The Diary of Essie Lassiter

by Sam Polakoff

In the runup to the Revolutionary War, a young English midwife is unsuspectingly thrown into the London Debtor’s Prison. With no prospect of retiring her debt, she becomes indentured to Aquila Wright, a wealthy mill owner in the British colony of Maryland. After saving Aquila's life and earning his admiration and trust, Essie faces her biggest challenge when she is asked to start the colony's first hospital.

The Diary of Essie Lassiter is a startling, first-person account of one woman’s impossible journey to overcome dire circumstances in an 18th century world dominated by pompous men.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 2024

About the author

Sam Polakoff is the award-winning author of thrillers and historical fiction.

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Reviews

[Keera Kongnyuy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading The Diary of Essie Lassiter was like embarking on an emotional whirlwind through a unique period in history. Essie's journey, from her life in a quaint English village to experiencing struggles as a debtor's prisoner and then a servant in the New World, felt so heartbreakingly real. Sam Polakoff’s writing sparks empathy, and I quickly became invested in Essie as she deals with loss, survival, and the quest for freedom. The juxtaposition of despair and hope is beautifully achieved in this work and readers will be keen at watching at the heroine’s budding relationships and the way the community rallies around her. I felt Essie's frustration, her moments of courage, and her growing sense of independence. The moral dilemmas and socio-political tensions of 18th-century America are intricately woven into her personal story, with historical. What I loved most was how Polakoff addresses not just her external conflicts but also her internal struggles. The cliffhanger at the end left me desperate for more – I'm already looking forward to Book 2! This one has clever plotting, pathos that grips the heart of the reader, and a narrative voice that is hard to ignore.

[Ruffina Os · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Diary of Essie Lassiter by Sam Polakoff left me with all the feels. Essie is such a relatable and strong character—her struggles with grief, social biases, and the grim experiences of a woman who is enmeshed in debt and must pay for her husband’s debts in the 18th century are compelling. Sam Polakoff is a great storyteller who develops a nuanced and likeable heroine, Essie, a character who allows the reader to witness her evolution from a broken widow into a figure of grit and emotional energy.

The relationships she builds—especially with the formidable but kind-hearted Aquila and the vibrant young Penny—inject warmth into her often-bleak circumstances. The exploration of themes like the injustices of class and gender is done with skill. What stood out to me were the historical details—the descriptions of life in Wickhamshire and the brutalities of the debtor's prison are vividly painted. The prose is excellent, and the descriptions are terrific. But then, the persistent pathos and the psychological underpinnings hold the whole threads of the narrative together.

[Rovie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling historical fiction

The Diary of Essie Lassiter by Sam Polakoff is a well-plotted and mesmerizing historical narrative that follows Essie’s journey in 18th-century England and Maryland. Her journey includes loss to smallpox, imprisonment for her debts, and eventual independence when asked to run a clinic. The characters are fully drawn, from the treacherous Elias Carmichael to the supportive Pastor Vinson. Polakoff’s descriptive prose brings the settings to life, intelligently capturing the grim reality of Debtor’s Prison and the hopeful atmosphere of the colonies. The diary and epistolary formats create an intimate connection with Essie’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Themes of perseverance, hope, struggle against poverty, gender constraints, and community are cleverly explored. This was a great read, indeed.

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 33% because I could no longer get past the endless attempts to contextualize Revolutionary-era American society that read at best like a dubiouly sourced AI summary. I wanted to like this because the premise was so immediately appealing to my own niche interests (women in Revolutionary America, midwifery and medicine in the 18th century) but this was interminable. Great example of why anyone writing a historical novel really needs to study a period's social history or risk making some seriously basic mistakes.

[Lea Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this historical fiction book, which was set mostly in Maryland at the time around the Revolutionary War, in part because I was curious to learn more about what it was like here at that time. However, as I read the book, I also appreciated the stalwart Essie, who moved through challenges with grace and optimism, the vision in the book of an unfolding community who builds their way into the future together, and of course the complex love story that develops as the book progresses. Highly recommend!

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

and informative while immersing you in history, women’s plight and 1700’s medical treatments. I look forward to the next book but this story did have a satisfying conclusion.

[Cindy Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Unexpected Pleasure

This was a great book to read. It was interesting, historical, and full of fascinating people. The perspective of a formerly British woman who became an American was also good.

[Amanda Brooks-Bellomy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! Historical fiction that keeps you reading. I felt like part of Essies journey. Can't wait for the next one!