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The Penny Heart
Manchester 1787. When budding young criminal Mary Jebb swindles Michael Croxon's brother with a blank pound note, he chases her into the night and sets in motion a train of sinister events. Condemned to seven years of transportation to Australia, Mary sends him a 'Penny Heart'-a token of her vow of revenge.
Two years later, Michael marries naïve young Grace Moore. Although initially overjoyed at the union, Grace quickly realizes that her husband is more interested in her fortune than her company. Lonely and desperate for companionship, she turns to her new cook to help mend her ailing marriage. But Mary Jebb, shipwrecked, maltreated, and recently hired, has different plans for the unsuspecting owners of Delafosse Hall.
This is a thrilling historical novel that combines recipes, mystery and a dark struggle between two desperate women, sure to appeal to fans of Sarah Waters and Carolly Erickson.
Two years later, Michael marries naïve young Grace Moore. Although initially overjoyed at the union, Grace quickly realizes that her husband is more interested in her fortune than her company. Lonely and desperate for companionship, she turns to her new cook to help mend her ailing marriage. But Mary Jebb, shipwrecked, maltreated, and recently hired, has different plans for the unsuspecting owners of Delafosse Hall.
This is a thrilling historical novel that combines recipes, mystery and a dark struggle between two desperate women, sure to appeal to fans of Sarah Waters and Carolly Erickson.
Mass Market Paperback
First published May 21, 2015
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2016 people want to read
About the author
Martine Bailey
8 books134 followersMartine is a writer and keen reader who enjoys crime, mysteries and the gothic. After writing four acclaimed historical novels she has created a chilling new crime series comprising Sharp Scratch and Isolation Ward, both set in northern England in the 1980s.
After studying English Literature while playing in bands on the Manchester music scene she worked as a hospital personnel officer and qualified in psychometric testing. Over her career she assessed staff for Ashworth top security psychiatric hospital and completed an MSc on the ‘Psychic Prisons’ that can trap medical staff in negative behaviours.
Martine’s debut, An Appetite for Violets, takes sharp-witted cook Biddy Leigh on a murderous trip to Italy. Fay Weldon described its mix of crime, gastronomy and history, as a new genre, the ‘culinary gothic’. It was a Booklist top ten crime fiction debut of the year. The Penny Heart (A Taste for Nightshade in the US) is a Sunday Times Best Summer Read that draws on cooking, trickery and revenge. The stars, riddles and murder align in The Almanack, a historical mystery featuring fifty authentic riddles. In its sequel, The Prophet, destiny and murder weave an intricate web around Tabitha’s new life.
Martine’s influences include Ruth Rendell, Sarah Waters and the gothic tradition. She is married with one son and lives in Chester, UK.
Follow Martine at:
http://www.martinebailey.com
https://twitter.com/MartineBailey
https://www.facebook.com/MartineBaile...
After studying English Literature while playing in bands on the Manchester music scene she worked as a hospital personnel officer and qualified in psychometric testing. Over her career she assessed staff for Ashworth top security psychiatric hospital and completed an MSc on the ‘Psychic Prisons’ that can trap medical staff in negative behaviours.
Martine’s debut, An Appetite for Violets, takes sharp-witted cook Biddy Leigh on a murderous trip to Italy. Fay Weldon described its mix of crime, gastronomy and history, as a new genre, the ‘culinary gothic’. It was a Booklist top ten crime fiction debut of the year. The Penny Heart (A Taste for Nightshade in the US) is a Sunday Times Best Summer Read that draws on cooking, trickery and revenge. The stars, riddles and murder align in The Almanack, a historical mystery featuring fifty authentic riddles. In its sequel, The Prophet, destiny and murder weave an intricate web around Tabitha’s new life.
Martine’s influences include Ruth Rendell, Sarah Waters and the gothic tradition. She is married with one son and lives in Chester, UK.
Follow Martine at:
http://www.martinebailey.com
https://twitter.com/MartineBailey
https://www.facebook.com/MartineBaile...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
May 14, 2017
4.5
Foodie historical fiction has to be one of my very favorite genres! So much so that I started a list in listopia for these. Alas, they are few and far between. I was so happy to see that Martine Bailey had written another one of these after her very enjoyable An Appetite for Violets. Such an interesting era too - late 1700s England -Georgian. As in the first novel, each chapter begins with a recipe reflecting the period and the mood with a tie-in to the story. The successful recipe for her writing includes period atmosphere, wonderful crazy characterization, strong but believable (imperfect) women, some romance, mystery, nail biting adventure, creepy old estates... What could be better? Nothing! I devoured both of these delicious tomes! Please keep writing these Ms. Bailey and hope everyone gets a chance to try one out. She takes two women's stories that couldn't be more different and they gradually converge with explosive results. So many twists and turns in the story to keep you guessing. Though I had a good idea who was doing the dirty deeds all along it was always a surprise as to how things played out. Both these novels are clean but with a few gory events to give you chills.
She uses the language and terminology of the era to great effect, though I am no expert on that - but it works. As in the first novel, many of the characters are from the working class - so colorful! She even includes citations at the end of the book to reflect her research. Excellent and fun!
Foodie historical fiction has to be one of my very favorite genres! So much so that I started a list in listopia for these. Alas, they are few and far between. I was so happy to see that Martine Bailey had written another one of these after her very enjoyable An Appetite for Violets. Such an interesting era too - late 1700s England -Georgian. As in the first novel, each chapter begins with a recipe reflecting the period and the mood with a tie-in to the story. The successful recipe for her writing includes period atmosphere, wonderful crazy characterization, strong but believable (imperfect) women, some romance, mystery, nail biting adventure, creepy old estates... What could be better? Nothing! I devoured both of these delicious tomes! Please keep writing these Ms. Bailey and hope everyone gets a chance to try one out. She takes two women's stories that couldn't be more different and they gradually converge with explosive results. So many twists and turns in the story to keep you guessing. Though I had a good idea who was doing the dirty deeds all along it was always a surprise as to how things played out. Both these novels are clean but with a few gory events to give you chills.
She uses the language and terminology of the era to great effect, though I am no expert on that - but it works. As in the first novel, many of the characters are from the working class - so colorful! She even includes citations at the end of the book to reflect her research. Excellent and fun!
September 8, 2015
(3.5) “Time devours all things: love and murder and secrets.” I loved Bailey’s first novel, last year’s An Appetite for Violets. My description of that one – “lively, well-researched historical fiction, seasoned with mystery and culinary tradition” – is apt here, although this doesn’t quite live up to her debut. As in Violets, the setting is the English Midlands in the late eighteenth century, and one of the main characters is a cook at a grand home. However, whereas cook Biddy Leigh herself was the narrator of Violets, through journal entries, here the first-person perspective is that of the mistress of Delafosse Hall (in Greaves, Lancashire), Grace Croxon.
After being dissuaded from making an unfortunate love match, Grace has been pressed into marriage with Michael Croxon, a brooding, almost possessed character. It soon becomes clear that his affections lie elsewhere and he has married Grace for her money, which will fund his ill-fated attempt to set up a mill. My favorite section of the book is the middle, in which Grace is like the Gothic heroine trapped in a spooky house with a distant husband and all kinds of strange goings-on that she doesn’t understand. She reminded me most of the protagonist of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
At the same time as Grace is trying to figure out what is happening at Delafosse, we also learn the surprising story of how Peg Blissett came to be the Croxons’ new cook. Under another name, she suffered tremendous trials, including transportation to Australia and a dramatic escape to live with New Zealand natives. She also lost her true love, Jack, and on her return to England determines to have her revenge on the man responsible for sending to prison.
It takes a while to figure out how Peg’s story ties in with Grace and Michael’s, and the plot gets very melodramatic towards the end, with hints of the Victorian sensation novel, but overall it’s a satisfying and atmospheric tale. It’s mostly in comparison with Violets that I locate this book’s weaknesses: a first-person narrative from Peg would have been more interesting, as well as fairer to her own story (and she would seem less like a pantomime villainess towards the end); and the date and place information plus recipes heading each section feel largely unnecessary, whereas they were integral to the previous book.
I kept getting a funny feeling as I was reading that this book must have been written first and later revised to capitalize on the success of Violets, which might account for the way that the culinary theme seems slightly shoehorned in here. Still, Bailey comes up with memorable characters and plots, with the kinds of twists and turns that keep you wondering where it will all lead. I hope that her third novel will break new ground rather than just repeating themes and structures she’s used before.
I was delighted to win a free copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
After being dissuaded from making an unfortunate love match, Grace has been pressed into marriage with Michael Croxon, a brooding, almost possessed character. It soon becomes clear that his affections lie elsewhere and he has married Grace for her money, which will fund his ill-fated attempt to set up a mill. My favorite section of the book is the middle, in which Grace is like the Gothic heroine trapped in a spooky house with a distant husband and all kinds of strange goings-on that she doesn’t understand. She reminded me most of the protagonist of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.
At the same time as Grace is trying to figure out what is happening at Delafosse, we also learn the surprising story of how Peg Blissett came to be the Croxons’ new cook. Under another name, she suffered tremendous trials, including transportation to Australia and a dramatic escape to live with New Zealand natives. She also lost her true love, Jack, and on her return to England determines to have her revenge on the man responsible for sending to prison.
It takes a while to figure out how Peg’s story ties in with Grace and Michael’s, and the plot gets very melodramatic towards the end, with hints of the Victorian sensation novel, but overall it’s a satisfying and atmospheric tale. It’s mostly in comparison with Violets that I locate this book’s weaknesses: a first-person narrative from Peg would have been more interesting, as well as fairer to her own story (and she would seem less like a pantomime villainess towards the end); and the date and place information plus recipes heading each section feel largely unnecessary, whereas they were integral to the previous book.
I kept getting a funny feeling as I was reading that this book must have been written first and later revised to capitalize on the success of Violets, which might account for the way that the culinary theme seems slightly shoehorned in here. Still, Bailey comes up with memorable characters and plots, with the kinds of twists and turns that keep you wondering where it will all lead. I hope that her third novel will break new ground rather than just repeating themes and structures she’s used before.
I was delighted to win a free copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
(Originally published with images at my blog, Bookish Beck.)
September 13, 2020
this book was slow to get going but improved as the novel got going and enjoyed it with all the twists
July 5, 2015
I loved ‘An Appetite for Violets’, and was eager to read Martine Bailey’s second novel. ‘The Penny Heart’ is a strong successor: atmospheric, dramatic and haunting. There are characteristics common to both books: beautiful writing, sumptuous and vivid period detail that instantly transports you to the eighteenth century, and a fast-moving, constantly surprising plot. Both are written in the ‘Culinary gothic’ style – a term coined by Faye Weldon especially for Bailey’s writing. There are eighteenth century recipes at the start of each chapter, and food plays a significant part throughout.
The Penny Heart is darker in tone than An Appetite for Violets, yet there is redemption at the end. From the first page, Bailey creates a sinister atmosphere, as two brothers are tricked and robbed by a woman on the streets of Manchester. She is Mary Jebb, an orphan who was raised in The Life, Manchester’s criminal underworld. As punishment for the robbery, Mary is deported to the Australian colonies, where she loses everything that made life worth living, except a burning desire for revenge
Grace Moore leads a desperately unhappy life, caring for her brutal, alcoholic father. She marries Michael Croxon, though she hardly knows him, to get away. However, Michael is not everything he seems. Grace must shed her naivety and rely increasingly on her wits in orer to survive.
The novel has a clever structure, with alternating chapters written from Mary’s and Grace’s point of view. Bailey cleverly builds suspense, keeping the reader one step ahead of Grace at all times, yet not far ahead enough to know what is going to happen. The action moves from the slums of Manchester to the Australian penal colonies to New Zealand’s Maori tribes. Bailey has a fine eye for place, vividly describing each setting.
Grace and Mary are completely different characters, yet both are strong and memorable. It is part of the magic of Bailey’s writing that you sympathise with Mary, while being aware of her wickedness.
This is a highly recommended novel that lingers in the mind long after you have finished reading. I am already looking forward to Martine Bailey’s next book!
The Penny Heart is darker in tone than An Appetite for Violets, yet there is redemption at the end. From the first page, Bailey creates a sinister atmosphere, as two brothers are tricked and robbed by a woman on the streets of Manchester. She is Mary Jebb, an orphan who was raised in The Life, Manchester’s criminal underworld. As punishment for the robbery, Mary is deported to the Australian colonies, where she loses everything that made life worth living, except a burning desire for revenge
Grace Moore leads a desperately unhappy life, caring for her brutal, alcoholic father. She marries Michael Croxon, though she hardly knows him, to get away. However, Michael is not everything he seems. Grace must shed her naivety and rely increasingly on her wits in orer to survive.
The novel has a clever structure, with alternating chapters written from Mary’s and Grace’s point of view. Bailey cleverly builds suspense, keeping the reader one step ahead of Grace at all times, yet not far ahead enough to know what is going to happen. The action moves from the slums of Manchester to the Australian penal colonies to New Zealand’s Maori tribes. Bailey has a fine eye for place, vividly describing each setting.
Grace and Mary are completely different characters, yet both are strong and memorable. It is part of the magic of Bailey’s writing that you sympathise with Mary, while being aware of her wickedness.
This is a highly recommended novel that lingers in the mind long after you have finished reading. I am already looking forward to Martine Bailey’s next book!
February 6, 2016
This was yet another fantastic yarn woven by Martine Bailey that surprises you with every twist and turn as the story unravels and reveals itself. Just when I thought the characters and storyline were figured out at certain points in the book, it was like wow! They took another direction. This was an intricately thought up storyline that I absolutely enjoyed!
Want to read
December 29, 2015A Taste for Nightshade: A Novel (titled The Penny Heart in the UK and Commonwealth) is my second novel, following my debut, An Appetite for Violets. It again explores culinary crime, in a dark tale of two very different women entangled by love and revenge.
The novel’s inspiration came to me while I was house-swapping in New Zealand, after my son and his partner were involved in the Christchurch earthquake. Though they were thankfully unharmed, we decided to spend precious time together that ultimately extended to nearly two years. At the same time my literary agent was asking for a new story idea. I found myself standing on a beach on the remote East Cape looking out over the wild Pacific. What, I asked myself, would life have been like on that spot, back in the eighteenth century?
In 1788 a remarkable experiment had taken place, to transport more than 1,000 convicted criminals, marines and seamen from Britain to the harsh unknown of Australia – truly the Georgian equivalent of a trip to the moon. Few prisoners escaped the penal colony so I was especially intrigued by Mary Broad, a Cornishwoman who stole a boat and eventually returned to England.
But what if a storm had sent an escapee to where I stood on my beach in New Zealand? That land had been settled by Maori, a warrior-like people with rich mythologies and customs. Contact with Europeans had ranged from friendly trading to murderous attacks by both sides. A small number of European women were captured by Maori and these were an influence on A Taste for Nightshade.
Rapidly Mary, my charismatic convict cook formed in my head. My aim was to write a twisting crime mystery that looked into the darkest corners of the kitchen. A wicked cook preparing meals down in the depths of the home had always struck me as a powerful idea. Unknown to her mistress, naïve Grace Moore, her cook is a confidence trickster who compiles secret ‘remedies’, poisons and aphrodisiacs to gain power over the innocent. I again set an authentic recipe to preface each chapter, such as Poppy Drops to make the imbiber sleep, or old wives’ cordials made from narcotic herbs.
Much of A Taste for Nightshade is set in dilapidated, isolated Delafosse Hall, where Grace finds herself so lonely she turns to her new cook for companionship. But Mary, brutalized and embittered, has different plans for her unsuspecting mistress and husband…
I hope you enjoy this historical mystery and find your sympathies wavering, as mine did, between good and sensitive Grace as she is pitted against Mary whose cleverness and strength have been earned at such a high price. I did have a long struggle over the ending and I hope you agree with my final decision about which woman – mistress or servant - should finally prevail.
The novel’s inspiration came to me while I was house-swapping in New Zealand, after my son and his partner were involved in the Christchurch earthquake. Though they were thankfully unharmed, we decided to spend precious time together that ultimately extended to nearly two years. At the same time my literary agent was asking for a new story idea. I found myself standing on a beach on the remote East Cape looking out over the wild Pacific. What, I asked myself, would life have been like on that spot, back in the eighteenth century?
In 1788 a remarkable experiment had taken place, to transport more than 1,000 convicted criminals, marines and seamen from Britain to the harsh unknown of Australia – truly the Georgian equivalent of a trip to the moon. Few prisoners escaped the penal colony so I was especially intrigued by Mary Broad, a Cornishwoman who stole a boat and eventually returned to England.
But what if a storm had sent an escapee to where I stood on my beach in New Zealand? That land had been settled by Maori, a warrior-like people with rich mythologies and customs. Contact with Europeans had ranged from friendly trading to murderous attacks by both sides. A small number of European women were captured by Maori and these were an influence on A Taste for Nightshade.
Rapidly Mary, my charismatic convict cook formed in my head. My aim was to write a twisting crime mystery that looked into the darkest corners of the kitchen. A wicked cook preparing meals down in the depths of the home had always struck me as a powerful idea. Unknown to her mistress, naïve Grace Moore, her cook is a confidence trickster who compiles secret ‘remedies’, poisons and aphrodisiacs to gain power over the innocent. I again set an authentic recipe to preface each chapter, such as Poppy Drops to make the imbiber sleep, or old wives’ cordials made from narcotic herbs.
Much of A Taste for Nightshade is set in dilapidated, isolated Delafosse Hall, where Grace finds herself so lonely she turns to her new cook for companionship. But Mary, brutalized and embittered, has different plans for her unsuspecting mistress and husband…
I hope you enjoy this historical mystery and find your sympathies wavering, as mine did, between good and sensitive Grace as she is pitted against Mary whose cleverness and strength have been earned at such a high price. I did have a long struggle over the ending and I hope you agree with my final decision about which woman – mistress or servant - should finally prevail.
June 17, 2015
A great historical suspense thriller, full of surprises.
Won this novel in Goodreads First-read giveaway.
Will recommend this book to all who enjoy historical novels.
Won this novel in Goodreads First-read giveaway.
Will recommend this book to all who enjoy historical novels.
November 30, 2015
I KNEW I was going to love this one, from the enticing description to the delicious cover - I was captivated from the first sentence, and entranced throughout.
I'm a sucker for a very particular kind of historical novel, it must have a ring of authenticity, a strong female protagonist or two and a quirky, thrilling storyline. What it mustn't be is a bodice ripper, fluffy and feminine, an insipid romance.
The Penny heart ticked all my boxes, seized me by the wrist and dragged me back in time to the late 18th century where it beguiled me throughout. I was introduced to not one substantial female but two and immersed in the decaying grandeur of a crumbling mansion, presented with mystery upon mystery and whisked back and forth between here, and Botany Bay penal colony.
The two fascinating females are Mary Jebb, a cunning and enterprising orphan with skill at impersonating her betters and conning people. Her immersion into the criminal underworld of Manchester leads to her downfall when she is caught mid scam and punished with a death sentence from which a last minute reprieve sees her instead transported to Australia. Life here is cruel, brutal and unforgiving, so it's hardly surprising that she carries with her a desire for vengeance which gives her the strength to seek it out.
Meanwhile gentle, innocent, Grace Croxon, a dreamy artistic girl whose only burning desire is to escape the life of drudgery she endures at the hands of her spiteful alcoholic father who constantly belittles her every attempt to make something of herself. Salvation is offered in the guise of marriage to one Micheal Croxon and although they have barely met, she is relieved when he turns out to be handsome and debonair, that she feels an instant attraction to him seems to be the icing on her cake - or will it be her downfall?
In the faded grandeur of neglected, semi derelict mansion DeLaFosse Hall the two womens lives evenually cross paths and we begin to unravel a mystery which keeps us guessing throughout the book.
Each chapter is preceded by a recipe which features in the following chapter and as they become increasingly more bizarre I found it fun to try and guess just how and where this particular "receipt" would appear in the storyline.
The mystery is cleverly written and I went from being gently guided along and thinking maybe really nothing much was happening, to whoah, hold on, I wasn't expecting this!
The beauty lies in two admirably created characters and a strong sense of place and authenticity. I loved the book and felt quite bereft on finishing it. May I give my hearfelt thanks to the author Martine Bailey for very kindly providing me with a copy to review and for entertaining and enthralling me with her delicious storytelling skill.
I'm a sucker for a very particular kind of historical novel, it must have a ring of authenticity, a strong female protagonist or two and a quirky, thrilling storyline. What it mustn't be is a bodice ripper, fluffy and feminine, an insipid romance.
The Penny heart ticked all my boxes, seized me by the wrist and dragged me back in time to the late 18th century where it beguiled me throughout. I was introduced to not one substantial female but two and immersed in the decaying grandeur of a crumbling mansion, presented with mystery upon mystery and whisked back and forth between here, and Botany Bay penal colony.
The two fascinating females are Mary Jebb, a cunning and enterprising orphan with skill at impersonating her betters and conning people. Her immersion into the criminal underworld of Manchester leads to her downfall when she is caught mid scam and punished with a death sentence from which a last minute reprieve sees her instead transported to Australia. Life here is cruel, brutal and unforgiving, so it's hardly surprising that she carries with her a desire for vengeance which gives her the strength to seek it out.
Meanwhile gentle, innocent, Grace Croxon, a dreamy artistic girl whose only burning desire is to escape the life of drudgery she endures at the hands of her spiteful alcoholic father who constantly belittles her every attempt to make something of herself. Salvation is offered in the guise of marriage to one Micheal Croxon and although they have barely met, she is relieved when he turns out to be handsome and debonair, that she feels an instant attraction to him seems to be the icing on her cake - or will it be her downfall?
In the faded grandeur of neglected, semi derelict mansion DeLaFosse Hall the two womens lives evenually cross paths and we begin to unravel a mystery which keeps us guessing throughout the book.
Each chapter is preceded by a recipe which features in the following chapter and as they become increasingly more bizarre I found it fun to try and guess just how and where this particular "receipt" would appear in the storyline.
The mystery is cleverly written and I went from being gently guided along and thinking maybe really nothing much was happening, to whoah, hold on, I wasn't expecting this!
The beauty lies in two admirably created characters and a strong sense of place and authenticity. I loved the book and felt quite bereft on finishing it. May I give my hearfelt thanks to the author Martine Bailey for very kindly providing me with a copy to review and for entertaining and enthralling me with her delicious storytelling skill.
December 7, 2016
This beginning and up to the half-way point was 4 plus star- it was interesting in both plot and placements. York and the countryside of Yorkshire. But also in the urban centers of the late 1780's and early 1790's in England for the most impoverished and also for the gentile, but unconnected women. Either orphaned or by fate left to make their own way to a living.
With the introductions of recipes for that age for each chapter in which that particular dish was served? Yes, quite detailed to scrumptious or devious or odious! Or perhaps, more apt to say that in some portions there may consist a pound or two of each. In some tinctures and cordials, there may even be a deadly couple of ounces. As some Nightshade elixir for a pleasant sleep.
The minutia of detail for the food, the transport of the time, the law, the dress, the method of work and distraction- those were a full 4 star plus. But what took away an entire star for me was the length and the order. For a full 100 pages from 300 to 400- I was fully in Yorkshire but also far "at sea". Flashbacks to flash forwards to multiple namings (one character has 3 alias identities) and a sequence shift so severe that at two different spots I no longer knew what continent I was on. (New South Wales holds about a quarter of the story and eventual motive/plotting.)
There is a madness here that is rather visible. And another case that is nearly entirely hidden under savvy cunning. Then there is Grace, who is too sensible too long.
Worth the long winter read it will take. Don't look too hard at what's under that pie crust!
3.5 star over all.
With the introductions of recipes for that age for each chapter in which that particular dish was served? Yes, quite detailed to scrumptious or devious or odious! Or perhaps, more apt to say that in some portions there may consist a pound or two of each. In some tinctures and cordials, there may even be a deadly couple of ounces. As some Nightshade elixir for a pleasant sleep.
The minutia of detail for the food, the transport of the time, the law, the dress, the method of work and distraction- those were a full 4 star plus. But what took away an entire star for me was the length and the order. For a full 100 pages from 300 to 400- I was fully in Yorkshire but also far "at sea". Flashbacks to flash forwards to multiple namings (one character has 3 alias identities) and a sequence shift so severe that at two different spots I no longer knew what continent I was on. (New South Wales holds about a quarter of the story and eventual motive/plotting.)
There is a madness here that is rather visible. And another case that is nearly entirely hidden under savvy cunning. Then there is Grace, who is too sensible too long.
Worth the long winter read it will take. Don't look too hard at what's under that pie crust!
3.5 star over all.
January 15, 2016
Books so firmly in that grey middle area of decent are the hardest for me to discuss and I've held off on reviewing this one for that very reason. I just don't have anything to say and what I have said has only been after grasping at the oh so weak opinions I managed to form. Yes, I was easily able to walk away from or altogether ignore this book. Yes, when I actually did sit down I found myself enjoying the story. That said, there were some problems that kept me from really getting into this book and investing in the lives of these characters. A Taste for Nightshade was just okay and that's so disappointing to me.
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
April 22, 2021
More a 3.7
I liked several things but in general I think the pace was not smoothly managed throughout the entirety of the book.
The beginning is rather confusing, slow and it took me some time to become invested in what was happening. As the plot - and the twists in our (readers) expectations - became more complex, the true genius of the author's imagination came forward.
The story, to me, was a little unbalanced because we have two story lines being presented and I'm not certain there was such need to give so much detail about one of the characters' life path.
Still, this was a clever and ingenious story and I had to stay awake for longer than I should last night to see how it would end.
I liked several things but in general I think the pace was not smoothly managed throughout the entirety of the book.
The beginning is rather confusing, slow and it took me some time to become invested in what was happening. As the plot - and the twists in our (readers) expectations - became more complex, the true genius of the author's imagination came forward.
The story, to me, was a little unbalanced because we have two story lines being presented and I'm not certain there was such need to give so much detail about one of the characters' life path.
Still, this was a clever and ingenious story and I had to stay awake for longer than I should last night to see how it would end.
November 2, 2019
2 NOV 2019 - In Which Grace abandons her hairshirt, throws on her steel panties, and takes her revenge! WooHoo!
July 28, 2016
I don't read a very much historical fiction. It's not that I don't like it - I do pick up timeslip novels from time to time, and there's nothing I like better than a book set in a dual timeframe, but historical novels just haven't been showing up on my radar recently. But I'm really glad I tried this one - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The first thing that struck me was the quality of the writing. I have no idea how the author achieved it, but this book manages to create the impression that this is a novel of its eighteenth century age. But that doesn't mean it's a difficult read in any way - just that the first person voice of Grace seems amazingly authentic. The narrative shifts between first and third person, as we also follow the story of Mary Jebb, her deportation to the colonies and her return with its dramatic consequences. The whole structure really works, particularly as the stories begin to dovetail. And I loved the recipes that open each chapter, each meal or slightly bizarre concoction then featured in the chapter that follows.
Both the women characters are quite wonderfully drawn. Grace has a really endearing innocence and trusting naivety - until, of course, she realises that her trust is dreadfully misplaced. And as for Mary... she draws the eye in every scene, a magnetic presence as the story twists and turns with its layers of treachery and betrayal.
The whole book draws superbly on gothic tradition, with Delafosse Hall a vividly drawn warren of dark cellars, tunnels and creaking staircases, with thick foliage darkening its windows. And I also liked the introduction of the North's industrial past - and the way the book dealt with the realities of imprisonment, deportation, the conditions in the penal colonies and what might be the dire consequences of encountering the tribes of New Zealand.
The story was really excellent, totally gripping, building to the most perfect climax. Because I thought the book might be slightly outside my comfort zone, I'd rather expected to take several days over the reading - I really didn't think I'd be reading it into the early hours, just one more chapter (and several more), to find out exactly where the story was going.
I'd recommend this book to anyone - it promised love, deception and revenge, and all three are quite magnificently delivered by a very skilled story teller. A really gorgeous read.
The first thing that struck me was the quality of the writing. I have no idea how the author achieved it, but this book manages to create the impression that this is a novel of its eighteenth century age. But that doesn't mean it's a difficult read in any way - just that the first person voice of Grace seems amazingly authentic. The narrative shifts between first and third person, as we also follow the story of Mary Jebb, her deportation to the colonies and her return with its dramatic consequences. The whole structure really works, particularly as the stories begin to dovetail. And I loved the recipes that open each chapter, each meal or slightly bizarre concoction then featured in the chapter that follows.
Both the women characters are quite wonderfully drawn. Grace has a really endearing innocence and trusting naivety - until, of course, she realises that her trust is dreadfully misplaced. And as for Mary... she draws the eye in every scene, a magnetic presence as the story twists and turns with its layers of treachery and betrayal.
The whole book draws superbly on gothic tradition, with Delafosse Hall a vividly drawn warren of dark cellars, tunnels and creaking staircases, with thick foliage darkening its windows. And I also liked the introduction of the North's industrial past - and the way the book dealt with the realities of imprisonment, deportation, the conditions in the penal colonies and what might be the dire consequences of encountering the tribes of New Zealand.
The story was really excellent, totally gripping, building to the most perfect climax. Because I thought the book might be slightly outside my comfort zone, I'd rather expected to take several days over the reading - I really didn't think I'd be reading it into the early hours, just one more chapter (and several more), to find out exactly where the story was going.
I'd recommend this book to anyone - it promised love, deception and revenge, and all three are quite magnificently delivered by a very skilled story teller. A really gorgeous read.
July 24, 2016
There wasn't anything I didn't like about this novel. Set in Manchester, England in 1787 the story centers around Mary Jebb condemned criminal, sentenced to hang for her crime of thievery. She begs petitioner, Michael Croxon, not to testify against her. When he testifies anyway she finds her sentence commuted to ten years service in the penal colony in Australia. One of the last things she does before she's shipped away is have her vow of revenge stamped on a keepsake she sends to Michael Croxon.
Years later, the newly married Mrs Croxon hires the clever and capable Peg Blissett to run her kitchen at Delafosse Hall but all as not as it seems...
I really enjoyed this, I found Grace Moore, Michael Croxon's wife a sympathetic character and I loved the way the author weaves the web of deceit connecting these characters. This was good, juicy, fun with an exciting and satisfying ending. A favorite that I will want to re-read someday.
Years later, the newly married Mrs Croxon hires the clever and capable Peg Blissett to run her kitchen at Delafosse Hall but all as not as it seems...
I really enjoyed this, I found Grace Moore, Michael Croxon's wife a sympathetic character and I loved the way the author weaves the web of deceit connecting these characters. This was good, juicy, fun with an exciting and satisfying ending. A favorite that I will want to re-read someday.
February 9, 2016
Ooh I knew I wouldn't be let down. I had read Baileys last book An Appetite for Violets and had liked that. So I very much enjoyed this book. Was a bit of a mystery tho I don't think it technicaly would be considered one. It's also a love story.
England in the late 1780s. A young girl is caught committing a crime and is tried to hang. She avoids the noose and then her story really begins! Told in two voices. Mary Jebb is third person, Grace Moore is first person. Their stories connect because of one man's folly.
Loved it. Highly recommend. Fast paced, exciting. Excellent writing, so descriptive. The recipes in the beginning of each chapter brings it together too. Fun!
England in the late 1780s. A young girl is caught committing a crime and is tried to hang. She avoids the noose and then her story really begins! Told in two voices. Mary Jebb is third person, Grace Moore is first person. Their stories connect because of one man's folly.
Loved it. Highly recommend. Fast paced, exciting. Excellent writing, so descriptive. The recipes in the beginning of each chapter brings it together too. Fun!
August 25, 2015
An excellent page turner - better than her first book by miles. Will certainly look forward to more from the author.
May 11, 2016
Great story of revenge set in 18th century England and through the desperate conditions of convict New South Wales. Kept me in suspense right until the end.
February 18, 2018
Martine Bailey has a talent for combining Historical Fiction/romance/mystery and cooking in a most sinister, suspenseful, delicious way. Nothing is quite as it seems and she does a marvelous job at drawing the characters out. You are never sure how you feel about any of them; pity, hate, compassion, admiration. Although the first 1/4 of the book went somewhat slow for me, that could be because I didn't have as much reading time as usual to really get into the story.
Some of these sweeping historic novels take their time getting going, but it was worth sticking with. Not completely unpredictable once you get to know the characters well into the book.
If you like Kate Morton, but want a little more edge, give this author a try.
Some of these sweeping historic novels take their time getting going, but it was worth sticking with. Not completely unpredictable once you get to know the characters well into the book.
If you like Kate Morton, but want a little more edge, give this author a try.
March 31, 2024
Mary Jebb survives by her wits and trickery. With a sleight of hand tries to cheat Michael and when found out, she is arrested. Instead of being put to death she is sent by ship to Botany Bay with other criminals. Managing to escape and seeking revenge, makes her way back to England.
Grace and Michael’s marriage is arranged, and Grace’s money is used to restore their home. Peg is the new housekeeper and tells Grace that Michael has planned to poison her and she should turn the tables on him then run. Grace does this and flees to London, discovers that she is pregnant, she names her son Henry. Upon trying to collect funds from her account, it is she discovers that her account has been emptied. Realizing that it was Michael that has done so, she returns to their home. There she discovers Peg, who is really Mary. She and Michael had developed a scheme to take all of her money, which grace of course is not a fan! The climax of the story has Mary/Peg and Grace in a tussle with Nan, the other house keeper stabbing Mary. Michael agrees to give Grace back all of the money that is left and upon disposing of Mary’s body. He also goes over the cliff with her and drowns.
Grace and Michael’s marriage is arranged, and Grace’s money is used to restore their home. Peg is the new housekeeper and tells Grace that Michael has planned to poison her and she should turn the tables on him then run. Grace does this and flees to London, discovers that she is pregnant, she names her son Henry. Upon trying to collect funds from her account, it is she discovers that her account has been emptied. Realizing that it was Michael that has done so, she returns to their home. There she discovers Peg, who is really Mary. She and Michael had developed a scheme to take all of her money, which grace of course is not a fan! The climax of the story has Mary/Peg and Grace in a tussle with Nan, the other house keeper stabbing Mary. Michael agrees to give Grace back all of the money that is left and upon disposing of Mary’s body. He also goes over the cliff with her and drowns.
May 27, 2015
Man I love historical novels, and this was so rich with history and well drawn characters, so it was kind of the best type of historical novel as well! The book was incredibly atmospheric and vivid, everything could be pictured clearly with incredible detail. I was drawn in to the world, and given such a rich, realistic taste of 18th century life.
The atmosphere seeps off every single page, the foreboding wrapped around you from the first tone setting chapter. From that very first chapter you're drawn in to the world, and intrigued by the central character, who is incredibly complex. I may be alone in this, but I connected with Mary, and while at times I thought she was being a bit dodgy, and a bit...mean, shall we say, the majority of the time I felt incredibly sorry for her, and felt so much sympathy for her, I actually liked her more than I liked Grace. I could understand Mary, she had been brought up in the criminal underworld she didn't know any better, she was struggling to survive, and in the 18th century, it wasn't easy for the poorer classes to survive.
I don't know what it was about Grace that irritated me, but she did irritate me so I found myself kind of on the side of Mary, she went about things entirely wrong, but after everything she experienced, and believe me, there where flashbacks each more horrifying than the last, as you learned more and more about Mary, you where more and more horrified about her life and what had happened to her. Then in contrast you had Grace who, yes she had to look after a drunken father, but it didn't compare really to Mary's hardships. So I think when Grace complained about something, or acted a bit high and mighty at times, she kind of annoyed me. Her problems seemed kind of trivial compared to everything that had happened to Mary.
Literally, the author has created this character I was supposed to hate but I felt so deeply for her. Even though she was kind of evil. Like I said, I could understand her and her motives and what drove her and I felt so deeply sorry for her I kind of overlooked the evil bits. And then like I said, Grace seemed a bit airy fairy compared to her, complaining about ridiculous things.
As a reader, you're one step ahead of Grace the entire time, and you read with this air of, I know something you don't know, but you don't know everything that she doesn't know, you know enough to know that something is going to happen, something's going on and so on, and then at the same time, you don't know too much, not enough to puzzle everything out. There where pieces there but clearly I wasn't smart enough to put it all together so when the huge reveal came I was incredibly surprised, and at the same time, I had to admire the complexity of the plot.
It was very complex, right from the beginning. You're trying to work out what happened, what's true and what isn't. There's the whole plot Mary has created that is impossible to guess at, as you read, there's tension building and building and you're on the edge of your seat waiting to know what happens next, unable to put the book down as you speed towards the climax that totally blows you away.
The book was beautifully written, lending to the atmosphere and the sense of authenticity. I immensely enjoyed the recipes at the beginning of each chapter, they where kind of fascinating, as I'm assuming they're from the era, and I've marked a few down to try out, now if I really wanted an authentic read, I'd have added another level by reading the book and eating one of the recipes from the book, but I didn't think that far ahead!
Each chapter was told from both Peg (Mary) and Grace's point of view. Each point of view was perfectly toned, and very engaging. Each voice was distinctly different from the other, in language and in personality. Both characters where brought to life right on the page and you could hear the difference in the voices as you read. Like I said, I just didn't really like Grace all that much when compared to Mary struggling on with her hard life.
I always find myself learning something whenever reading a historical novel. In this particular one, I got a more realistic and less romanticised look at the life of a woman marrying in the 18th century, and the life of a woman living in the criminal underworld, trying to survive. In this book I also got a brutally realistic look at the penal colonies, and learned something of what it must have been like to live in one. I also learned of a Maori tribe and it's culture over in New Zealand, something of which I knew nothing about before. Before reading this book I only knew that the penal colonies existed and that prisoners had been sent there, but had known nothing beyond it. It was eye opening on more than one front and I enjoyed that the book was brutally realistic, rather than trying to make everything seem all romantic and perfect like a lot of historical books do, you got the honest truth.
The Penny Heart gives you atmospheric settings, each with a different vibe to the other, and each that will stick with you, as well as memorably characterised and realistic characters that you end up feeling so deeply for as you learn more and more about them. Each setting is brought to life along with the characters and you find yourself really getting a taste of 18th century life, much as it must have been, rather than the now romanticised notion that most people seem to have of the times.
The atmosphere seeps off every single page, the foreboding wrapped around you from the first tone setting chapter. From that very first chapter you're drawn in to the world, and intrigued by the central character, who is incredibly complex. I may be alone in this, but I connected with Mary, and while at times I thought she was being a bit dodgy, and a bit...mean, shall we say, the majority of the time I felt incredibly sorry for her, and felt so much sympathy for her, I actually liked her more than I liked Grace. I could understand Mary, she had been brought up in the criminal underworld she didn't know any better, she was struggling to survive, and in the 18th century, it wasn't easy for the poorer classes to survive.
I don't know what it was about Grace that irritated me, but she did irritate me so I found myself kind of on the side of Mary, she went about things entirely wrong, but after everything she experienced, and believe me, there where flashbacks each more horrifying than the last, as you learned more and more about Mary, you where more and more horrified about her life and what had happened to her. Then in contrast you had Grace who, yes she had to look after a drunken father, but it didn't compare really to Mary's hardships. So I think when Grace complained about something, or acted a bit high and mighty at times, she kind of annoyed me. Her problems seemed kind of trivial compared to everything that had happened to Mary.
Literally, the author has created this character I was supposed to hate but I felt so deeply for her. Even though she was kind of evil. Like I said, I could understand her and her motives and what drove her and I felt so deeply sorry for her I kind of overlooked the evil bits. And then like I said, Grace seemed a bit airy fairy compared to her, complaining about ridiculous things.
As a reader, you're one step ahead of Grace the entire time, and you read with this air of, I know something you don't know, but you don't know everything that she doesn't know, you know enough to know that something is going to happen, something's going on and so on, and then at the same time, you don't know too much, not enough to puzzle everything out. There where pieces there but clearly I wasn't smart enough to put it all together so when the huge reveal came I was incredibly surprised, and at the same time, I had to admire the complexity of the plot.
It was very complex, right from the beginning. You're trying to work out what happened, what's true and what isn't. There's the whole plot Mary has created that is impossible to guess at, as you read, there's tension building and building and you're on the edge of your seat waiting to know what happens next, unable to put the book down as you speed towards the climax that totally blows you away.
The book was beautifully written, lending to the atmosphere and the sense of authenticity. I immensely enjoyed the recipes at the beginning of each chapter, they where kind of fascinating, as I'm assuming they're from the era, and I've marked a few down to try out, now if I really wanted an authentic read, I'd have added another level by reading the book and eating one of the recipes from the book, but I didn't think that far ahead!
Each chapter was told from both Peg (Mary) and Grace's point of view. Each point of view was perfectly toned, and very engaging. Each voice was distinctly different from the other, in language and in personality. Both characters where brought to life right on the page and you could hear the difference in the voices as you read. Like I said, I just didn't really like Grace all that much when compared to Mary struggling on with her hard life.
I always find myself learning something whenever reading a historical novel. In this particular one, I got a more realistic and less romanticised look at the life of a woman marrying in the 18th century, and the life of a woman living in the criminal underworld, trying to survive. In this book I also got a brutally realistic look at the penal colonies, and learned something of what it must have been like to live in one. I also learned of a Maori tribe and it's culture over in New Zealand, something of which I knew nothing about before. Before reading this book I only knew that the penal colonies existed and that prisoners had been sent there, but had known nothing beyond it. It was eye opening on more than one front and I enjoyed that the book was brutally realistic, rather than trying to make everything seem all romantic and perfect like a lot of historical books do, you got the honest truth.
The Penny Heart gives you atmospheric settings, each with a different vibe to the other, and each that will stick with you, as well as memorably characterised and realistic characters that you end up feeling so deeply for as you learn more and more about them. Each setting is brought to life along with the characters and you find yourself really getting a taste of 18th century life, much as it must have been, rather than the now romanticised notion that most people seem to have of the times.
October 17, 2025
Post-Renaissance/pre-Industrial Revolution Britain had to be the most boring time and place to be alive. Even being rich doesn’t seem that fun back then, like what was there to really do? Die?
“We must hope the experience will be the making of him.” (243)
“We must hope the experience will be the making of him.” (243)
March 24, 2020
This book has a great plot. There some brief dull spots but the ending is fantastic!
June 28, 2023
Pulled this off the library shelf because the title interested me and the cover was well done.
For a while, I felt it was moving too slowly, too much factually true gruesomeness, too much narrative, first-person fears and quavers. Yorkshire, most of which takes place in 1792. French revolution in full swing with tales reaching the little villages near York.
Primarily a story of two women--a guttersnipe with a considerable range of skills to keep body and soul(?) together, eventually is arrested for stealing a 1 pound note from the guy that becomes the center the two women swing around. Mary Jebb (who becomes Peg Blissett) is sentenced to hang for the theft, commuted at the last minute to Botany Bay. Louise Moore, abused by her alcoholic father, managing to live as paupers in the good house he has drunk away, is to marry Michael Coxon, because she's inherited a significant sum from her grandmother.
The craft of the writing is ultimately what held me. Bailey splits the narrative between the two women. Because there is much detail (and a lot of assigning of adverbial emotions), Mary/Peg who could easily be diagnosed as a sociopath, also evokes genuine sympathy and interest. Louise, nearly a helpless doormat, has considerable skill as a painter and grows to become a woman of great strength. Reading this evolution is addictive. There are surprises that don't develop into low-hanging fruit. Nearly gothic, (running through tunnels at night in the dark) but not.
And something should be said about the introductions to each chapter: recipes, original, from the period. Some scary, some interesting...and there's the recipe for gingerbread for which you'll need "8 pounds of flour and as much brickdust or clay as it will take." You can skip ginger. Use cayenne, it's cheaper.
For a while, I felt it was moving too slowly, too much factually true gruesomeness, too much narrative, first-person fears and quavers. Yorkshire, most of which takes place in 1792. French revolution in full swing with tales reaching the little villages near York.
Primarily a story of two women--a guttersnipe with a considerable range of skills to keep body and soul(?) together, eventually is arrested for stealing a 1 pound note from the guy that becomes the center the two women swing around. Mary Jebb (who becomes Peg Blissett) is sentenced to hang for the theft, commuted at the last minute to Botany Bay. Louise Moore, abused by her alcoholic father, managing to live as paupers in the good house he has drunk away, is to marry Michael Coxon, because she's inherited a significant sum from her grandmother.
The craft of the writing is ultimately what held me. Bailey splits the narrative between the two women. Because there is much detail (and a lot of assigning of adverbial emotions), Mary/Peg who could easily be diagnosed as a sociopath, also evokes genuine sympathy and interest. Louise, nearly a helpless doormat, has considerable skill as a painter and grows to become a woman of great strength. Reading this evolution is addictive. There are surprises that don't develop into low-hanging fruit. Nearly gothic, (running through tunnels at night in the dark) but not.
And something should be said about the introductions to each chapter: recipes, original, from the period. Some scary, some interesting...and there's the recipe for gingerbread for which you'll need "8 pounds of flour and as much brickdust or clay as it will take." You can skip ginger. Use cayenne, it's cheaper.
May 21, 2015
This is a hugely enjoyable novel – a deliciously exciting and atmospheric read with an intriguing and memorable central character, and a wonderfully authentic portrayal of 18th-century life.
From the first scene there is a vivid sense of foreboding, as two brothers are swindled by a woman on the streets, setting off a chain of events that will have far-reaching effects. This woman turns out to be Mary Jebb, orphaned and brought up in The Life, the criminal underworld of Manchester, deported to the horrors of the Australian colonies and who later takes on the persona of housekeeper and cook Peg Blissett. She is a wonderfully complex, memorable character, beautifully portrayed – the kind of scheming anti-heroine you love to hate one minute, fully earning your sympathy and understanding the next.
Grace Moore recklessly agrees to a marriage to Michael Croxon, a man she knows little about in order to escape life from her drunken, tyrannical father. She is innocent and naïve, but grows up quickly when she takes on new housekeeper, Peg Blissett, and begins to doubt her husband’s motives. There is a delicious sense for the reader of being one step ahead of her, but not far enough to know all the answers ourselves – the reasons for Peg’s scheming, what lies behind Michael’s moodiness. Martine Bailey skilfully builds tension by giving plenty of hints of what is to come but keeping us guessing right through to a heart-stopping climax.
The language is beautifully authentic, with the different chapters told from Peg’s and Grace’s points of view well characterised using a language and voice for each of the women that is perfectly pitched. The foodie feel of An Appetite For Violets is continued in The Penny Heart, with an authentic recipe heading each chapter and food used to evocative effect throughout, in the “culinary Gothic” that Martine Bailey has made her own.
I found the beautifully evoked atmospheres really memorable, from the criminal underworld of Manchester to the faded elegance of neglected Delafosse Hall, with striking depictions of the 18th-century Antipodes, the hardships and squalor of the penal colonies in Australia and a vivid portrayal of tribal Maori culture in New Zealand.
A thoroughly recommended read.
From the first scene there is a vivid sense of foreboding, as two brothers are swindled by a woman on the streets, setting off a chain of events that will have far-reaching effects. This woman turns out to be Mary Jebb, orphaned and brought up in The Life, the criminal underworld of Manchester, deported to the horrors of the Australian colonies and who later takes on the persona of housekeeper and cook Peg Blissett. She is a wonderfully complex, memorable character, beautifully portrayed – the kind of scheming anti-heroine you love to hate one minute, fully earning your sympathy and understanding the next.
Grace Moore recklessly agrees to a marriage to Michael Croxon, a man she knows little about in order to escape life from her drunken, tyrannical father. She is innocent and naïve, but grows up quickly when she takes on new housekeeper, Peg Blissett, and begins to doubt her husband’s motives. There is a delicious sense for the reader of being one step ahead of her, but not far enough to know all the answers ourselves – the reasons for Peg’s scheming, what lies behind Michael’s moodiness. Martine Bailey skilfully builds tension by giving plenty of hints of what is to come but keeping us guessing right through to a heart-stopping climax.
The language is beautifully authentic, with the different chapters told from Peg’s and Grace’s points of view well characterised using a language and voice for each of the women that is perfectly pitched. The foodie feel of An Appetite For Violets is continued in The Penny Heart, with an authentic recipe heading each chapter and food used to evocative effect throughout, in the “culinary Gothic” that Martine Bailey has made her own.
I found the beautifully evoked atmospheres really memorable, from the criminal underworld of Manchester to the faded elegance of neglected Delafosse Hall, with striking depictions of the 18th-century Antipodes, the hardships and squalor of the penal colonies in Australia and a vivid portrayal of tribal Maori culture in New Zealand.
A thoroughly recommended read.
August 3, 2015
After being arrested for a petty crime, teenager Mary Jebb is sentenced to seven years transportation to the penal colony in Botany Bay. On the surface, she is repentant of her crime, but fearing her disappearance and determined never to be forgotten, she inscribes words on two silver pennies, which will have repercussions for years to come and which seals the fate of three very different people.
Sweeping across a haunting and brooding landscape, this complex and beautifully written historical crime novel uncovers a myriad of secrets and tells of lives irrevocably linked together by the powerful need for revenge. The story moves along quite quickly, and the introduction of the other cast of characters is done with a subtle hand. The story of Grace Moore and her ill-fated entanglement with Michael Croxon is cleverly controlled, and the introduction of Peg Blissett, as their housekeeper, into the ménage, is filled with both a sense of Gothic gloom and melodramatic intrigue. And yet, for all the brooding nature of the narrative, there is a hidden subtlety, highlighted in the snippets of wonderful recipes which head each chapter, and which helps to highlight the culinary delights and absorbing mystery which are so much a feature of this author's impeccable writing skill.
The mystery, at the heart of the novel is complex, both dark and deliciously dirty in places and just so wonderfully contrived and maintained that I really was kept guessing throughout the whole of the story. To say more would be to spoil the effect, but the dénouement which it comes is entirely appropriate and left me shrieking with approval.
There is no doubt that this talented author does an excellent job of bringing eighteenth century history and culture alive in such a totally believable way, that by the end of the story you really are on the edge of your seat begging for more.
Sweeping across a haunting and brooding landscape, this complex and beautifully written historical crime novel uncovers a myriad of secrets and tells of lives irrevocably linked together by the powerful need for revenge. The story moves along quite quickly, and the introduction of the other cast of characters is done with a subtle hand. The story of Grace Moore and her ill-fated entanglement with Michael Croxon is cleverly controlled, and the introduction of Peg Blissett, as their housekeeper, into the ménage, is filled with both a sense of Gothic gloom and melodramatic intrigue. And yet, for all the brooding nature of the narrative, there is a hidden subtlety, highlighted in the snippets of wonderful recipes which head each chapter, and which helps to highlight the culinary delights and absorbing mystery which are so much a feature of this author's impeccable writing skill.
The mystery, at the heart of the novel is complex, both dark and deliciously dirty in places and just so wonderfully contrived and maintained that I really was kept guessing throughout the whole of the story. To say more would be to spoil the effect, but the dénouement which it comes is entirely appropriate and left me shrieking with approval.
There is no doubt that this talented author does an excellent job of bringing eighteenth century history and culture alive in such a totally believable way, that by the end of the story you really are on the edge of your seat begging for more.
September 12, 2015
Mary Jebb is arrested after playing a confidence trick on a young, well-off businessman, Michael Croxon. He is curiously affected by her, but chooses to bear witness against her, despite knowing his testimony will send her to the gallows. She is given the sentence of deportation, though, of seven years in Botany Bay. Five years later, and she has escaped and made her way back to England (the story of her escape comes late on in the book, and is possibly one of my favourite sections). She changes her name, sets herself up as a cook (armed with a collection of recipes she has collected from the time of her imprisonment and beyond, which she has named 'Mother Eve's Secrets', and searches out Croxon. He has married the gauche, unworldly Grace for her money and Mary sets about with her revenge.
One of the things that makes this book so satisfying is the double narrative, meaning that we see half of the events through the eyes of Grace. She is utterly confused by the nature of her life with Michael, but has no friends or family to confide in for help or rescue. Mary, whom Grace knows as her cook and housekeeper Peg, is clever, subtle and utterly ruthless. I was drawn in completely, madly turning pages to find out how it was all going to end.
The settings are brilliantly done, and the historical details compelling. A fabulous follow on from 'An Appetite For Violets', and deserving of every one of the five stars. Bravo!
One of the things that makes this book so satisfying is the double narrative, meaning that we see half of the events through the eyes of Grace. She is utterly confused by the nature of her life with Michael, but has no friends or family to confide in for help or rescue. Mary, whom Grace knows as her cook and housekeeper Peg, is clever, subtle and utterly ruthless. I was drawn in completely, madly turning pages to find out how it was all going to end.
The settings are brilliantly done, and the historical details compelling. A fabulous follow on from 'An Appetite For Violets', and deserving of every one of the five stars. Bravo!
April 10, 2016
I was a great fan of 'An Appetite for Violets', so was keen to read Martine Bailey's second novel - and it did not disappoint. The novel is once again a delight of culinary wickedness, alongside all sorts of other wickednesses! The structure is very clever, and alternates between the first person voice of young, innocent and timid Grace; and the third person narrative which follows the feisty and determined Mary Jebb. The young women are at polar ends of the social scale in 18th century England, yet their lives soon intertwine in a story of deceit, treachery and murder, which had me guessing at what would happen until the very end. Bailey's writing is both delicious and haunting. The novel is rich in gothic allusion and is genuinely terrifying at times. There is a vast and decaying house, forgotten tunnels, doomed love, ghostly apparitions and the corruption of souls. We are also taken to Manchester during the industrial revolution; we experience the cruel treatment of convicts transported to Australia; and we come to fully understand the fragility of a person's place in society when their money ran out. I really can't recommend this novel highly enough. I loved it from start to finish.
October 14, 2016
I think I really liked it. The research was very well done. I got into the story and had the delicious feeling of looking forward to sitting down and "devouring" it. That doesn't happen in every book you read. I adored the recipes and they were fascinating to read. They fit into the chapters so well.
I wish it could have been just a bit cleaner. A bit too racy for my taste.
I think she is a good writer and will read the other one while I ponder for a bit more on this one.
I wish it could have been just a bit cleaner. A bit too racy for my taste.
I think she is a good writer and will read the other one while I ponder for a bit more on this one.
August 21, 2015
A captivating story about a female confidence trickster who is sent to Botany bay to make amends. She suffers greatly and escapes to take revenge on the man who put her there.
However, the man has taken a wife and the story springs back and forth between the two women, both treated badly by this man.
Fantastic story.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE8k6...
However, the man has taken a wife and the story springs back and forth between the two women, both treated badly by this man.
Fantastic story.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE8k6...
September 22, 2016
Martine Bailey has done it again...she slowly draws you into a tale of twists and turns...two women are at the heart of this story.....Mary and Grace....what transpires will leave you breathless....
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