potential and Briar, Sophie, Prue, Charity, Jemima, Katie, Mabel, Oriane: every female character was lovely and interesting and different! Alas, this book fell flat, fell right through the floor, plummeted right into the center of the earth, exploded into the void of nothingness in outer space, careened through space and time, all while emitting a loud, poignant fart noise. Because this book is literally one big long fart of nasty rape scenes and normalization of sexual assault. YUCK. No thanks. Pbbtttttttttt never reading again.
February 6, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it was always one of my favourites. I read Dorothy Eden when I was a teenager soo great to re-read one of my earlier reads!
regards
Ruth Anne Caukwell
My first inspirational book - 'Musings of a Blogger - Inspirational Thoughts for Your Life's Journey', (Published in 2016) is available through Balboa Press:-
http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Prod...
and Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Anne-Cauk...
I also write an inspirational blog – RuAnCa http://ruanca.blogspot.co.nz
and have the following:-
My webpage – http://ruanca.caukwell.com/
My twitter - https://twitter.com/ruancaRuth
My You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPw_...
My Tumblr page - http://ruanca.tumblr.com/
My inspirational facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/ruthannecauk...
My Gmail - https://plus.google.com/+RuthCaukwell...
My LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-cauk...
My Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ruancaruth/
Member of the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA): http://authors.org.nz/
World Wide Branding – VIP member - http://www.worldwidebranding.com/Ruth...
Top Female Executives, Professionals & Entrepreneurs
http://topfemaleexecutives.com/2016/0...
regards
Ruth Anne Caukwell
My first inspirational book - 'Musings of a Blogger - Inspirational Thoughts for Your Life's Journey', (Published in 2016) is available through Balboa Press:-
http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Prod...
and Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Anne-Cauk...
I also write an inspirational blog – RuAnCa http://ruanca.blogspot.co.nz
and have the following:-
My webpage – http://ruanca.caukwell.com/
My twitter - https://twitter.com/ruancaRuth
My You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPw_...
My Tumblr page - http://ruanca.tumblr.com/
My inspirational facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/ruthannecauk...
My Gmail - https://plus.google.com/+RuthCaukwell...
My LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-cauk...
My Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ruancaruth/
Member of the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA): http://authors.org.nz/
World Wide Branding – VIP member - http://www.worldwidebranding.com/Ruth...
Top Female Executives, Professionals & Entrepreneurs
http://topfemaleexecutives.com/2016/0...
Want to read
March 5, 2015New Zealand for my Around-the-World reading tour. Buddy read with Diane Lynn for Winter? 2014-15
October 8, 2024
im abivalent about my rating for this book so at least for now im fence-sitting at three stars, although perhaps it's more like 3.5
this was compelling, I read it all in one day. the setting especially was well crafted and evocative. New Zealand is a great setting for a gothic-western esque drama. i also enjoyed the characterizations and felt there was a satisfying mix of personalities. i also actually enjoyed the romance, but you do need to be on board with the gothic inevitability of "fiery, stubborn heroine is tamed through the sexual dominance of the hero." but still i enjoyed the reparte between saul and briar, and felt both had surprisingly well-rounded emotional arcs. that trope will never be a fully satisfying 5 star romance for me, but i can still enjoy it to a degree. so that sounds like a lot of praise for a 3 star rating. Here are my two main issues, which for some would be complete non-starters: 1) the incredibly offensive racism directed at the maori characters, and maori people and culture in general. this is a book about and set in the height of english colonization of new zealand, so it's understable that eden would include period accurate attitudes and perspectives, but frankly i think a lot of this was actual 60s racism being justified by the setting. this really prevented me from being able to enjoy the story more. ive said it before and ill say it again, i dont read romance for real world accuracy. on this note, my second complaint is tone inconsistency which you know drives me crazy. so many children die in this book, and while it's used effectively to develop briar's emotional arc, and the conflict bw briar and saul, and it's likely period accurate, it is also TOO DANG SAD, and it's jarring alongside the comic relief provided by several characters.
this was compelling enough that i want to read more eden, hopefully an alternative setting will solve my main two issues.
this was compelling, I read it all in one day. the setting especially was well crafted and evocative. New Zealand is a great setting for a gothic-western esque drama. i also enjoyed the characterizations and felt there was a satisfying mix of personalities. i also actually enjoyed the romance, but you do need to be on board with the gothic inevitability of "fiery, stubborn heroine is tamed through the sexual dominance of the hero." but still i enjoyed the reparte between saul and briar, and felt both had surprisingly well-rounded emotional arcs. that trope will never be a fully satisfying 5 star romance for me, but i can still enjoy it to a degree. so that sounds like a lot of praise for a 3 star rating. Here are my two main issues, which for some would be complete non-starters: 1) the incredibly offensive racism directed at the maori characters, and maori people and culture in general. this is a book about and set in the height of english colonization of new zealand, so it's understable that eden would include period accurate attitudes and perspectives, but frankly i think a lot of this was actual 60s racism being justified by the setting. this really prevented me from being able to enjoy the story more. ive said it before and ill say it again, i dont read romance for real world accuracy. on this note, my second complaint is tone inconsistency which you know drives me crazy. so many children die in this book, and while it's used effectively to develop briar's emotional arc, and the conflict bw briar and saul, and it's likely period accurate, it is also TOO DANG SAD, and it's jarring alongside the comic relief provided by several characters.
this was compelling enough that i want to read more eden, hopefully an alternative setting will solve my main two issues.
November 5, 2025
When was this book written!!??
1960 actually.
This story takes place in New Zealand during the Victorian era, near the city of New Plymouth.
It’s supposed to be kind of a frontier romance, poor girl finds a rich, handsome husband. Men are coming over from Europe to scoop up property to build on and farm many acres. Of course the land was taken from the natives. (I.e. Events of war and mass killings of indigenous people.)
Oh the racist statements in this book!! There are loooooads of them. So many I had to stop reading at 55%. And DON’T tell me the author was trying to show the attitude of the time. Yes. Fine. Go for it - but to this extent!!?? I was so disgusted. Here are just a handful:
“Maori… the natives. We’ve had land troubles for years, of course. But they’ve been settled, fairly or unfairly one can’t be sure.”
“Lazy brown, nearly naked savages. They have very native habits.”
“They were superstitious beggars”
… merely a fat brown woman…
(It pains me to type these!!)
all their children run wild
… the only help he had… a half-caste Maori… untrained in white ways
Briar would feel happier with another white woman in the house.
…. but how did one teach a simple Maori… she decided to overlook some of her laziness and ignorance.
These statements and many more all happened before 55%. I decided to stop. Perhaps the story turns around. I don’t know. I don’t care. Yuck.
I would Ne-veeeeer suggest banning a book. But some books can be tossed in the trash.
1960 actually.
This story takes place in New Zealand during the Victorian era, near the city of New Plymouth.
It’s supposed to be kind of a frontier romance, poor girl finds a rich, handsome husband. Men are coming over from Europe to scoop up property to build on and farm many acres. Of course the land was taken from the natives. (I.e. Events of war and mass killings of indigenous people.)
Oh the racist statements in this book!! There are loooooads of them. So many I had to stop reading at 55%. And DON’T tell me the author was trying to show the attitude of the time. Yes. Fine. Go for it - but to this extent!!?? I was so disgusted. Here are just a handful:
“Maori… the natives. We’ve had land troubles for years, of course. But they’ve been settled, fairly or unfairly one can’t be sure.”
“Lazy brown, nearly naked savages. They have very native habits.”
“They were superstitious beggars”
… merely a fat brown woman…
(It pains me to type these!!)
all their children run wild
… the only help he had… a half-caste Maori… untrained in white ways
Briar would feel happier with another white woman in the house.
…. but how did one teach a simple Maori… she decided to overlook some of her laziness and ignorance.
These statements and many more all happened before 55%. I decided to stop. Perhaps the story turns around. I don’t know. I don’t care. Yuck.
I would Ne-veeeeer suggest banning a book. But some books can be tossed in the trash.
March 15, 2020
Wow
At first I wasn't thrilled with this book, but slowly it captured my imagination and then my heart.
Briar just wanted love. Sadly Saul was very misinformed on how to treat a young lady. How many men can't get it thru their heads that women need to be cherished, then the wild love can come later? Anyhu I digress. Eventually, despite their stubbornness the see it thru. Good read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
At first I wasn't thrilled with this book, but slowly it captured my imagination and then my heart.
Briar just wanted love. Sadly Saul was very misinformed on how to treat a young lady. How many men can't get it thru their heads that women need to be cherished, then the wild love can come later? Anyhu I digress. Eventually, despite their stubbornness the see it thru. Good read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
August 26, 2020
Enjoyed this book very much. Good story line and excellent description of life and times in colonial New Zealand. Hard pioneering life for the settlers there, dealing with the native Maoris who with just cause were totally against people taking over their land. Some passages were quite explicit in how they attacked and dispatched invaders. Not for the faint of heart. Also good romantic story involving two different characters who of course come together eventually.
Michele Zito
Michele Zito
February 24, 2019
I was really disappointed in this Book..Do not understand 5 Star ratings..Story unbelievable,
Very young Girls falling in LOVE after first or Second meeting. “Briar” Servant girl, spent eighty per cent of Book being hateful to the Strong Rich Man she Married! Yet she became this Super Smart Mistress overnight! Just too Silly...If you like Jr High Romance Novels. This maybe for you!
Very young Girls falling in LOVE after first or Second meeting. “Briar” Servant girl, spent eighty per cent of Book being hateful to the Strong Rich Man she Married! Yet she became this Super Smart Mistress overnight! Just too Silly...If you like Jr High Romance Novels. This maybe for you!
January 8, 2022
Zgodba se prične s prihodom bogate družine v Wellington, glavno mesto Nove Zelandije. Družina ima zaposleno služkinjo, ki preseneti vse člane družine s svojim dejanjem, katerega pa nato obžaluje. Služkinja, ki je tudi glaven lik v tej zgodbi, se mora cel čas dokazovati, ker se znajde v situaciji, v kateri se mora znati prilagoditi ali pa kaj spremeniti. V zgodbi se pojavijo tudi Maori, s katerimi so priseljenci ravnali nečloveško in so zato Maori bili zelo maščevalni do vsakogar.
January 26, 2022
I'd actually give this book 3 1/2 stars because it was well-written and kept me engaged, but didn't give it higher marks because I didn't care for the heroine much, and it was the same basic premise as most gothic romances. Basically, I'd say it was a good easy read.
September 29, 2017
Great read. The New Zealand setting was interesting and the characters strong. Will look for more books by Dorothy Eden.
October 23, 2017
Great story
The story is fascinating but some of the more gruesome details about the hau haus could have been left out, and the story would have been just as interesting.
The story is fascinating but some of the more gruesome details about the hau haus could have been left out, and the story would have been just as interesting.
September 8, 2019
I enjoyed the setting and the historical details, but the relationship between Saul and Briar was too hostile for too long and the resolution felt so abrupt and incomplete.
Read
July 9, 2019New Zealand gothic romance
August 24, 2016
This book, set in colonial New Zealand and published in the 1970s is definitely a book of its time. From a 21st century perspective it is full of lines that make modern readers flinch at their cultural insensitivity, sexism and as one reviewer noted, parts of it were just downright rapey. These archaisms aside, it is still a well-written story of two people who marry for the wrong reasons and must find a way to love each other.
August 10, 2019
Klassiek verhaal over jonge vrouwen die naar New Zeeland trekken om daar een man te vinden. Eerste helft was leuk waar de lady’s maid de rijkste en begerenswaardige vrijgezel aan de haak slaagt. Naar het einde toe wordt het was ongeloofwaardiger. Er gaat altijd op tijd iemand dood of men veranderd kompleet van gedacht zodat het allemaal goed komt.
August 31, 2010
A marriage of convenience set in New Zealand.
March 15, 2018
Loved this book because it is set in New Zealand!
I had read this book before, enjoyed reading it again!
I had read this book before, enjoyed reading it again!
October 23, 2015
Good vacation reading...brain candy.
February 11, 2016
Good Story
I enjoyed the story very much. It was a quick read. I only wish there were some details of their intimacy. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good read.
I enjoyed the story very much. It was a quick read. I only wish there were some details of their intimacy. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good read.
May 7, 2016
Good read
The first part of the book is very slow,I almost put it down. As the chapter s went on I found the story line coming together. All together a slow start but a good end.
The first part of the book is very slow,I almost put it down. As the chapter s went on I found the story line coming together. All together a slow start but a good end.
July 31, 2017
6 stars. My favourite from Dorothy Eden so far.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews