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The Rowans
In Massachusetts, in the years between witchcraft delusion and Revolution, a curious, insightful Tamsin Bennett comes of age apprenticed to her Grandmother Cat, child of a healer-mystic accused of witchery.
When Tamsin is stricken one morning with unearthly visions of her Papa, that day inexplicably he is found dead. Now keeping a tavern in a harbor town, she hides in plain sight to carry on the healing work of her foremothers, protects her family from danger, and chooses her lovers with particular care.
When Tamsin is stricken one morning with unearthly visions of her Papa, that day inexplicably he is found dead. Now keeping a tavern in a harbor town, she hides in plain sight to carry on the healing work of her foremothers, protects her family from danger, and chooses her lovers with particular care.
373 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2025
Expertly researched to put the reader deeply in 1750, both through intricate detail and through the prose. The story moves through different settings, each needing its own depth of knowledge to bring the time period to life.
July 17, 2025
5 out of 5 stars
Couldn’t put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2025
I couldn’t put it down! Hoping for a sequel!
Beverly Cooper Pierce’s, The Rowans, is an engaging work of historical fiction set in mid 18th century New England where, at the heart of the story, we meet Tamsin, a compelling and deeply human young woman navigating a world where choices are rarely her own, a theme that transcends time.
Pierce deftly portrays Tamsin with inner strength, quiet rebellion, and rare moments of joy. Tamsin’s development—from constraint to cautious empowerment—is one of the book’s most satisfying elements.
Elements of magical realism serve as ethereal reflections of Tamsin’s desires and fears, grounding the story in mystery.
The attention to historical detail is impeccable. From the colonial garb and food, to the social mores of the time, Pierce brings the era to life with stunning accuracy.
The Rowans is not just a story about a woman in history—it is a story about womanhood. With elegant prose, unforgettable characters, and a deftly balanced touch of “magic”, Beverly Cooper Pierce has crafted a novel that lingers long after the final page.
Highly recommended for readers who love character-driven historical fiction with a touch of the otherworldly.
Couldn’t put it down!
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2025
I couldn’t put it down! Hoping for a sequel!
Beverly Cooper Pierce’s, The Rowans, is an engaging work of historical fiction set in mid 18th century New England where, at the heart of the story, we meet Tamsin, a compelling and deeply human young woman navigating a world where choices are rarely her own, a theme that transcends time.
Pierce deftly portrays Tamsin with inner strength, quiet rebellion, and rare moments of joy. Tamsin’s development—from constraint to cautious empowerment—is one of the book’s most satisfying elements.
Elements of magical realism serve as ethereal reflections of Tamsin’s desires and fears, grounding the story in mystery.
The attention to historical detail is impeccable. From the colonial garb and food, to the social mores of the time, Pierce brings the era to life with stunning accuracy.
The Rowans is not just a story about a woman in history—it is a story about womanhood. With elegant prose, unforgettable characters, and a deftly balanced touch of “magic”, Beverly Cooper Pierce has crafted a novel that lingers long after the final page.
Highly recommended for readers who love character-driven historical fiction with a touch of the otherworldly.
June 28, 2025
The Rowans is a quietly powerful novel that weaves generational memory, land, and identity into a richly layered family saga. The narrative explores the complexities of inheritance—not just in terms of property but in grief, unspoken histories, and mystical abilities. At its heart, The Rowans is a story about resilience.
Tamsin's coming-of-age journey becomes the crucible for unfolding tensions between old and new, tradition and change, silence and truth, love and letting go. Her gifts, at first tentative and misunderstood, become a tender, luminous thread running through the novel. Pierce treats this supernatural talent not as a spectacle but as a quiet, sacred burden. Visions, intuitions, and ghostly echoes of the past emerge not for thrills, but to underscore a deeper truth—that absolution, both personal and generational—must be sought to break the cycles of silence and shame. There is a spiritual hunger beneath it all—a longing not just for reconciliation among the living, but for peace with the dead.
All of this story's characters are lovingly etched with nuance. The story resists caricature and instead offers a portrait of a family grappling with the weight of its past. Especially poignant is her treatment of memory—how it shifts over time, how it binds or estranges those who share it, and how it can both liberate and wound. It's primarily joyful to feel embedded in the Bennett family by way of the rich, elegant prose. Each relationship is as a point on Tamsin's sundial compass or a spoke on a wheel with Tamsin at its center. The author avoids melodrama, instead trusting readers to sit with the quiet joys of farm and family life, as well as with the ebb and flow of grief, discomfort, and ambiguity. There is a meditative pacing to its chapters, allowing emotional revelations to land with greater weight. For those readers attuned to character and atmosphere, the rewards are significant.
All in all, The Rowans is a haunting, lyrical work that lingers after the final page. It's a story that feels at once intimate and expansive. By blending the realism of family drama with unexpected elements of healing and the supernatural, Pierce creates something rare: a novel that is both grounded and otherworldly, deeply personal and spiritually resonant. The Rowans is an exploration of love, legacy, grace, and the mysterious ways we are called to mend what we did not break.
Tamsin's coming-of-age journey becomes the crucible for unfolding tensions between old and new, tradition and change, silence and truth, love and letting go. Her gifts, at first tentative and misunderstood, become a tender, luminous thread running through the novel. Pierce treats this supernatural talent not as a spectacle but as a quiet, sacred burden. Visions, intuitions, and ghostly echoes of the past emerge not for thrills, but to underscore a deeper truth—that absolution, both personal and generational—must be sought to break the cycles of silence and shame. There is a spiritual hunger beneath it all—a longing not just for reconciliation among the living, but for peace with the dead.
All of this story's characters are lovingly etched with nuance. The story resists caricature and instead offers a portrait of a family grappling with the weight of its past. Especially poignant is her treatment of memory—how it shifts over time, how it binds or estranges those who share it, and how it can both liberate and wound. It's primarily joyful to feel embedded in the Bennett family by way of the rich, elegant prose. Each relationship is as a point on Tamsin's sundial compass or a spoke on a wheel with Tamsin at its center. The author avoids melodrama, instead trusting readers to sit with the quiet joys of farm and family life, as well as with the ebb and flow of grief, discomfort, and ambiguity. There is a meditative pacing to its chapters, allowing emotional revelations to land with greater weight. For those readers attuned to character and atmosphere, the rewards are significant.
All in all, The Rowans is a haunting, lyrical work that lingers after the final page. It's a story that feels at once intimate and expansive. By blending the realism of family drama with unexpected elements of healing and the supernatural, Pierce creates something rare: a novel that is both grounded and otherworldly, deeply personal and spiritually resonant. The Rowans is an exploration of love, legacy, grace, and the mysterious ways we are called to mend what we did not break.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews