Lottie Trago

Retallick Saga #6

by E.V. Thompson

It is 1864, and Josh and Miriam Retallick return home from Africa to find the men and women hungry—and Lottie, an unmistakable Trago in looks and spirit—guarding goats on Bodmin Moor. Josh soon takes stock of these hard times and becomes a driving force in his native land. Meanwhile, Jane Trago, a sensual woman but an unfeeling mother, sweeps in to take up her new trade in the local tavern. Against the fluctuating fortunes of the Sharptor mine, we follow Lottie as she is drawn first to Jethro Shovell, a dedicated trade unionist, and then to the smooth-talking, aristocratic Hawken Strike.

Genres: Historical Fiction

403 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

aka James Munro (Not this James Munro).

E V Thompson was born in London and spent nine years in the Navy before joining Bristol police. He moved to Hong Kong, then Rhodesia and had over 200 stories published before returning to England to become a full-time award-winning writer.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little hard to get into but once I did it became hard to put down. It is set in the Victorian era and based around the Cornish mining community. It follows the fortunes of three sisters, born into the Trago family, it starts from the return of the eldest sister, her husband and two orphaned girls from Africa.
I particularly found this one interesting as it was set in the Victorian era which I find really fascinating. Also it was based around the Cornish mining community and as my step father is from Cornwall and lives just out side of Launceston where the story is based it definitely held my interest. When I was young my step father would call me “maid” which as a teenager used to some what irate me, but I think the Cornish term “maid” probably originated from the Cornish Tin and Copper mining industry as the book talks of “bal-maidens”, who would work at the mine surface breaking open the rocks retrieved from the mine so that the tin and copper ore could be collected.

This is sixth book in the Retallick series so I will be keeping my eye out for the rest of the series so that I may find out the beginnings of the story.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good to read this 6th book in the Retallick series, set back in Cornwall. It was good to pick up on the story of the lives of Josh & Miriam Retallick and find out how their fortunes have turned.

As with the other books in the series, the close links to the social history of the differing classes has been interesting to follow.

Within this book the changes in the fortunes of the copper & tin mining industry of this region, due to changes on the global stage are interesting to learn about.

I am reminded of some of the story lines in a couple of books by Tania Cross: Morwellham's Child and the River Girl, which cover some of the same themes, in a similar geographical location to this book which is centred around the Sharptor Area of Bodmin Moor.

I need to avoid any spoilers, but there are a couple of interesting twists towards the end of this book. Well worth a read, on its own or as part of the series.