The Maiden

Morland Dynasty #8

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

1720: political intrigue besets the kingdom as the Stuarts try to claim the throne occupied by the Hanoverians and the Morlands have to use all their wiles to keep their fortunes intact.

Jeremy Morland, sole heir to his father's will, has no option but to marry to cold-hearted Lady Mary to secure Hanoverian protection and safeguard his inheritance. Then the rebellion of '45 and the bloody massacre at Culloden thrust his daughter Jemima into the spotlight as the saviour of the family.

Independent, single-minded, and a rare beauty, Jemima is a capable caretaker of the Morland heritage. Although Morland Place and its lands suffer from the excesses of her dissolute husband, Jemima's quiet courage earns her an abiding love and loyalty.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Romance, Historical Romance, British Literature

412 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (aka Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett)

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born on 13 August 1948 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.

She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.

She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game. The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod-Eagles to become a full-time writer in 1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-four.

In 1993 she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.

Reviews

[Edith Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoying this series. I have 3 more on my shelf after this & will probably buy more after I finish those. Thankfully, Annunciata played a much smaller role in this one. The focus was on her nephew, Jemmy, and his daughter, Jemima. Both are much more likeable characters than the spoiled & arrogant Annunciata.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 6th book in the Morland Dynasty series is the reason I abandoned the series back in the 80's after enjoying the first 200 years or so of the Morland family. I honestly wanted to slap Annunciata because she became so shallow and stupid in the book, and her children weren't much better. Over 20 years later, I found books 7-20 as a lot in an estate sale and bought them to give the series another try. I hated The Chevalier too; the story did not improve until book 8 The Maiden, but then it really got better and the ensuing French Revolution/Napoleonic War era books are excellent. I'm glad I hung in there, but The Long Shadow and The Chevalier are pretty awful. Unfortunately, you have to read them to understand what comes later, but brace yourself.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the Morland books so far. I don't like the Hanovers or the Stuarts. None of this generation of Morlands are particularly likable either. A dull period in English history was not made any more interesting.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read further into this series, I am reminded of the opening line of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Each new generation of the family seems to find new and different ways to be unhappy, whether through personal misunderstandings, misplaced love, politics, or religion. That said, the books also create an intriguing view of English history, from a slightly different point of view. I highly advise starting at the beginning of the series, and therefore have hidden the rest of this review.


At the end of the previous volume, it appeared that Matt Morland had at last achieved some peace and happiness, with his marriage to his recently widowed cousin Sabine. But it didn't last. A difficult pregnancy, ending in a stillbirth, left Sabine partially crippled. Matt retreats once more into his sorrows, handing over more and more of his responsibilities to his son Jemmy, the one one of his first wife's sons that he truly believes to be his own. But he does arrange Jemmy's marriage, for political reasons. But that marriage is doomed, due in part to Jemmy's love for his cousin Aliena and her daughter Marie-Louise.

Time passes. Jemmy becomes a father, with two sons of his own, and a daughter, Jemima, who adores him, but is too often disregarded. Until another tragedy leaves her as the sole heir to the Morland dynasty. How Jemima copes with her situation, and eventually finds happiness, is a fascinating story.

[Elly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 8th book of Morland Dynasty really made me feel resented for picking up this series. It seems like the writer can't imagine a happy marriage for morland heirs. The story could still be written beautifully without spoiling the relationship between Jemmy and lady Mary. It really felt like that the character of Lady Mary was portrayed as a villain by force, it didn’t fell spontaneous. Where's a strong and positive character could be made out of her very easily. There was also the unnecessary sufferings of Jemima. This book could be still written beautifully without unnecessary malice relationships and tragedies.

[Barbara Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

proofreading needed

Great stories, but all these books need relentless proofreading. The many archaic and foreign terms used make reading difficult enough without all the other errors.

[Pattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like it. The parts involving the Monarchy are confusing and hard to follow but are a necessary part of the story. The family dramas are quite interesting and had me rooting for the underdog every time. Of course I had to keep flipping to the Family Trees to keep track of everyone!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again my enjoyment spoilt by huge amount of typhos!

[Blubonnet1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/16/2024

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent story.

[Mary N. Kjellstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

One if may favorites in the Morland Dynasty series

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment in the Morland Dynasty series, this one covers the '45 and the events of Culloden, as well as the Hanoverian goings on of that time period. It's one of the more boring/confusing parts of British history to me, quite frankly, but this book covers it pretty well. Just don't expect to like any of the characters. Jemmy, the Master of Morland Place, marries a timid lady who never makes an effort to like him or the situation. She almost dies while giving birth to their daughter, Jemima, and blames Jemima for it forever. Aliena's half Stuart daughter is a pain in the ass, basically Annunciata revisited. It was fun though, and I'm ready for the next one!

[gardienne_du_feu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annunciata, die Matriarchin der Morlands, die jahrzehntelang zumindest inoffiziell die Zügel in der Hand hatte, hat ein fast biblisches Alter erreicht und überlässt die Führung nun doch den Jüngeren. Als sein verbitterter Vater schwer krank wird, übernimmt mit Jemmy ein Vertreter der übernächsten Generation das Ruder.

Die politische Lage in England ist noch immer angespannt, das Land ist gespalten zwischen den Anhängern der Hannoveraner auf dem Thron und denen der Stuarts im Exil, was schließlich für die Stuart-Anhänger, zu denen auch die Morlands nach wie vor zählen, zur Katastrophe von Culloden führt.

Jemmy selbst hat es auch nicht leicht. Seine Ehe ist nicht Folge einer Liebesheirat, sondern wurde aus politischen Gründen eingefädelt, um die katholische, stuarttreue Familie vor Repressalien zu schützen, was dazu führt, dass sowohl er als auch seine Frau, die oft hart wirkt, im Grunde aber ebenso wie Jemmy unter den Zwängen leidet und es ihm zumindest anfangs doch nur unbedingt recht machen will, am Ende todunglücklich sind. Als nach zwei Söhnen seine Tochter Jemima geboren wird, hat er zunächst kein enges Verhältnis zu dem Mädchen, doch als er merkt, dass sie sehr wissbegierig und vielseitig interessiert ist, schlägt er alle Traditionen in den Wind und erzieht sie wie einen Jungen zu seiner potentiellen Nachfolgerin.

Wieder bietet Cynthia Harrod-Eagles uns eine mitreißende Geschichtsstunde, sozusagen am lebenden Objekt, auch wenn der Fokus weniger auf der sonst so häufig im Detail geschilderten Schlacht von Culloden und mehr auf dem großen Gesamtbild über mehrere Jahrzehnte liegt. Jemmys fast schon tragische Mussehe und ihre Folgen sind eher ein wenig deprimierend, während die Geschichte seiner Tochter Jemima teils zwar sehr dramatisch anmutet, aber auch zu fesseln versteht. Und weil Jemima so sympathisch ist, verzeiht man auch mal einen sehr zufälligen Zufall.

Harrod-Eagles' Nebenfiguren sind grundsätzlich gut ausgearbeitet, ganz besonders spannend ist jedoch der Part des Musikers Maurice, der sich fast ausschließlich für sein eigenes Metier interessiert und gerade dadurch Zugang zu beiden politischen Lagern findet, ein echter Kosmopolit, der viel reist und mit berühmten Zeitgenossen wie Scarlatti und Händel verkehrt.

Erneut ein gelungener Band mit genau der richtigen Mischung aus Politik, Gesellschaft, Gefühl und Familienangelegenheiten.

[Lolly's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book number eight in the Morland Dynasty series, The Maiden is set in the early decades of the eighteenth century, during the tumultuous years when both the Stuarts and the Hanoverians laid claim to the English throne. The plot revolves around James Edward (Jemmy), Annunciata's nephew and sole heir to the Morland heritage. To help counteract the taint of Catholicism attached to the Morland name and secure a Hanoverian connection to safeguard his family's future, Jemmy enters into an arranged marriage with the proud Lady Mary, a joyless marriage which produces their daughter Jemima on whose shoulders rest the entire prospect of the Morland Dynasty. (Nice, right?)

Annunciata has even less to do in this book than before (which is to be expected, considering the woman is in her seventies), but her presence isn't missed much considering we're given yet another despicable female to take her place, embodied in this volume by Lady Mary Holles: cold, haughty, and disdainful who treats her husband and her daughter with chilling hatred. The first because, thanks to a misunderstood eavesdropped conversation, she believes Jemmy also hates her (and they couldn't actually speak with one another to clear things up, oh no), a situation further exacerbated by her equally proud and standoffish companion, Lady Dudley, who only encourages the distance between husband and wife with her poisonous advice regarding Lady Mary's marriage as well as her supposed higher status to her husband:

'Being a young man, he will probably want to trouble you that way a good deal at first. But if you endure it, and shew your disapproval as a gentlewoman should, simply in your bearing towards him, I daresay that you will gradually be able to lead his mind towards better things. Most importantly, you must never cry out, however much it hurts. It would be exceedingly improper to make a sound of any sort at such a time, and it is a woman's fate to endure pain in silence. [That entire passage gave me acid indigestion.]'

'Like you? Why should he like you? ... When I was a girl... [i]t was not considered at all proper for a husband and wife to be affectionate towards each other. ... You should not encourage intimacy from him. ... No, Mary, I hope I shall never see you demeaning yourself to be friendly towards your husband. [I had to take some Tums after reading that bit.]'

(It doesn't help that Jemmy has the backbone of a jellied eel; I don't advocate wife-beating, but there was at least one instance where a good smack to Lady Mary's face would've done a world of good.)

And the second because, thanks to a hard birth which left Lady Mary crippled, she's resolved to take away any happiness which might come to Jemima. Which includes her marriage:

But she did not want Jemima to be happy: if possible she would like her to be as unhappy as she [Mary] had been all these years. Where to find a husband for her daughter who would appear to do her credit, yet would make her miserable?

Even as a fictional character, what kind of mother could think that way? It's utterly depraved and hideous.

Reading this series, I have to wonder: What kind of women does Cynthia Harrod-Eagles have in her life to keep writing such twisted bitches?

[Luci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these books because the author places the characters in key historical places. She also creates characters you can respond to, creating a family tapestry with many unique threads. The books are slow at first and then towards the middle pick up momentum. A fun read.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read, don't look for likable characters in this one

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite in the series so far, that is saying a lot!

[Markéta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zatím asi nejlepší z dílů, co jsem přečetla, i když jsou velmi vyrovnané.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wise mother once noted that historical fiction captures the beliefs of when the book was written as much as they do the time and place it is set. That is very evident in this historical romance and the attitudes towards marital rights and intimacy.
Having said that, it advances the story of England nicely and was a pleasant read (the above notwithstanding) and a series that I will continue to read as they cross my path.

[Lindsey Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This includes one of the best love stories in the series so far. I was also quite glad to be done with a certain character who had way too much time devoted to her the last few book. This is one of the best so far.