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Forgotten Women #2
The Two Wives of Cuddy Ranse
“Amazing, enchanting, mesmerising. A truly rare thing is this book … There’s just something about this story, with its roots in real life, that will remain in your thoughts as it did mine.” Goodreads
When the odds are stacked against you, the bravest act can be choosing who you will become.
The two wives of Irishman Cuddy Ranse couldn’t be more different, one born on the red sands of Gibraltar, the other in the garret of a London bawdy house, Each doomed for the misfortune of being a woman, and a bad one at that.
Melva, always an outsider, faces war, destitution and unimaginable tragedy but refuses to give up. Tam, trapped in poverty, treated cruelly, must risk everything if she is to be free. One is drawn by infatuation into marrying the young husband, the other ensnared when she is sixteen and he an old man. Though they never meet, their lives and legacy entwine.
Exiled to a dangerous new colony on the underbelly of the known world, the Great Southland, each must confront a painful reckoning – to save others … or to save themselves, even though it may destroy what they have come to love.
Inspired by real people and events in the early 1800s and vividly told, The Two Wives of Cuddy Ranse is a searing story of redemption when all hope is lost, and a tribute to the fierce courage of women and the endurance of the human spirit.
The novel is a stand-alone and a companion to This Savage World.
When the odds are stacked against you, the bravest act can be choosing who you will become.
The two wives of Irishman Cuddy Ranse couldn’t be more different, one born on the red sands of Gibraltar, the other in the garret of a London bawdy house, Each doomed for the misfortune of being a woman, and a bad one at that.
Melva, always an outsider, faces war, destitution and unimaginable tragedy but refuses to give up. Tam, trapped in poverty, treated cruelly, must risk everything if she is to be free. One is drawn by infatuation into marrying the young husband, the other ensnared when she is sixteen and he an old man. Though they never meet, their lives and legacy entwine.
Exiled to a dangerous new colony on the underbelly of the known world, the Great Southland, each must confront a painful reckoning – to save others … or to save themselves, even though it may destroy what they have come to love.
Inspired by real people and events in the early 1800s and vividly told, The Two Wives of Cuddy Ranse is a searing story of redemption when all hope is lost, and a tribute to the fierce courage of women and the endurance of the human spirit.
The novel is a stand-alone and a companion to This Savage World.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2025
About the author
Anna Housego
5 books9 followersAnna is a former journalist, worked in an outback pub in crocodile country, was a political adviser, and a communications consultant.
She grew up in a small wilderness town full of eccentrics and colourful characters and now lives near the Southern Ocean in Tasmania, a small island below the south-eastern corner of Australia. Her two grown-up children and their families are nearby.
She writes character-driven fiction with an historical bent and recently released her fifth book, The Two Wives of Cuddy Ranse. Her debut novel, praised for its gripping story and compelling style, is The Way to Midnight, a 1930s mystery that resonates today. It was inspired by a true family scandal that she researched for almost a decade. Find out what it takes to dig up a family secret, with your free copy of Disgrace: Uncovering a Family Scandal, available at www.annahousego.comRatings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 13, 2025
Amazing, enchanting, mesmerising.
A truly rare thing is this book. The sights and sounds, the smells, the very atmosphere that Anna Housego describes with her words, you can imagine these character’s thoughts and hear their voices as if they’re real people and these people, they really stay with you long after you stop reading. There’s just something about this story with it’s roots in real life, that will remain in your thoughts as it did mine.
A truly rare thing is this book. The sights and sounds, the smells, the very atmosphere that Anna Housego describes with her words, you can imagine these character’s thoughts and hear their voices as if they’re real people and these people, they really stay with you long after you stop reading. There’s just something about this story with it’s roots in real life, that will remain in your thoughts as it did mine.
January 24, 2026
a painful book, redeemed
This book was relentlessly sad. Melva had a terrible life until she took what she could to build better. Cuddy was a piece of crap. Tam was broken from the get-go. And still, I recommend it.
This book was relentlessly sad. Melva had a terrible life until she took what she could to build better. Cuddy was a piece of crap. Tam was broken from the get-go. And still, I recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews