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The Tulip Tree
- GenresHistorical Romance
223 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 1979
About the author
Mary Ann Gibbs
41 books3 followers1900-1985
Pseudonym for Marjorie Elizabeth Sarah Bidwell. AKA Elizabeth Ford.
Pseudonym for Marjorie Elizabeth Sarah Bidwell. AKA Elizabeth Ford.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 21, 2016
This month’s TBR Challenge is a wild card. When told to go whereever my mood takes me, I find myself overwhelmed with choice since I have quite a sizable TBR pile these days. For this month’s read, I decided to dive into a box of old Coventry romances from the 1970s that I picked up at a library book sale. These books are trads, mostly of the Regency variety, but the line did publish a few from other time periods as well. My pick, a 1979 release called The Tulip Tree by Mary Ann Gibbs, was one of these and is a Victorian romance set during the 1840s.
As with many of the older romances I’ve read, the heroine in this one is rather young. Allegra Lakesby is 18, and upon her father’s death, she learns that not only do she and her mother need to vacate Lakesby in order to allow her cousin to claim it as his inheritance, but her father did not run his estate well and failed to provide much by way of resources for her and mother to live on. The two women, along with Allegra’s Aunt Bell, must simplify and downsize their lives quite a bit to adapt to their new circumstances.
With the help of the family lawyer, Allegra’s mother finds a modest home in a small town not far from Lakesby and they move in. It’s obvious from the beginning of the book that Allegra will have some growing up to do. Well, either that or she’s shaping up to be one of the more insufferable heroines out there. She understandably chafes at the reduced circumstances of her new life, but her constant pining over houses with large rooms does get a bit old. In addition, while the naivete that guides her into the predicament that sets up the main story is understandable, it’s also annoying.
You see, Allegra is somehow convinced that taking work as a governess will somehow gain her entrance into these grand houses (and by extension, grand society) that she misses and for which she longs. So, even though her family would prefer she stay home as young women did during this period, Allegra insists on answering an ad for a governess. Her insistence on going out to work in the face of everyone’s warnings comes off as immature rather than brave or even feminist for her time, primarily because of Allegra’s own tone. She often sounds more like a defiant child than confident adult.
However, she has her way and ends up being engaged to serve as governess to the younger sister of the Earl of Featherstone. On the way to her new position, she finds herself on the train with William Buckhurst, a railway engineer. They pass an enjoyable trip together, though Mr. Buckhurst’s warnings about what she may expect as a governess do prove prescient. Upon arrival at Featherstone, Allegra does indeed face something that she seems not to have expected – life as a servant.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/sept-tbr-c...
As with many of the older romances I’ve read, the heroine in this one is rather young. Allegra Lakesby is 18, and upon her father’s death, she learns that not only do she and her mother need to vacate Lakesby in order to allow her cousin to claim it as his inheritance, but her father did not run his estate well and failed to provide much by way of resources for her and mother to live on. The two women, along with Allegra’s Aunt Bell, must simplify and downsize their lives quite a bit to adapt to their new circumstances.
With the help of the family lawyer, Allegra’s mother finds a modest home in a small town not far from Lakesby and they move in. It’s obvious from the beginning of the book that Allegra will have some growing up to do. Well, either that or she’s shaping up to be one of the more insufferable heroines out there. She understandably chafes at the reduced circumstances of her new life, but her constant pining over houses with large rooms does get a bit old. In addition, while the naivete that guides her into the predicament that sets up the main story is understandable, it’s also annoying.
You see, Allegra is somehow convinced that taking work as a governess will somehow gain her entrance into these grand houses (and by extension, grand society) that she misses and for which she longs. So, even though her family would prefer she stay home as young women did during this period, Allegra insists on answering an ad for a governess. Her insistence on going out to work in the face of everyone’s warnings comes off as immature rather than brave or even feminist for her time, primarily because of Allegra’s own tone. She often sounds more like a defiant child than confident adult.
However, she has her way and ends up being engaged to serve as governess to the younger sister of the Earl of Featherstone. On the way to her new position, she finds herself on the train with William Buckhurst, a railway engineer. They pass an enjoyable trip together, though Mr. Buckhurst’s warnings about what she may expect as a governess do prove prescient. Upon arrival at Featherstone, Allegra does indeed face something that she seems not to have expected – life as a servant.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/sept-tbr-c...
July 6, 2020
I particularly liked the spurned suitor's epilogue. The book as a whole was rather formulaic, so only 3 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews