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A Quiet Tide
At the time of her death in 1815, twenty-nine-year-old Ellen Hutchins had catalogued over a thousand species of seaweed and plants from her native Bantry Bay. Ireland’s first female botanist, Ellen was a major contributor to nineteenth-century scientific discovery. And yet, like so many brilliant women lost in history, it is her personal story that will resonate today.
In her remarkable debut novel, Marianne Lee fuses fact with fiction to imagine Ellen’s rich but tormented inner life, repressed by the gender and class confines of her time. Unmarried, childless and sickly, Ellen is considered an ‘unsuccessful’ woman, dutifully bound to her family’s once grand and isolated estate, Ballylickey House. Still, she glimpses a happiness and autonomy she can never quite articulate as she reaches for meaning and expression, until the eruption of a long-simmering family feud and the rise of Ellen’s own darkness – her ‘quiet tide’ – will conspire to destroy her fragile future.
A Quiet Tide is a life examined, a heartbreaking, inspiring story that at last captures the essence and humanity of a long-forgotten Irishwoman.
In her remarkable debut novel, Marianne Lee fuses fact with fiction to imagine Ellen’s rich but tormented inner life, repressed by the gender and class confines of her time. Unmarried, childless and sickly, Ellen is considered an ‘unsuccessful’ woman, dutifully bound to her family’s once grand and isolated estate, Ballylickey House. Still, she glimpses a happiness and autonomy she can never quite articulate as she reaches for meaning and expression, until the eruption of a long-simmering family feud and the rise of Ellen’s own darkness – her ‘quiet tide’ – will conspire to destroy her fragile future.
A Quiet Tide is a life examined, a heartbreaking, inspiring story that at last captures the essence and humanity of a long-forgotten Irishwoman.
394 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2020
23 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 9, 2020
An excellent book! A fictitious look into the life of Ellen Hutchins. But oh how it shows how unbearable it was to be a woman in 1805! She was a well respected botanist in her small circles, but with no agency of her own. Dependent upon the men in her life, having to receive permission from them to allow for publication of her name unless to be known only as the "lady from Bantry". Ellen died at the early age of 29 but her work lives on in prestigious museums.
Marianne Lee writes beautifully and descriptively and I only ever felt like I was right there alongside Ellen. Wonderful story, wonderfully written.
Marianne Lee writes beautifully and descriptively and I only ever felt like I was right there alongside Ellen. Wonderful story, wonderfully written.
May 14, 2020
I adored this book and definitely got swept away by Ellen Hutchins and her wonderful story. Marianne Lee writes beautifully - hugely descriptive and takes the reader on a magnificent journey through Ireland in the early 1800’s. I was hooked very early on and so I dare you not to fall in love with this book... I seriously didn’t want it to end... at every opportunity I dived into a quiet tide to read more of this amazing story. More please from Marianne Lee & New Island Publishers!! #Ireland
February 22, 2023
Delightful
January 23, 2022
Малка книжка, но ми беше много трудно да я прочета. Книгата е художествена интерпретация на живота на първата жена ботанист на Ирландия.
Като цяло книгите, развиващи се в Ирландия и/или написани от ирландски автори винаги са толкова трагични, меланхолични, носталгични и буквално изсмукват душата ти, че трябваше да се досетя, че тази нямаше да е по-различна. Не знам какво ѝ има на Ирландия, ама наистина няма книга, която да съм прочела досега, която да не носи мрачно усещане със себе си.
Колкото до тази конкретна книга - латинските наименования на растенията, поетичните описания и доста богатото разнообразие на използвания език, ми дойдоха малко тегави и единственото нещо, което някак си направи тази книга да не се нареди сред най-любимите ми ever.
Действието се развива на моменти бързо, на моменти сякаш се размиват границите. Наистина авторката се е постарала да пресъздаде преминаването на времето по начина, по който го изпитваме - някой път не усещаме как времето минава, друг път така се влачи, че всеки ден е като седмица.
Отделно, книгата е изпълнена с просветления за живота на най-неочакваните места, които доста добре кореспондираха с историята на живота на Ellen. Не мога да отрека, че ме изпълваше такова чувство на безсилие и тъга, четейки за живота ѝ, че е трудно да се опише. Не мога да отрека обаче, че тя е направила каквото може в краткия си живот да остави следа, независимо от обстоятелствата, които въобще не са били в нейна подкрепа. Истински пример за вдъхновение, но и толкова ненужно страдание.
Любимият ми цитат от книгата:
"Change is never easy, he said. We resist it, and only cause ourselves unnecessary discomfort, particulary when it is thrust upon us, rather than actively sought. But we grow by accepting life's twists and turns, not defying them."
Като цяло книгите, развиващи се в Ирландия и/или написани от ирландски автори винаги са толкова трагични, меланхолични, носталгични и буквално изсмукват душата ти, че трябваше да се досетя, че тази нямаше да е по-различна. Не знам какво ѝ има на Ирландия, ама наистина няма книга, която да съм прочела досега, която да не носи мрачно усещане със себе си.
Колкото до тази конкретна книга - латинските наименования на растенията, поетичните описания и доста богатото разнообразие на използвания език, ми дойдоха малко тегави и единственото нещо, което някак си направи тази книга да не се нареди сред най-любимите ми ever.
Действието се развива на моменти бързо, на моменти сякаш се размиват границите. Наистина авторката се е постарала да пресъздаде преминаването на времето по начина, по който го изпитваме - някой път не усещаме как времето минава, друг път така се влачи, че всеки ден е като седмица.
Отделно, книгата е изпълнена с просветления за живота на най-неочакваните места, които доста добре кореспондираха с историята на живота на Ellen. Не мога да отрека, че ме изпълваше такова чувство на безсилие и тъга, четейки за живота ѝ, че е трудно да се опише. Не мога да отрека обаче, че тя е направила каквото може в краткия си живот да остави следа, независимо от обстоятелствата, които въобще не са били в нейна подкрепа. Истински пример за вдъхновение, но и толкова ненужно страдание.
Любимият ми цитат от книгата:
"Change is never easy, he said. We resist it, and only cause ourselves unnecessary discomfort, particulary when it is thrust upon us, rather than actively sought. But we grow by accepting life's twists and turns, not defying them."
July 20, 2023
Ellen Hutchins lived part of her life in Dublin and the remainder in the Bantry area of Cork, where she indulged her love of botany by finding, preserving, illustrating, cataloguing and sending away plant and seaweed specimens. Eminent botanists came to rely on her for their beautifully illustrated and costly books. But because she was a woman, with no funds, Ellen could not travel the world or even to Britain; she could not even be in a boat unchaperoned with visiting botanists because they were not her relatives; she could not publish a book, which might have given her an independent income.
This fictionalised retelling of Ellen's life highlights that she was required to attend her ailing mother in a remote house, and those friends who would have liked to visit, didn't feel they had the power to interfere in her life against the wishes of her male relatives. Aided by a Dublin doctor and botanist, Ellen assembled the equipment she needed; and painting flowers was, after all, an acceptable gentlewoman's hobby. We feel the cold, the damp, the silence. Local Irish-speaking women were no better off, and often worse.
The tragedy is that Ellen died before the age of thirty. The victory is that plants are named after her. The disgrace is that the science community gives so little credit to women of science who contributed so much. Many thanks to Irish writer Marianne Lee for finding and reviving this lady's story.
I read this book from Raheny Library, after attending a talk by the author during One City, One Book month. This is an unbiased review.
This fictionalised retelling of Ellen's life highlights that she was required to attend her ailing mother in a remote house, and those friends who would have liked to visit, didn't feel they had the power to interfere in her life against the wishes of her male relatives. Aided by a Dublin doctor and botanist, Ellen assembled the equipment she needed; and painting flowers was, after all, an acceptable gentlewoman's hobby. We feel the cold, the damp, the silence. Local Irish-speaking women were no better off, and often worse.
The tragedy is that Ellen died before the age of thirty. The victory is that plants are named after her. The disgrace is that the science community gives so little credit to women of science who contributed so much. Many thanks to Irish writer Marianne Lee for finding and reviving this lady's story.
I read this book from Raheny Library, after attending a talk by the author during One City, One Book month. This is an unbiased review.
March 4, 2024
A wonderful story beautifully written.
March 14, 2021
This could be my novel of the year. Exquisite writing, an unforgettable protagonist and such a rich and vivid depiction of early 19th century Ireland. A masterful debut.
February 24, 2023
A bit slow. Frustrating and eye opening to read about the society rules at the time and limited options for women. Things have come a long way in women’s rights since then, albeit not perfect but I feel fortunate for the options and opportunities I have had in my life - for choice!
March 11, 2023
4.5
Even though I loved this book (and I’m surprised at how much I loved it), I’m still struggling to describe it in a way that doesn’t make it sound incredibly dull.
This is an indie, Irish-published historical fiction novel about Ellen Hutchins, a self-taught Irish botanist in the early nineteenth century. It has a very slow moving plot, if you can call it a plot at all, pleasant writing and interesting characters. Also a lot of Latin plant names. And letters. And people visiting each other (or, more often than not, failing to do so).
Truly, this is a book about life. About family and duty (how much do we owe to our family just because it’s our family?), about meaning and legacy, about our relationship with nature and home, about missed opportunities and the risk of taking everyday pleasures for granted, and above all, about agency. Who has it and who doesn’t, how to claim it (and how difficult or sometimes impossible it can be to do so) and who has the power to take it away. It left me quite touched, slightly unnerved, a bit angry. And very glad that I randomly picked this one up.
Would I recommend it to anyone? I have no idea. But you definitely don’t need to care about botany to enjoy this.
Even though I loved this book (and I’m surprised at how much I loved it), I’m still struggling to describe it in a way that doesn’t make it sound incredibly dull.
This is an indie, Irish-published historical fiction novel about Ellen Hutchins, a self-taught Irish botanist in the early nineteenth century. It has a very slow moving plot, if you can call it a plot at all, pleasant writing and interesting characters. Also a lot of Latin plant names. And letters. And people visiting each other (or, more often than not, failing to do so).
Truly, this is a book about life. About family and duty (how much do we owe to our family just because it’s our family?), about meaning and legacy, about our relationship with nature and home, about missed opportunities and the risk of taking everyday pleasures for granted, and above all, about agency. Who has it and who doesn’t, how to claim it (and how difficult or sometimes impossible it can be to do so) and who has the power to take it away. It left me quite touched, slightly unnerved, a bit angry. And very glad that I randomly picked this one up.
Would I recommend it to anyone? I have no idea. But you definitely don’t need to care about botany to enjoy this.
August 19, 2020
A beautiful yet frustrating book based on an interesting woman called Ellen Hutchins. A touching story of a fictitious account of a factual character. The plight and struggle of a woman who was dependent on men to decide her future. Luckily she encountered some encouraging men who allowed her to pursue an interest in plants, mosses and seaweed. Though her life was short, she was and still is influential to the world of botany today.
August 21, 2020
So well researched and beautifully written.
March 2, 2023
At the age of 18 Ellen Hutchison is taken from her school to live with Dr. Stokes at the direction of her oldest brother who thinks she is sickly and needs the doctor's care. While there, she becomes part of the household, but more importantly, she becomes interested in the doctor's hobby of botany. He gives her books to read about it and encourages her. Before this happy year is up, her older brother sends her back to the mother and home she left for schooling at age five. The brother, Emanual, thinks that she is needed to help her ailing mother and crippled brother keep their run-down estate going. This thwarts many of her plans as well as the opportunity to continue an acquaintance with a fellow botany enthusiast, Tom Taylor. The estate is in a remote part of Ireland reached only by a rutted and boggy road which is a challenge to travel in the early 19th Century. Ellen uses botany as an escape from her routine and dull life. She corresponds with botanists she met at Dr. Stokes' home and is referred to others. Soon she is sending plant samples to many botanists and becomes well-known in their circles. This historical fiction reads like a well-written novel and is a wonderful way to learn about another bright woman from long ago.
August 27, 2024
I have been studying Victorian lady seaweed collectors over the last months ~ women who dedicated their lives to the study of sea plants when much else was denied to them, but even so were refused membership of scientific societies despite their important contributions to botany. Look up Margaret Gatty, Amelia Griffiths, Anna Atkins. It was this study that brought me to Ellen Hutchins, who achieved so much in her tragically short life. I am so glad that a book as beautiful as this has been dedicated to imagining her life and personality.
I found the beginning of the book rather slow, but once Bantry and Ballylickey become characters in the story it became so much more compelling. This is a novel filled with luminous moments of achingly beautiful writing, a story of longing and hope that never quite breaks through. I was left deeply affected.
I have given the book 4, rather than 5, stars only because of the slow beginning and because I would have liked the plants, which do I admit have a powerful presence, to come more into Ellen's story somehow. But this is a novel that is definitely worth reading. It matters to remember Ellen, and all the women who contributed so much to the study of the wonders of the world around us.
I found the beginning of the book rather slow, but once Bantry and Ballylickey become characters in the story it became so much more compelling. This is a novel filled with luminous moments of achingly beautiful writing, a story of longing and hope that never quite breaks through. I was left deeply affected.
I have given the book 4, rather than 5, stars only because of the slow beginning and because I would have liked the plants, which do I admit have a powerful presence, to come more into Ellen's story somehow. But this is a novel that is definitely worth reading. It matters to remember Ellen, and all the women who contributed so much to the study of the wonders of the world around us.
February 9, 2022
This is a beautifully written book with an absorbing and unusual character. Based on little known Irish botanist Ellen Hutchins in the early 1800's , a woman before her time, she catalogued the local flora in her native Bantry becoming well known in the mostly male dominated world of botanists.
However, her own story if one of typical of women of that time and indeed for many generations after,whereby the mores of the time insist she conform to womanly things and is dominated by her brothers' whims and dispatched to her native Bantry from the more cultured environment of Dublin at that time. The quality of the writing is such that you are transported into that time and can feel the sounds and the smells, you can see the comfort of the middle classes and the poverty of the destitute.
I thoroughly recommend it, Marianne Lee is an insightful writer, the prose is elegant and clear. I felt transported in time and flew through the book in a week.
However, her own story if one of typical of women of that time and indeed for many generations after,whereby the mores of the time insist she conform to womanly things and is dominated by her brothers' whims and dispatched to her native Bantry from the more cultured environment of Dublin at that time. The quality of the writing is such that you are transported into that time and can feel the sounds and the smells, you can see the comfort of the middle classes and the poverty of the destitute.
I thoroughly recommend it, Marianne Lee is an insightful writer, the prose is elegant and clear. I felt transported in time and flew through the book in a week.
May 4, 2023
On my trip to Ireland, I happened upon this book in a small bookshop in Ennis. I was looking for a novel about Irish subjects or history, something to connect to my trip. I grabbed this one after reading the summary and seeing it was about a real woman in history who contributed to a scientific field in an era where women were not considered capable of being scientists. I love historical women who shattered the norms!
This book was instantly absorbing and I started reading it before bed in the hotels. The prose is moving and poetic, but not so much that the story is overwhelmed. Ellen is relatable and tender; I loved her instantly for her slight awkwardness and inner longings. The pace is very slow up until the last 50 pages or so- I would have liked a bit more time spent on the climax and aftermath. But partially just because I wasn’t ready to leave Lee’s atmospheric description of Ireland.
This book was instantly absorbing and I started reading it before bed in the hotels. The prose is moving and poetic, but not so much that the story is overwhelmed. Ellen is relatable and tender; I loved her instantly for her slight awkwardness and inner longings. The pace is very slow up until the last 50 pages or so- I would have liked a bit more time spent on the climax and aftermath. But partially just because I wasn’t ready to leave Lee’s atmospheric description of Ireland.
January 1, 2024
Lee has chosen a less well-known historical figure, Ellen Hutchins, described as Ireland's first female botanist, and written 'A Quiet Tide', Ellen's life story. It appears that many of the details about her life as described in the book are historically accurate and it was refreshing to read about an influential female in a field, which is pretty much completely unknown to me.
Not only does the reader learn about botany but the book also focuses on the class divide and role of women in Ireland in the early 1800s. Although it is clear that Lee has done her research, and I personally could not pinpoint any specific inaccuracies, there was something about this book that made it feel too modern - I just can't put my finger on it. The narrative also moved rather too slowly for my liking. I enjoyed Aoife McMahon's narration of the audiobook. Overall a good book but it didn't stand out to me as exceptional.
Not only does the reader learn about botany but the book also focuses on the class divide and role of women in Ireland in the early 1800s. Although it is clear that Lee has done her research, and I personally could not pinpoint any specific inaccuracies, there was something about this book that made it feel too modern - I just can't put my finger on it. The narrative also moved rather too slowly for my liking. I enjoyed Aoife McMahon's narration of the audiobook. Overall a good book but it didn't stand out to me as exceptional.
April 9, 2021
A book circle choice by a friend, and a book I might never have picked for myself!
An unusual, but beautiful story of the life of nineteenth century Irish botanist, Ellen Hutchins.
I loved the descriptions of her early life in Dublin and the comparison with the rambling old house in Ballylick. The author's research brings to life Ellen's dedication to rare plants and how her absorption in botany transported her away from the poverty and hardship of her new life back at home with her family, who were dependent on her.
She was a strong woman in a man's world, a renowned expert in her field, and due all the more praise as it was during a period in time when travel was difficult and arduous, making research all the harder.
Highly recommended read for those who enjoy historical novels.
An unusual, but beautiful story of the life of nineteenth century Irish botanist, Ellen Hutchins.
I loved the descriptions of her early life in Dublin and the comparison with the rambling old house in Ballylick. The author's research brings to life Ellen's dedication to rare plants and how her absorption in botany transported her away from the poverty and hardship of her new life back at home with her family, who were dependent on her.
She was a strong woman in a man's world, a renowned expert in her field, and due all the more praise as it was during a period in time when travel was difficult and arduous, making research all the harder.
Highly recommended read for those who enjoy historical novels.
June 9, 2021
This is a rather quiet and pleasing novel, which attempts to create a plausible and involving account of the life of a woman in the early 19th century whose studies of botany were remarkable. In her field, she resembles the fossil finder Mary Anning, in whom there has been much interest recently. What the narrative does is indicate how powerful a passion intellectual discovery can be, and how many things were stacked against a young woman of that time who wished to indulge such a passion. Duty, family responsibilities, remoteness, poverty and expectations of female behaviour all contribute. The life is in one sense uneventful, but in others it has richness - a short life but not a wasted one.
June 5, 2024
A beautiful, fictional account of the ultimately tragic and short life of Ellen Hutchins, Ireland's first female botanist. Hutchins was born into nineteenth-century wealth but as a woman her opportunities were limited. Self-taught her botanical discoveries around her family estate in County Cork, Ireland attracted the attention of the male-dominated botanical community in Ireland and England. This account of her life is compelling and ensures Hutchins will no longer be forgotten. The writing is exquisite and touching emoting pathos for a young woman with considerable inner strength. I highly recommend this book for readers interested in botany, historical fiction, and women's lives in the nineteenth century.
February 6, 2022
I loved this book! I know it is fiction, but it gave me an empathic glimpse into Ellen Hutchins's life and work that other sources couldn't! I know the places around Ballylickey well, and it helped me imagine her there, unfatiguable and dedicated.
I had to Google the name of plants, as their Latin names didn't mean much to me. I recognised some from my own walks.
In another era, Ellen would have had a different life.
I had to Google the name of plants, as their Latin names didn't mean much to me. I recognised some from my own walks.
In another era, Ellen would have had a different life.
March 28, 2022
I loved this book and am having a hard time figuring out why! I know part of it is that I’ve visited the various locations mentioned in the book – Dublin, Cork and Bantry. You also have a wonderful author who brings long forgotten historical people alive. Ellen’s story is kind of sad, but typical for women in the early 1800’s. The book is a slow burn, but fascinating. I never would have heard of it but for listening to the RTE where excerpts were read nightly for a week.
June 5, 2023
Un married, childless and sickly Ellen Hutchins was considered and "unsuccessful" woman in her lifetime because she never married. It as her duty to care for her mother and brother at a grand and isolated estate, Ballylickey House in County Cork, Ireland. By the time of her early death in 1815, she had become Ireland's first female botanist.
June 24, 2020
A beautiful, evocative book. A compelling tale of determination against all odds. The elegant old fashioned language is particularly pleasing, as are unusual descriptive sentences which are constructed without verbs.
January 23, 2021
I was captivated by this novel. Marianne Lee revives the life of Ellen Hutchins, an early Irish botanist, in this beautifully rendered, intelligent, inspiring book. Ellen's life, her curious, resilient mind is the book I will continue thinking about all this year long.
August 26, 2025
Beautiful, slow and sad book telling the story of Ellen Hutchins. Life for women in 19th century Ireland was grim but Ellen was able to carve out a distinctive niche for herself studying the unique flora or West Cork.
June 8, 2022
I absolutely loved it, well-written, covering many important and relevant issues while remaining truly interesting on a personal level. It being about a historical figure appealed to me.
September 15, 2022
Appreciation for the early women in science, and the speedier communication & modern medicine that have developed since the 1800's..
July 1, 2023
Highly recommended. Lovely read.
January 16, 2024
Since I live in the area, I thought it wise to read up on this lovely but sad woman. What a life she led in her short time? Well worth a read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews