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The Welsh Fasting Girl
Twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob was the most famous of the Victorian fasting girls, who claimed to miraculously survive without food, serving as flashpoints between struggling religious, scientific, and political factions. In this novel based on Sarah’s life and premature death from what may be the first documented case of anorexia, an American journalist, recovering from her husband’s death in the Civil War, leaves her home and children behind to travel to Wales, where she investigates Sarah’s bizarre case by becoming the young girl’s friend and confidante. Unable to prevent the girl’s tragic decline while doctors, nurses, and a local priest keep watch, she documents the curious family dynamic, the trial that convicted Sarah’s parents, and an era’s hysterical need to both believe and destroy Sarah’s seemingly miraculous power.
Intense, dark, and utterly compelling, The Welsh Fasting Girl delves into the complexities of a true story to understand how a culture’s anxieties led to the murder of a child.
Intense, dark, and utterly compelling, The Welsh Fasting Girl delves into the complexities of a true story to understand how a culture’s anxieties led to the murder of a child.
351 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2019
About the author
Varley O'Connor
7 books5 followersVarley O’Connor’s first novel, Like China, described by the New York Times as “a first novel that soars,” was published by William Morrow in 1991. Her second novel, A Company of Three, about the world of theater and acting, came out from Algonquin Books in 2003. Her third novel, The Cure, was published by the Bellevue Literary Press in 2007. Scribner will release her most recent novel, The Master's Muse, in May 2012.
Her short prose has appeared in Faultline: Journal of Art and Literature, AWP Writer’s Chronicle, Driftwood, Algonkian Magazine, The Sun, and in an anthology, Naming the World and Other Exercises for Creative Writers, edited by Bret Anthony Johnston (Random House, 2008).
After graduating with a BFA in acting from Boston University, O’Connor worked as a stage, film, and television actor before entering the Programs in Writing at the University of California, Irvine. She received her MFA in English with a fiction emphasis in 1989.
She has taught writing and literature at Irvine, Hofstra University, Brooklyn College, Marymount Manhattan College, the North Carolina Writers’ Network, and thrice for the Squaw Valley Community of Writers’ Summer Conference, most recently in August 2007.
In fall 2007 Varley O’Connor joined the faculty at Kent State University, where in addition to undergraduate creative writing, she teaches fiction and creative nonfiction writing in the Northeast Ohio Universities Consortium MFA program.
Her short prose has appeared in Faultline: Journal of Art and Literature, AWP Writer’s Chronicle, Driftwood, Algonkian Magazine, The Sun, and in an anthology, Naming the World and Other Exercises for Creative Writers, edited by Bret Anthony Johnston (Random House, 2008).
After graduating with a BFA in acting from Boston University, O’Connor worked as a stage, film, and television actor before entering the Programs in Writing at the University of California, Irvine. She received her MFA in English with a fiction emphasis in 1989.
She has taught writing and literature at Irvine, Hofstra University, Brooklyn College, Marymount Manhattan College, the North Carolina Writers’ Network, and thrice for the Squaw Valley Community of Writers’ Summer Conference, most recently in August 2007.
In fall 2007 Varley O’Connor joined the faculty at Kent State University, where in addition to undergraduate creative writing, she teaches fiction and creative nonfiction writing in the Northeast Ohio Universities Consortium MFA program.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 13, 2019
Interesting concept and storyline but I did not like how it was presented, very much like many nonfictions, although this is fiction.
In 1860s Wales, a poor pre-teen girl is bedridden while she refuses to eat for weeks at a time, yet shows no ill effects. It is either a miracle or a clever deception. The vicar, doctors, and even a reporter from America make frequent wellness checks on the girl. Finally the locals suspect that someone must be feeding her and to prove it, she is put on a round-the-clock watch for 2 weeks. She doesn't survive the watch, and there is a trial.
The family background was interesting and telling of the times. I just thought it became very drawn out and repetitive.
A LibraryThings win.
In 1860s Wales, a poor pre-teen girl is bedridden while she refuses to eat for weeks at a time, yet shows no ill effects. It is either a miracle or a clever deception. The vicar, doctors, and even a reporter from America make frequent wellness checks on the girl. Finally the locals suspect that someone must be feeding her and to prove it, she is put on a round-the-clock watch for 2 weeks. She doesn't survive the watch, and there is a trial.
The family background was interesting and telling of the times. I just thought it became very drawn out and repetitive.
A LibraryThings win.
February 22, 2019
Interesting book based on fact that just happened to coincide with my reading of The Eating Instinct by Virginia Sole-Smith. It amuses me when a random choice of reading material happens to relate in some way. I’ve only read one book previously that was based on the story of Sarah Jacob (the purported “Welsh Fasting Girl” from the title) and I found this one to be a fast paced read from an interesting perspective. A good way to get an accurate look at history with a creative perspective!
May 31, 2019
Full review on Shelf Awareness.
This book is deeply depressing but worth the read. I learned so much about Victorian fasting girls and its connection to eating disorders today, and the dense prose was worth working through.
This book is deeply depressing but worth the read. I learned so much about Victorian fasting girls and its connection to eating disorders today, and the dense prose was worth working through.
April 18, 2019
In the late 19th century, several cases of "fasting girls" occurred in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. One of the best known was 12-year old Sarah Jacob, who was rumored not to have ingested food or water for almost two years yet seemingly in good health. The religious (or superstitious) locals began to flock to her bedside, believing that they were witnessing a miracle. As word spread, visitors from further afield, including journalists, scientists, and medical experts, arrived in the small Welsh town. Ultimately, a commission comprised of five doctors and four nurses convened to "watch" over Sarah to determine the truth. After two weeks, her health took a sharp turn for the worst, yet no one--not the nurses, the doctors, the vicar, nor Sarah's parents--offered her food or water. When the subject came up, as it did when a distraught uncle begged Sarah's father to allow her to be fed, Evan Jacob refused. When Sarah died, her parents were put on trial for manslaughter. The assumption was that the gifts and money left by visitors were such a temptation that they were willing to risk their daughter's life, hoping she would live until the end of the watch so that these 'holy visitations' could continue, to their profit.
Varley O'Connor's key character is not the fasting girl herself but a character she invents: Christine Thomas, a budding American journalist whose husband, James, was lost in the Civil War and presumed dead. Christine accepts a commission from a large newspaper to investigate the case at first hand, leaving her adult children behind. Dispersed throughout the novel are letters written to her absent husband as a way to make sense of the events she witnesses. She finds Sarah to be a smart, intelligent child, yet senses an undercurrent of fear, if not evil, in the household. As she befriends Sarah, her mother Hannah, and her strange younger sister Margaret, Christine's suspicions grow. 'The Welsh Fasting Girl' focuses on Christine's investigative work, from her initial arrival in Carmarthen through the the watch, Sarah's death, the trial, and beyond. The people she interviews form a large part of the story: what did they know, when did they know it, and why didn't they step in at some point?
It was difficult to read this novel without bringing to mind Emma Donahue's 'The Wonder,' which centers on an Irish fasting girl. But by bringing in an investigative journalist, 'The Welsh Fasting Girl' goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the girl was sneaking food to the possible psychological reasons behind Sarah's initial refusal of food and the actions of those around her, and the added depth is a big plus. It also reflects on the conflicts of Christine herself: her strained relationships with her children, her difficulty adjusting to the loss of her husband, her need to claim a life of her own and a sense of personal value outside of her family. Today, Sarah Jacob is considered one of the first victims of a newly defined psychological condition, anorexia nervosa. O'Connor has done her research, both on the facts of the actual case and the persons involved, and its psychological underpinnings. Overall, a very fine historical novel.
Varley O'Connor's key character is not the fasting girl herself but a character she invents: Christine Thomas, a budding American journalist whose husband, James, was lost in the Civil War and presumed dead. Christine accepts a commission from a large newspaper to investigate the case at first hand, leaving her adult children behind. Dispersed throughout the novel are letters written to her absent husband as a way to make sense of the events she witnesses. She finds Sarah to be a smart, intelligent child, yet senses an undercurrent of fear, if not evil, in the household. As she befriends Sarah, her mother Hannah, and her strange younger sister Margaret, Christine's suspicions grow. 'The Welsh Fasting Girl' focuses on Christine's investigative work, from her initial arrival in Carmarthen through the the watch, Sarah's death, the trial, and beyond. The people she interviews form a large part of the story: what did they know, when did they know it, and why didn't they step in at some point?
It was difficult to read this novel without bringing to mind Emma Donahue's 'The Wonder,' which centers on an Irish fasting girl. But by bringing in an investigative journalist, 'The Welsh Fasting Girl' goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the girl was sneaking food to the possible psychological reasons behind Sarah's initial refusal of food and the actions of those around her, and the added depth is a big plus. It also reflects on the conflicts of Christine herself: her strained relationships with her children, her difficulty adjusting to the loss of her husband, her need to claim a life of her own and a sense of personal value outside of her family. Today, Sarah Jacob is considered one of the first victims of a newly defined psychological condition, anorexia nervosa. O'Connor has done her research, both on the facts of the actual case and the persons involved, and its psychological underpinnings. Overall, a very fine historical novel.
May 10, 2019
** Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. **
Technically this is a 2.5 star. I typically round up in the event of a half star, but in this case I didn't feel like it really reached that solidly to a 2.5 to justify an upround.
I liked the premise for the story, as this was a topic I had not prior heard of. I enjoyed the setting as well. Wales is not a place I frequently see in historical fiction. I started out with a great amount of interest in the narrative and looked forward to learning about a new bit of history (though I expected quite a bit of author latitude in the details as this is historical fiction rather than non-fiction).
However, I struggled to make my way through the book. The writing was very dense, which gave me terrible issues. There are frequent run-on sentences and there were several times where I had to stop to go back and reread passages in order to understand what was going on. There were long sections where things would improve steadily and I felt that it have been a small blip in the quality of the writing, but then there would be another portion of the story that left me confused.
The story felt very dichotomous, with the meshing of Christine and Sarah's stories feeling a bit rough. While I thought that Christine was a fairly well-developed character, I think I just struggled with the vacillating point of view. A direct narrative may have worked better for me rather than using Christine as a conduit.
I could have seen past a lot of this if I had felt satisfied with the ending. The history of this story has a lot of merit and, as stated earlier, did pique my interest. However, it felt like there were a lot of questions left unanswered and some situations that remained rather unclear. Ultimately, I didn't feel fulfilled after what was a fairly long read.
Technically this is a 2.5 star. I typically round up in the event of a half star, but in this case I didn't feel like it really reached that solidly to a 2.5 to justify an upround.
I liked the premise for the story, as this was a topic I had not prior heard of. I enjoyed the setting as well. Wales is not a place I frequently see in historical fiction. I started out with a great amount of interest in the narrative and looked forward to learning about a new bit of history (though I expected quite a bit of author latitude in the details as this is historical fiction rather than non-fiction).
However, I struggled to make my way through the book. The writing was very dense, which gave me terrible issues. There are frequent run-on sentences and there were several times where I had to stop to go back and reread passages in order to understand what was going on. There were long sections where things would improve steadily and I felt that it have been a small blip in the quality of the writing, but then there would be another portion of the story that left me confused.
The story felt very dichotomous, with the meshing of Christine and Sarah's stories feeling a bit rough. While I thought that Christine was a fairly well-developed character, I think I just struggled with the vacillating point of view. A direct narrative may have worked better for me rather than using Christine as a conduit.
I could have seen past a lot of this if I had felt satisfied with the ending. The history of this story has a lot of merit and, as stated earlier, did pique my interest. However, it felt like there were a lot of questions left unanswered and some situations that remained rather unclear. Ultimately, I didn't feel fulfilled after what was a fairly long read.
April 11, 2019
I loved The Welsh Fasting Girl! It is the sort of historical fiction I adore- a good story that is both atmospheric and well-researched. It took me awhile to read because I kept delving into wormholes on Wikipedia, wanting to know even more.
Set in the late 19th century, based on the true story of Sarah Jacob, a Welsh “fasting girl” who appeared to live miraculously without food, the novel is told largely from the viewpoint of an American journalist sent to cover the story.
Readers learn from the description of the back of the book that Sarah will die and the parents will be tried for murder, yet even with that spoiler, O’Connor manages to effectively build tension throughout the novel; and I found myself staying up way too late reading! Sarah’s story serves to highlight tensions between science and religion, a clash of cultures, and the historical role of women.
Highly recommended! If you like The Welsh Fasting Girl, you may also like The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (based on the same case) and The Good People by Hannah Kent (set in Ireland in an earlier time, but dealing with some similar themes).
Set in the late 19th century, based on the true story of Sarah Jacob, a Welsh “fasting girl” who appeared to live miraculously without food, the novel is told largely from the viewpoint of an American journalist sent to cover the story.
Readers learn from the description of the back of the book that Sarah will die and the parents will be tried for murder, yet even with that spoiler, O’Connor manages to effectively build tension throughout the novel; and I found myself staying up way too late reading! Sarah’s story serves to highlight tensions between science and religion, a clash of cultures, and the historical role of women.
Highly recommended! If you like The Welsh Fasting Girl, you may also like The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (based on the same case) and The Good People by Hannah Kent (set in Ireland in an earlier time, but dealing with some similar themes).
April 29, 2019
While reading the first section of The Welsh Fasting Girl I thought it was all too familiar, too similar to another book I had read about a historical fasting girl. A young girl reportedly has stopped eating but is alive and well, her community hoping it is a miracle for in the mid-1800s faith is being challenged by science. The parents agree to a watch to ascertain the girl is not obtaining nourishment. A woman from outside of the community, an American journalist, comes to Wales to cover the story but becomes emotionally involved.
But halfway through the book, Varley O'Connor went in a completely different direction from the book I had previously read. Whereas the other book offered a wish-fulfillment ending, O'Connor's fasting girl does not survive. And this allows the novel to go into deeper territory, probing culpability and guilt in the family, community, culture, and laws of the time.
How could people not save the life of a starving girl? The doctors and nurses, the vicar, the parents, the sibling, all stood by, trapped by their own dark dreams and secrets as Sarah wasted away over fourteen days.
And what would drive a beautiful girl to embrace death?
Hysterical anorexia was identified as a specific disease in 1873, a few years after the death of the Welsh fasting girl. O'Connor notes that although records do not show that Sarah was sexually abused, a high incident of girls who fasted were in fact victims of sexual abuse.
The fictional American reporter, Christine, is a central character. As she writes letters to her reporter husband who never returned from covering the Civil War, we understand her perception of the people and events playing out. Her children grown, her beloved husband gone, she struggles with questions of identity and role in the world. She is young enough to miss love and old enough to have a life separate from her children.
After the trial to determine culpability in Sarah's death, Christine pursues further knowledge, several clues indicating that there was more to the story. And as she digs deeper, a complicated family web is unraveled.
O'Connor's tragic novel is beautifully written, her deep research contributing to a vivid sense of place and time. And although a work of historical fiction addressing the conflicts of the 1860s, the issues are relevant today.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.
But halfway through the book, Varley O'Connor went in a completely different direction from the book I had previously read. Whereas the other book offered a wish-fulfillment ending, O'Connor's fasting girl does not survive. And this allows the novel to go into deeper territory, probing culpability and guilt in the family, community, culture, and laws of the time.
How could people not save the life of a starving girl? The doctors and nurses, the vicar, the parents, the sibling, all stood by, trapped by their own dark dreams and secrets as Sarah wasted away over fourteen days.
And what would drive a beautiful girl to embrace death?
Hysterical anorexia was identified as a specific disease in 1873, a few years after the death of the Welsh fasting girl. O'Connor notes that although records do not show that Sarah was sexually abused, a high incident of girls who fasted were in fact victims of sexual abuse.
The fictional American reporter, Christine, is a central character. As she writes letters to her reporter husband who never returned from covering the Civil War, we understand her perception of the people and events playing out. Her children grown, her beloved husband gone, she struggles with questions of identity and role in the world. She is young enough to miss love and old enough to have a life separate from her children.
After the trial to determine culpability in Sarah's death, Christine pursues further knowledge, several clues indicating that there was more to the story. And as she digs deeper, a complicated family web is unraveled.
O'Connor's tragic novel is beautifully written, her deep research contributing to a vivid sense of place and time. And although a work of historical fiction addressing the conflicts of the 1860s, the issues are relevant today.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.
March 3, 2020
Fictionalized account of Sarah Jacob, known at the "Welsh Fasting Girl" who in 1869 died due to malnourishment while under the watch of nurses assigned to carefully supervise her and to determine whether she was taking food. Sarah was one of a series of females who during the Victoria era made claims to have refrained from nutrition and who became a sort of celebrity in the towns in which they lived. The story is told mainly through an American journalist (who is a fictional character) who travels to Wales to investigate Sarah's story. Clearly Sarah was at some point taking food (although in small amounts); however, while under the watch of the nurses she was unable to utilize whatever means she used to acquire food and ultimately lost her life. The book continues with the trial of her parents and the author offers unique insight into what may have been the reason why Sarah (and possibly the other young women) made such claims. Varley O'Connor does a good job of depicting life in Wales in the 1860s. Still a very superstitious and primitive society and deeply "earthy" in how they lived, it would not surprising for pre-teen females to have acted out. History records a few other incidents where young girls in a closed society acted out (Salem during the witch trials being the most notable). The story is disturbing, at times deeply sad, but well-written and moving and treated with great understanding. It is a bit slow-moving initially, but as the novel moves on it picks up and I found it quite hard to put down so be patient if it isn't initially fascinating as it will become more understandable and much more interesting as the story unfolds. Thankfully there is a chapter at the end explaining what is fiction and what is not which clears matters up nicely.
October 5, 2019
Twelve-year-old Welsh girl Sarah Jacob can live without food or drink--a miracle that draws the attention of not only her small community but people all over Wales, and the world. Confined to her bed in her Welsh village, Sarah receives visitors and, often, their gifts. As the excitement grows, a reporter in Brooklyn named Christine Thomas gets wind of the story and travels to Wales to report back for her paper. Christine is drawn to the story, and to Wales itself--the homeland of her husband, James, who went missing during the war and is presumed dead. Leaving behind her children, Christine meets Sarah and is immediately horrified by what she understands to be dangerous fraud. Living without food is impossible; someone must be secretly feeding her. When the community insists on a round-the-clock watch, Christine knows the only outcome will be disaster for Sarah. The only question, in the end, is who is most to blame.
Believers and nonbelievers, curious onlookers and angry demanders of proof--all are drawn to Sarah, and are affected by her ordeal. O’Connor employs multiple points of view to reveal the depth of anguish behind this seeming miracle. Though the legal trial that results may produce a villain, we understand clearly that the true crime for Sarah and the other real-life fasting girls of her time is the community’s unwillingness not only to accept scientific reality but to speak out to save a life.
***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
Believers and nonbelievers, curious onlookers and angry demanders of proof--all are drawn to Sarah, and are affected by her ordeal. O’Connor employs multiple points of view to reveal the depth of anguish behind this seeming miracle. Though the legal trial that results may produce a villain, we understand clearly that the true crime for Sarah and the other real-life fasting girls of her time is the community’s unwillingness not only to accept scientific reality but to speak out to save a life.
***Review originally written for the City Book Review. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
May 6, 2019
Christine is a journalist who has become fascinated with the reports of a young girl in Wales who has been fasting and not eaten for more than 2 years. The girl not only lives, but she appears to be thriving. Christine decides to travel to Wales and investigate this fasting girl and post reports back to America for her newspaper. While in Wales, Christine rekindles her love for her deceased husbands homeland. She also develops a bond of affection for the young fasting girl, Sarah Jacob. Is she surviving on no morsel of food or drink? No one can seem to decide. When the government steps in to perform a two-week watch over Sarah, Christine cannot help but be relieved and yet dismayed. Will they discover that she has been secretly eating and performing a hoax? Or will they discover that she is truly fasting and may be the religious devout girl she claims to be? What will happen to Sarah, her family, and this sleepy Welsh town will mesmerize you.
This was a very interesting book! I had to look up Sarah Jacob to see if she was indeed a real girl...and she was!!!! A very interesting rendition of her life, the watch, and what transpired afterwards. Thank you LibraryThing for the advanced readers copy!!!
This was a very interesting book! I had to look up Sarah Jacob to see if she was indeed a real girl...and she was!!!! A very interesting rendition of her life, the watch, and what transpired afterwards. Thank you LibraryThing for the advanced readers copy!!!
July 10, 2019
I found this book affected me so much because it reflects something still prevalent in our world today; the shocking way society does not protect children, whether it is an anorexic child, children at the border, or children being shot while going to school. This book is based on a true story that took place in the late 1860’s, concerning Sarah Jacob, a young girl who dies of anorexia, all the while being touted as “The Welsh Fasting Girl.” Welsh society chooses to believe that she is the recipient of a miracle, rather than investigating the obvious question of why an otherwise healthy young girl should choose to stop eating? It is narrated by a woman reporter from America, who has come to both exorcise the ghost of her dead Welsh husband, who died in the Civil War, and to report on the girl. The book is very poetic, (as befits a book about the Welsh!), and leaves you with the question, “Why did nobody help her?”
May 4, 2019
Wonderful! Know up front (it's not a spoiler) that Sarah, the Welsh fasting girl is going to die. What's important is that no one helped her. Christine is an American woman who has come to Wales to cover not only Sarah but the debate and trial that follows her death. She's dealing with her own grief- her husband is dead and her children have moved on in their own lives. She's also a terrific and very sympathetic character. This is an unusual novel but it's so well written you will find yourself in the grip of the plot. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Fans of historical fiction should seek this out.
April 30, 2022
This book is one of the reasons that I love to read historical fiction. There is much to be learned about Wales in the 19th century and still it was a fictionalized story about a true event in history. The prose is so well done, almost lyrical, representing the language of the Welch so well as to make you feel you are truly experiencing the story. This is one of the books on the top of my favorites. I'll read it again no doubt. (I read the audiobook)
July 24, 2019
Emma Donoghue tackles the same subject, the fasting girls who were treated as religious miracles, in her book THE WONDER in a way I found more compelling (set in Ireland rather than Wales, but from the point of view of a nurse and the girl). This book combined a real story with a fictional American reporter who tells us about it. O'Connor couldn't resist the occasional temptation to moralize...
December 10, 2021
I really wanted to like this book. The true story around Sarah Jacobs is probably a good story in itself, but I felt like the author was tip toeing around the huge elephant in the room. That was really never discussed in the book. It played a huge role in the fact that Sarah was anorexia. I didn’t feel the author did a good job in relaying the story very well. Very disappointing.
February 2, 2024
This book was a major chore to read. The first half was so slow and boring. The last half was a little better which enabled it to be a did not finish book. I was looking forward to this book but it was a major disappointment. It seems others found it more stimulating than I did.
April 17, 2020
Boring beyond comprehension
October 20, 2020
This book was good, but I wished for more chapters about the girl and her family, and fewer about her watchers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2023
3.5 stars. A difficult subject and a well written book
February 4, 2020
I’ve gotten the most I can out of this book. Donating it at the hospital next week. I have to move on.
May 24, 2019
2.5 stars
The novel, The Welsh Fasting Girl, by Varley O'Connor, focuses on one of the more famous fasting girls, twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob of Wales. The year is 1869. Sarah Jacob claims that she has not eaten for two years. A local vicar, initially skeptical, is convinced that Sarah's claim is authentic and immediately notifies the press. News of the miraculous Welsh Fasting Girl spreads across the Atlantic Ocean, and American journalist Christine Thomas, a Civil War widow, is sent overseas to investigate. Once in Wales, Christine detects underlying nuances in the Jacob family's dynamics and suspects that there is more to Sarah's situation than meets the eye. ...more
The novel, The Welsh Fasting Girl, by Varley O'Connor, focuses on one of the more famous fasting girls, twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob of Wales. The year is 1869. Sarah Jacob claims that she has not eaten for two years. A local vicar, initially skeptical, is convinced that Sarah's claim is authentic and immediately notifies the press. News of the miraculous Welsh Fasting Girl spreads across the Atlantic Ocean, and American journalist Christine Thomas, a Civil War widow, is sent overseas to investigate. Once in Wales, Christine detects underlying nuances in the Jacob family's dynamics and suspects that there is more to Sarah's situation than meets the eye. ...more
May 8, 2019
Read this in a rush over the last two days, consumed by the fact that this historical novel shivers with contemporary relevance.
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