Distant Choices

by Brenda Jagger

In a world of mill barons and railway kings, two sisters Oriel and Kate share the same uncaring father. But whereas Kate is legitimate, Oriel is not. Oriel learns from an ambitious mother to be cool, to calm the fire in her heart. Kate, with emotions untamed and no mother at all, yearns to break free form her loveless life. Drawn together by fate as well as birth, the two sisters are friends.

And then squire Francis Ashington, poet and explorer, comes back to live in the Gore Valley . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

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

[R R · Rating 4 out of 5]

An "upstairs, downstairs' type of book but bringing the focus to the plight of the aristocratic women and how the men in her life "owned her". Amazing and sad that this was a way of life less than 200 years ago.

[☆Ruth☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written historical romance. Read it many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, might like to read it again some time.

[Abbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an amazing read. It is simple and well written. Even as a teen, I was able to connect to the characters and strongly appreciate everything that occurred throughout the book. I strongly recommend this book! To be fair, I love pretty much every book I read, but still I do recommend this book! :)