An Independent Woman

Barforth #3

by Brenda Jagger

published in the UK as The Sleeping Sword

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Brenda Jagger was born on 1936 in Yorkshire, England, UK, which was the setting for many of her books including her famous ‘Barforth’ family saga. The recurring central themes of her work are marriage, womanhood, class, identity, and money in the Victorian Era. Her work has been praised for its compelling plots and moving storylines as well as its exacting emotional descriptions. Her later novel A Song Twice Over won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 1986.

Married, she had three daughters. Worked in Paris and as a probation officer in the north of England. She passed away in 1986.

Reviews

[Debee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final instalment in the gripping Barforth Saga - this story has moved on again a number of years from The Clouded Hills and Flint and Roses and is dealing with the 3rd generation of the Barforth family and their offshoots. It is set in the last quarter of the 1800's and through both previous books we have seen many changes in the social and economic climate, from the industrial revolution, the corn laws, voting rights and working laws to the birth of the railway. Each book is told through the eyes of a strong female character, The Clouded Hills - Verity, Flint and Roses - Faith and The Sleeping Sword - Grace, and the effect the larger scale changes have on their lives and the lives of the general populace to the smaller scale changes that take place amongst their families, friends and acquaintances. Grace, whose father married again very quickly after the death of her mother when she was very young, has never really known love and therefore mistrusts it in herself as much in others. She is a substantial heiress, and has also realised that marriage is far more likely to be an arrangement of her bringing the money and hopefully the man coming from a distinguished family, than a love match. Grace is at first inclined to rebel against this, however, being used since early childhood to make the best of things, she allows herself to be manipulated into marriage with an unsuitable husband. We also see the story of her cousin Blanche and her second cousin Venetia's marriages - and how in fact they are all unsuitable in one way or another and how all 3 of these very different woman deal with this. This book very much deals with the rights of women and the plight of women at the end of the 19th century. How in fact they really had almost no rights at all, either they were the property of their fathers or brothers before marriage and how once they were married all of their worldly goods and even their own bodies were undisputedly owned, by their husbands. Grace herself after many years of unhappiness and a huge turning point in her life, deals with her marriage by getting divorced, something almost unheard of in this period of time. She eventually, through a lot of difficulty and personal sacrifice turns her life around to be a very strong independent woman, something she is rightfully very proud of but she also realises that along the way, she has lost the capacity for love and that really to become completely fulfilled she has to let go of her fears and allow love to also have a place. This was a wonderful final instalment - I didn't want it to end really, feeling a kinship with Verity, Faith and Grace and also with many of the other woman characters throughout the trilogy and the men too, who were also wonderfully drawn. All of Brenda Jagger's characters have a depth to them that bring them wonderfully to life, and the whole period of the 1800's in a Yorkshire mill town is so well researched that you become completely immersed. I will definitely be reading all of Brenda Jagger's other books and will read these books again - as they have already become favourites.

[Kate Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in Brenda Jagger's Barforth trilogy, and perhaps not quite as good as the other two, but still a book worth reading. Grace is a "millocracy heiress" of Victorian England, and like her aunt Faith and great-aunt Verity of the two previous novels, she struggles with the problems of love, marriage, and identity imposed on her by tradition. Grace finds herself torn between two men, the ambitious Gideon and the mercurial Gervase, and more importantly she is stranded between the role of submissive wife and the role of independent woman. Her search for a life of her own will lead her to become a social crusader, a career woman, and the first divorcee of her conservative town. Grace and her suitors aren't quite as interesting as the older characters, the protagonists of the previous novel who continue to steal the show in this one. Nicholas Barforth, who was quite a jerk in the "The Barforth Women," has mellowed into a delightfully gruff patriarch here, and is given a touching romance. And his tomboy wife Georgiana is just as much fun in middle age as she was in girlhood. A solid conclusion to one of the best trilogies about the Victorian era ever written.

[E.M. Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stayed up late finishing this one, it felt somewhat modern and yet realistic for the time period. I really enjoyed seeing the changes that occurred not only in the main character but in the attitudes of those around her.

[melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Love the whole Saga such an insight to the plight of women and the changes is society and standing , inspiring

[Marine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roman historique avec des détails vraiment intéressant sur l'époque, mais aussi roman politique avec les changements qui pointaient leur nez à ce moment là, le tout mêlé de complots et d'histoires de coeur, superbe lecture !

[Patricia Lloyd-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Just like the other two Barforth novels, a true picture of the times. Beautifully written with enough historical fact to keep one's interest but not boring as it tells the story of a family through three generations. I wish it could continue.