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Kept
Wigan, 1880Jessie yearns for a different life. After her mother passes away, she is forced to leave school to work in a cotton mill. Her father's hostile and abusive lover makes her long to escape. When her aunt marries Sam, an ambitious and intelligent young man, Jessies sees them prosper through the couple's drapery business. An offer to Jessie to work for them behind the shop counter leads to something more. Temptation comes, threatening to destroy not only her own stability but that of the families and their Methodist community. Jessie's secrets get harder to keep. But what will she risk for the sake of happiness?
Set in Lancashire, Kept is a gripping, bittersweet Victorian romance spanning fifteen years with themes of aspirational struggle, religious values and traditional commitments.
Set in Lancashire, Kept is a gripping, bittersweet Victorian romance spanning fifteen years with themes of aspirational struggle, religious values and traditional commitments.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 21, 2025
Yvonne Lyon’s debut novel, Kept, kept (no pun intended) me reading for hours one evening. Set against the backdrop of the late Victorian era—a period of sweeping social, political, and economic transformation—Kept is a historical epic that follows the intertwined fates of three families in the bustling mill town of Wigan. In the 1880s, Wigan thrived as a hub of industry, its cotton mills humming with activity and its coal production gaining national recognition. These two vocations lie at the heart of the Gorman family’s story, shaping their fortunes and misfortunes.
Like many working-class girls of the era, young Jessie had little choice but to leave school and work at the cotton mill to supplement the family income. Her father, Patrick, spent his days deep in the coal mines and evenings at the pub, nursing pints to escape the weight of his world. In contrast, another Wigan family, the Dunbars, carried a different kind of fire. An ambitious young man, Samuel Dunbar, dreamed of a life beyond the coal mine. His world takes an unexpected turn when he meets Lydia Holdsworth - a young woman from the upper class- during a lecture at Wigan’s Mechanics’ Institute. For Samuel, it’s more than love at first sight; it’s the spark of a future he never dared imagine. His life intertwined with the Gormans when he saved young Jessie from a horse-drawn bus while they were on their way to a church wedding. This incident eventually sparked off a chain of events in the story when Jessie’s mother, Mary Towneley, implored Samuel to look after Jessie and her brother, James, before she passed away. Spanning fifteen years, we see Jessie grow into a determined young woman who desires love and a better life by working in Samuel and her aunt Agnes’s drapery business.
Lyon masterfully weaves the sweeping social and economic shifts of the era into her prose, bringing history to life through intimate, character-driven moments. One such scene unfolds when Samuel steps out of Madame Chambres’ home, having just appealed to her to lease him her soon-to-be vacated shop.
‘I quickened my steps, eager to leave behind the noise of the streets; the clang of the new electric trams, the chop of horses’ hooves on cobbles loud in my ears.’
The prose vividly captures the spirit of a new century in motion—a time marked by the transformation of transportation, the rise of the working class, and the shifting tides of ambition and opportunity. This sense of authenticity stems from Lyon’s meticulous research, which draws on extensive reading and information from the archives of British newspapers. Her dedication to historical accuracy breathes life into the world she builds, grounding the novel in richly textured detail.
What truly elevates Kept, though, are the characters. Lyon crafts wonderfully layered individuals like Sam Dunbar and Jessie Gorman, each wrestling with powerful internal struggles while navigating the external pressures of societal expectations. Their journeys are compelling, filled with yearning and resilience. The pace picks up midway through the novel, and I found myself drawn to its timeless themes—social mobility, love, and redemption—all of which still resonate today.
Reading Kept inspires me to research the textile and coal industries of the late Victorian period further. I’ve always had a soft spot for historical fiction set in that era, and Lyon’s debut is a standout. In the author’s note, she reveals that her maternal grandparents loosely inspired the story, and that personal connection is felt throughout—there’s a tenderness and honesty in the way she explores the choices her characters make.
This is a powerful debut that I highly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction rooted in real lives.
Thank you, Leopard Print, for this e-ARC!
Like many working-class girls of the era, young Jessie had little choice but to leave school and work at the cotton mill to supplement the family income. Her father, Patrick, spent his days deep in the coal mines and evenings at the pub, nursing pints to escape the weight of his world. In contrast, another Wigan family, the Dunbars, carried a different kind of fire. An ambitious young man, Samuel Dunbar, dreamed of a life beyond the coal mine. His world takes an unexpected turn when he meets Lydia Holdsworth - a young woman from the upper class- during a lecture at Wigan’s Mechanics’ Institute. For Samuel, it’s more than love at first sight; it’s the spark of a future he never dared imagine. His life intertwined with the Gormans when he saved young Jessie from a horse-drawn bus while they were on their way to a church wedding. This incident eventually sparked off a chain of events in the story when Jessie’s mother, Mary Towneley, implored Samuel to look after Jessie and her brother, James, before she passed away. Spanning fifteen years, we see Jessie grow into a determined young woman who desires love and a better life by working in Samuel and her aunt Agnes’s drapery business.
Lyon masterfully weaves the sweeping social and economic shifts of the era into her prose, bringing history to life through intimate, character-driven moments. One such scene unfolds when Samuel steps out of Madame Chambres’ home, having just appealed to her to lease him her soon-to-be vacated shop.
‘I quickened my steps, eager to leave behind the noise of the streets; the clang of the new electric trams, the chop of horses’ hooves on cobbles loud in my ears.’
The prose vividly captures the spirit of a new century in motion—a time marked by the transformation of transportation, the rise of the working class, and the shifting tides of ambition and opportunity. This sense of authenticity stems from Lyon’s meticulous research, which draws on extensive reading and information from the archives of British newspapers. Her dedication to historical accuracy breathes life into the world she builds, grounding the novel in richly textured detail.
What truly elevates Kept, though, are the characters. Lyon crafts wonderfully layered individuals like Sam Dunbar and Jessie Gorman, each wrestling with powerful internal struggles while navigating the external pressures of societal expectations. Their journeys are compelling, filled with yearning and resilience. The pace picks up midway through the novel, and I found myself drawn to its timeless themes—social mobility, love, and redemption—all of which still resonate today.
Reading Kept inspires me to research the textile and coal industries of the late Victorian period further. I’ve always had a soft spot for historical fiction set in that era, and Lyon’s debut is a standout. In the author’s note, she reveals that her maternal grandparents loosely inspired the story, and that personal connection is felt throughout—there’s a tenderness and honesty in the way she explores the choices her characters make.
This is a powerful debut that I highly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction rooted in real lives.
Thank you, Leopard Print, for this e-ARC!
January 14, 2025
It was a pleasure and a privilege to review an advance copy of this superbly-crafted historical novel ‘Kept’ by Yvonne Lyon set in Wigan. The story opens in 1889 and introduces the reader to three families – the Gormans, the Townleys and the Dunbars – whose fates become increasingly inter-connected.
In an early scene, eight-year-old Jessie Gorman, a miner’s daughter, trips in a crowded street and falls in front of a horse bus. It seems certain she’ll be trampled but with seconds to spare, a passing stranger, Sam Dunbar, sweeps her up out of the path of the horse’s hooves. This terrifying incident entwines the Gorman and Dunbar families for decades. The ripples impact on Jessie’s life in ways I won’t mention here to avoid spoilers.
In this heavily industrialised coal mining community, the strict social structures of the era weigh heavily on individuals. Freedom of choice for working people and the lower classes is a concept that seems not to have been invented. Sam must start his working life down the pit but is determined to improve his position through education. He takes evening classes and attends lectures where he meets wealthy Lydia Holdsworth and her brother, who take an interest in him and his encourage his drive to improve himself. Sam longs not to be condemned to a life of heavy manual work underground. There’s an irony in Sam’s aspiration because mining was the best paid manual work available in the area. Trying to break away and start a new career would mean a lower income. It’s clear from Sam’s connection with the Holdsworths that in this ordered society, snobbery prevails. Studying and determination alone would not be enough to change a person’s fortunes. More was needed – connections, introductions, a financial windfall or just sheer luck.
On one level, ‘Kept’ could be read as a simple love story where a couple are kept apart by insurmountable obstacles, conventions and rigid rules. But the themes of the story are far more complex and give readers a real insight into living in those times. Standing up against conventions comes at a cost. Characters battle death, loss and bullying. Options for women are few. For men, too, aspirations are raised and dashed. Religion, notably Methodism vs Catholicism, dictated lifestyles and behaviour. Methodists were encouraged to take the pledge and refrain from drinking alcohol as a stand against the societal scourge of alcoholism and drunkenness. Some characters in the book drink to excess and the author illustrates the consequences in ill health, chaotic lifestyles and brushes with the law.
This novel is meticulously researched and the writing is highly visual. Readers are drawn into the bustling Market Hall and experience the daily life of stallholders and customers. In a scene that takes place in a rough area of the town we see cats prowling after the fish seller has been round and water streaming along filthy alleys, known as ‘ginnels’ where ‘sluttish’ women ‘in dirty finery’ hang out.
I read ‘Kept’ over four evenings and whenever I had to leave it, I always looked forward to getting back to the immersive story of the lives of these Wigan families. A novel that sparkles with fascinating insights into life in the late Victorian era and a highly recommended read for anyone who enjoys social history combined with a good story.
In an early scene, eight-year-old Jessie Gorman, a miner’s daughter, trips in a crowded street and falls in front of a horse bus. It seems certain she’ll be trampled but with seconds to spare, a passing stranger, Sam Dunbar, sweeps her up out of the path of the horse’s hooves. This terrifying incident entwines the Gorman and Dunbar families for decades. The ripples impact on Jessie’s life in ways I won’t mention here to avoid spoilers.
In this heavily industrialised coal mining community, the strict social structures of the era weigh heavily on individuals. Freedom of choice for working people and the lower classes is a concept that seems not to have been invented. Sam must start his working life down the pit but is determined to improve his position through education. He takes evening classes and attends lectures where he meets wealthy Lydia Holdsworth and her brother, who take an interest in him and his encourage his drive to improve himself. Sam longs not to be condemned to a life of heavy manual work underground. There’s an irony in Sam’s aspiration because mining was the best paid manual work available in the area. Trying to break away and start a new career would mean a lower income. It’s clear from Sam’s connection with the Holdsworths that in this ordered society, snobbery prevails. Studying and determination alone would not be enough to change a person’s fortunes. More was needed – connections, introductions, a financial windfall or just sheer luck.
On one level, ‘Kept’ could be read as a simple love story where a couple are kept apart by insurmountable obstacles, conventions and rigid rules. But the themes of the story are far more complex and give readers a real insight into living in those times. Standing up against conventions comes at a cost. Characters battle death, loss and bullying. Options for women are few. For men, too, aspirations are raised and dashed. Religion, notably Methodism vs Catholicism, dictated lifestyles and behaviour. Methodists were encouraged to take the pledge and refrain from drinking alcohol as a stand against the societal scourge of alcoholism and drunkenness. Some characters in the book drink to excess and the author illustrates the consequences in ill health, chaotic lifestyles and brushes with the law.
This novel is meticulously researched and the writing is highly visual. Readers are drawn into the bustling Market Hall and experience the daily life of stallholders and customers. In a scene that takes place in a rough area of the town we see cats prowling after the fish seller has been round and water streaming along filthy alleys, known as ‘ginnels’ where ‘sluttish’ women ‘in dirty finery’ hang out.
I read ‘Kept’ over four evenings and whenever I had to leave it, I always looked forward to getting back to the immersive story of the lives of these Wigan families. A novel that sparkles with fascinating insights into life in the late Victorian era and a highly recommended read for anyone who enjoys social history combined with a good story.
November 1, 2025
Kept is a deeply engaging historical novel set in late 19th-century Wigan, where the thwarted lives of three families: the Gormans, the Townleys, and the Dunbars who become tightly bound by a single, life-changing event. From the opening scene, the story draws you into a world shaped by class, ambition, and the unyielding social rules of an industrial mining town.
The author paints Victorian life with real authenticity. I could almost feel the soot in the air and hear the chatter in the shops and the Methodist chapels. The struggles of working people, especially women with few choices, are portrayed with compassion and realism. Themes of religion, morality, and social class are woven naturally through the narrative, giving it both emotional depth and historical insight.
Although the novel contains romance and personal drama, what stayed with me most was its honesty about the hardships and hopes of ordinary lives which is a testament to they author’s thorough research. Kept draws you in, it is thoughtful, and moving;it is a story that remains with you even after the last page.
The author paints Victorian life with real authenticity. I could almost feel the soot in the air and hear the chatter in the shops and the Methodist chapels. The struggles of working people, especially women with few choices, are portrayed with compassion and realism. Themes of religion, morality, and social class are woven naturally through the narrative, giving it both emotional depth and historical insight.
Although the novel contains romance and personal drama, what stayed with me most was its honesty about the hardships and hopes of ordinary lives which is a testament to they author’s thorough research. Kept draws you in, it is thoughtful, and moving;it is a story that remains with you even after the last page.
January 14, 2025
Kept deftly depicts life in a working class mining town in the 1800s as Sam and Jessie navigate a life of ambition and struggle in a world where their futures are prescribed by class and gender. Sam will work in the mines and marry from his own class, though he longs for culture and hopes to rise. Jessie will leave school to work in the mill, and tend her father's home under the cruel eye of a would-be stepmother. But she is smart, capable and diligent and, like Sam, she longs to learn though she is ashamed to admit it. Forced to live the lives carved out for them, rather than those they truly desire, they find hope and consolation in each other.
There is more than a nod to Hardy in this portrait of longing and limitation and, like Hardy's characters, Sam and Jessie are both flawed and sympathetic at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
There is more than a nod to Hardy in this portrait of longing and limitation and, like Hardy's characters, Sam and Jessie are both flawed and sympathetic at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
January 14, 2025
Kept is a wonderful treat for anyone who loves historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well-researched, engaging novel with its cast of relatable characters. The story is loosely based on family history, according to the author, and her recreation of authentic, historical detail is extremely compelling. The writing is very assured with good pacing. I was particularly struck by the use of imaginative similes such as: "let the night scents surround me like the lightest of shawls" and "walls of yellow clay, greasy as mutton fat". I found myself rooting for the main characters, Sam and Jessie, from the start and they stayed with me long after I'd finished reading their story.
October 6, 2025
A real page turner. Riveting from start to finishing. The author has clearly done a vast amount of research into the period and it shows. The world of late-Victorian working class life is depicted in all its stifling minutiae. It's a world of moral censure, disapproval, drunken marriages, and Methodist temperance. Against this backdrop, the social mores and limitations of class and sex are forensically explored. One can only feel for the protagonists involved, despite the duplicity they are driven to, and be thankful one lives in a more liberal, compassionate age. Superb.
June 9, 2025
A very good first novel about social mobility and growing up in a northern pit town. The two main characters were interesting but it was the women who were the strength within the families; the men were generally mentally weaker. It had been well researched and was loosely based on the author's own family tree.
I thought the ending a little too contrived.
I thought the ending a little too contrived.
January 13, 2025
Kept is such a beautifully written and involving novel. Yvonne Lyon’s gentle, precise style admirably captures the Edwardian setting of this family story and the depths of emotion experienced by characters with who a reader becomes closely identified. A very enjoyable read.
February 4, 2025
A most enjoyable book. An interesting and involving story, you are constantly keen to see what happens next. It paints a vivid picture of life in Wigan in the late 1800's and highly recommended to readers of historical fiction.
August 18, 2025
In this book, Yvonne Lyon not only captures the emotional truths and family undercurrents which tug at its core, but also vividly conjures the textures and sensory details of daily life in nineteen century Lancashire. Here is a deftly written, deeply immersive and very enjoyable read.
February 11, 2025
A wonderfully well researched and written book. Full of drama and intrigue, passion and betrayal and all in a period setting. Perfect! I throughly enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews