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The Trial of Lotta Rae
On Halloween night, 1906, young working-class Lotta Rae is attacked by a wealthy gentleman. She seeks justice at an Old Bailey trial alongside her barrister, William LInden, who she believes to be her ally.
The verdict is devastating and Lotta Rae soon realises the guardians of justice do not support her. But what none could foresee were the shocking consequences.
Twelve years later as the suffragettes rise and the ghost of WW1 looms large over London, William and Lotta meet again. Now, they will travel to a fateful destination where truths must be faced and wrongs must be righted.
The Day in Court is done
But tonight he will hear her testimony.
The verdict is devastating and Lotta Rae soon realises the guardians of justice do not support her. But what none could foresee were the shocking consequences.
Twelve years later as the suffragettes rise and the ghost of WW1 looms large over London, William and Lotta meet again. Now, they will travel to a fateful destination where truths must be faced and wrongs must be righted.
The Day in Court is done
But tonight he will hear her testimony.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2022
74 people are currently reading
2783 people want to read
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January 8, 2023
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This book was fascinating from start to finish. I loved the emotions it evoked in me, everything from heartbreak to anger. What surprised me the most about the book was that the trial itself wasn't the book's main focus but rather the aftermath. I really liked that about the story as it was a refreshingly new take on a woman scorned and out for revenge after being taken advantage of by men, especially a man who was supposed to be on her side to help her get justice.
The writing was exceptional without being wordy. It stayed true to the timeline but you don't need to be a scholar to understand and enjoy it. I also appreciated how Lotta was portrayed as an extraordinary woman with a simple background, proving that you don't need to be rich or highly educated to make a difference in the world. Although not a happy story it is a very real and accurate one that I enjoyed immensely. All. The. Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
This book was fascinating from start to finish. I loved the emotions it evoked in me, everything from heartbreak to anger. What surprised me the most about the book was that the trial itself wasn't the book's main focus but rather the aftermath. I really liked that about the story as it was a refreshingly new take on a woman scorned and out for revenge after being taken advantage of by men, especially a man who was supposed to be on her side to help her get justice.
The writing was exceptional without being wordy. It stayed true to the timeline but you don't need to be a scholar to understand and enjoy it. I also appreciated how Lotta was portrayed as an extraordinary woman with a simple background, proving that you don't need to be rich or highly educated to make a difference in the world. Although not a happy story it is a very real and accurate one that I enjoyed immensely. All. The. Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
February 19, 2023
A teenage girl, Lotta Rae, at the dawn of the 20th century makes plans for future which are shuttered one night and which open ways to several tragedies befalling herself and her family. A strong female protagonist and her male counterpart become rivals involved in a dangerous game which is called having knowledge and power. This is a good read and kept me interested, however, as the plot unravelled, I felt bigger distance towards Lotta. There was something missing in her to make me connect with her more.
*Many thanks to Siobhan MacGowan, Welbeck Publishing, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
*Many thanks to Siobhan MacGowan, Welbeck Publishing, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
May 26, 2022
Headlines:
Tragedy on tragedy
Compelling feminist era of history
Miscarriages of justice
I am all wrung out on finishing The Trial of Lotta Rae. This historical read was compelling from front to back, it made me feel so many things and most of my emotions at the events in this book centred on anger, frustration and sadness. The story is incredibly tragic but it is also important. Content warnings below.
I thought the trial from the title would be the centre of the book, but actually it was early in the story but a crucial catalyst for the events that came after. Essentially, this book was about men and women, men's power over women in the era before and during suffrage and ultimately a personal tale of that experience. Lotta was such a complex character to unravel. She was abused, bereaved, a fighter, manipulative and a feminist. There were very few good men in her life but Pap and Raff were such amazing advocates for her and women in her situation, I lived for their words and support in this.
William. What can I say but that this man's story unfurled slowly and insiduously. It took the whole book to find out the depth of what he had done and I found myself ultimately shocked. It was initally strange to me that William became worse than 'The Man'. Talking of which, I wanted a bit more wrap up on what happened to that particular piece of disgusting human.
This story gave me all the feels, many of which were uncomfortable. From suffrage to the personal stories, I experienced it as a bystander and raged. This debut was excellent and I highly recommend this book to all feminists and historical fiction fans.
Thank you Welbeck Publishing for the review copy.
CW: rape, sexual violence, mental illness, murder
Find this review at A Take From Two Cities Blog.
Tragedy on tragedy
Compelling feminist era of history
Miscarriages of justice
I am all wrung out on finishing The Trial of Lotta Rae. This historical read was compelling from front to back, it made me feel so many things and most of my emotions at the events in this book centred on anger, frustration and sadness. The story is incredibly tragic but it is also important. Content warnings below.
I thought the trial from the title would be the centre of the book, but actually it was early in the story but a crucial catalyst for the events that came after. Essentially, this book was about men and women, men's power over women in the era before and during suffrage and ultimately a personal tale of that experience. Lotta was such a complex character to unravel. She was abused, bereaved, a fighter, manipulative and a feminist. There were very few good men in her life but Pap and Raff were such amazing advocates for her and women in her situation, I lived for their words and support in this.
William. What can I say but that this man's story unfurled slowly and insiduously. It took the whole book to find out the depth of what he had done and I found myself ultimately shocked. It was initally strange to me that William became worse than 'The Man'. Talking of which, I wanted a bit more wrap up on what happened to that particular piece of disgusting human.
This story gave me all the feels, many of which were uncomfortable. From suffrage to the personal stories, I experienced it as a bystander and raged. This debut was excellent and I highly recommend this book to all feminists and historical fiction fans.
Thank you Welbeck Publishing for the review copy.
CW: rape, sexual violence, mental illness, murder
Find this review at A Take From Two Cities Blog.
April 2, 2025
This is a beautiful, sad, haunting story set in the time of Emily Pankhurst and the Sufragettes in London.
Charlotte Ray affectionately known as Lotta is raped by a despicable, wealthy male, Henry Allen Griffiths. Supported by her mam and pap, she makes the decision to press charges against him, believing that her lawyer William Lindon will fight the good fight and do her justice.
William, has however only been approached to take the case by his peers as they know his track record is poor and therefore more likely to lose. Coupled with his questionable financial status and career prospects at the time, he accepts and his lack of integrity is soon realised.
Betrayed by her counsel, with far-reaching ramifications for her family, her life takes a turn for the worse ultimately resulting in the loss of both her parents and colouring her outlook on life and God.
Enter the Suffragette movement and some saintly characters with whom Lotta finds commonality and with them comes Raff, William's son, and the reader is taken on a journey, exquisitely written about betrayal, payback, love, loss and regret cleverly intermingled with historical facts. A resounding 5 stars
Charlotte Ray affectionately known as Lotta is raped by a despicable, wealthy male, Henry Allen Griffiths. Supported by her mam and pap, she makes the decision to press charges against him, believing that her lawyer William Lindon will fight the good fight and do her justice.
William, has however only been approached to take the case by his peers as they know his track record is poor and therefore more likely to lose. Coupled with his questionable financial status and career prospects at the time, he accepts and his lack of integrity is soon realised.
Betrayed by her counsel, with far-reaching ramifications for her family, her life takes a turn for the worse ultimately resulting in the loss of both her parents and colouring her outlook on life and God.
Enter the Suffragette movement and some saintly characters with whom Lotta finds commonality and with them comes Raff, William's son, and the reader is taken on a journey, exquisitely written about betrayal, payback, love, loss and regret cleverly intermingled with historical facts. A resounding 5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2022
This book begs to be awarded 5 stars simply because one cannot ignore the exceptional writing throughout what is a harrowing but compelling story set in the lates1800s/early 1900s, encompassing WWI, and a society seemingly very different to today's, but in actual fact scarily relevant.
It is full of tragedy and injustice. Lotta Rae is an ordinary girl from an ordinary working family who is treated abominably by the justice system and loses so much of what she holds dear throughout her tormented life.
It is not a book to read if you are feeling at all dispirited or prone to melancholia, for it accurately portrays a society where the rich and powerful can evade punishment, treat others without any respect or compassion, denying women a voice and believing that sending men to certain death during wartime an honorable deed.
Lotta garners sympathy whilst William Linden and his ilk provoke feelings of disgust as the reader is taken on a historical tour through the suffragette battle to emancipate women and the horrors of the First World War. Even though this is probably deemed an historical novel, for me it spans any age in time because it is about people, their motivations and loyalties, their wrongdoings and their triumphs, but ultimately the pain we unleash on others when we turn our back on humanity, discarding our morals as simply as removing a pair of gloves on a cold winter's day.
Lotta Rae faces many trials throughout the novel and her sentence is genuinely one without end. Harsh, brutal and extremely sad you find yourself wishing for a world of peace and fairness.
Maybe fiction is far close to fact than we ever really credit it.
It is full of tragedy and injustice. Lotta Rae is an ordinary girl from an ordinary working family who is treated abominably by the justice system and loses so much of what she holds dear throughout her tormented life.
It is not a book to read if you are feeling at all dispirited or prone to melancholia, for it accurately portrays a society where the rich and powerful can evade punishment, treat others without any respect or compassion, denying women a voice and believing that sending men to certain death during wartime an honorable deed.
Lotta garners sympathy whilst William Linden and his ilk provoke feelings of disgust as the reader is taken on a historical tour through the suffragette battle to emancipate women and the horrors of the First World War. Even though this is probably deemed an historical novel, for me it spans any age in time because it is about people, their motivations and loyalties, their wrongdoings and their triumphs, but ultimately the pain we unleash on others when we turn our back on humanity, discarding our morals as simply as removing a pair of gloves on a cold winter's day.
Lotta Rae faces many trials throughout the novel and her sentence is genuinely one without end. Harsh, brutal and extremely sad you find yourself wishing for a world of peace and fairness.
Maybe fiction is far close to fact than we ever really credit it.
September 16, 2022
Well written but utterly depressing novel…too much misery for my taste. I found that neither of the main characters grew or developed sufficiently.
April 11, 2022
An absolute masterpiece, I was gripped from the very first page. This is not a happy tale but one that is all too believable, the plight of a working class girl against a heavily weighted system. The cheapness of human dignity and life by those of a supposedly higher refined class. This made my blood boil so many times but I was compelled to finish it by the sublime writing.
April 11, 2022
The Trial of Lotta Rae is a compelling page-turner. We turn our way through the first quarter of the 20th century and the story of Lotta Rae's many misadventures as a woman in a man's world. Her eventual involvement in the suffragette movement is deftly handled by MacGowan and we are treated to an insider's version of the struggle. This is just one example of how history and fiction meld seamlessly throughout this novel, which wears its research lightly. Its two protagonists, Lotta Rae and William Linden are perfectly pitched, light and shade chasing each other in a world in which the meaning of 'justice' is always up for grabs. Siobhán MacGowan has a gift for story-telling. This much is true.
April 11, 2022
Today I finished reading the final stave of The Trial of Lotta Rae with The Pigeonhole. It’s a tragic story set in the early 1900s, written by Siobhan MacGowan. It follows the downfall, rise and final downfall of Charlotte Rae, known as Lotta, a young woman who suffers at the hands of a wealthy man and turns to a lowly barrister, William Linden, for help when her father reports her rape to the police. He loses the case, and the rapist goes free. As Linden’s reputation grows, Lotta and her family suffer. Lotta resolves to get revenge, but it doesn’t go as planned. For a while her life improves, but she doesn’t reckon with the depths William Linden will go to protect himself. A well-written, compelling book and an intense read.
April 6, 2023
I would give this a million stars if I could.
Wow.. Just wow...
The Trial Of Lotta Rae is a debut?!
Just finished this beautifully written book and now sat with a headache from crying and all the thoughts I'm feeling now I'm finished.
Lotta Rae has my heart forever.
Siobhan has written a truly stunning masterpiece set in the 1900's.
The writing was so realistic and believable I actually felt transported back in time.
Absolutely adored it 💕
Wow.. Just wow...
The Trial Of Lotta Rae is a debut?!
Just finished this beautifully written book and now sat with a headache from crying and all the thoughts I'm feeling now I'm finished.
Lotta Rae has my heart forever.
Siobhan has written a truly stunning masterpiece set in the 1900's.
The writing was so realistic and believable I actually felt transported back in time.
Absolutely adored it 💕
March 9, 2024
This book left me feeling very heartbroken for Lotta. Everything she went through and everything she fought for was incredibly inspiring. I feel like I learnt a lot, I loved the historical aspect of the suffragettes and I feel I want to read more from this time period.
I was left despising one of the characters and I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that for a character in a book before. Everything that happened to Lotta was heartbreaking and saddening. a really great book if you like historical fiction.
I was left despising one of the characters and I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that for a character in a book before. Everything that happened to Lotta was heartbreaking and saddening. a really great book if you like historical fiction.
November 13, 2022
I didn't reread the blurb for this one before I started reading it, and for some reason I thought it was a fantasy novel, so was a little bit surprised when it turned out to be historical fiction. I think the cover was what was giving me the fantasy vibes, but after the initial surprise of not getting what I was expecting, I was completely captivated by the wonderful writing and the amazing storyline. It was tragic, and sad, and haunting. An absolutely wonderful debut from Siobhan MacGowan!
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
May 29, 2022
"I have seen my name become notorious. Lotta Rae. The talk of London. There was talk, much talk for sure. But was there truth? Was there justice?"
Halloween Night 1906. Lotta Rae, a working-class girl working in a brewery, is attacked by a gentleman in a dark alley. She bravely reports the crime and heads to court with her barrister William Linden by her side. When the devastating verdict is announced it sparks a chain of tragic events that will alter Lotta’s life forever. Years later Lotta still searches for justice. Only this time it won’t be the courts that she trusts to deliver it.
The Trial of Lotta Rae is a story of power, privilege and the fight for justice. I quickly devoured this haunting debut, the air of menace and foreboding that lingers over every page holding me captive. Siobhan MacGowan’s beguiling prose, skilled storytelling and memorable characters are a potent combination that I felt powerless to resist. Steeped in history, the author has set the story against a backdrop of the suffragettes’ struggle, transporting you back to a time when doctors believed that only with consent could you conceive, and any woman who just walks with a man is seen as leading him on. It all combines to create an atmosphere of authenticity that is so well done I actually found myself searching the internet to see if Lotta Rae and her story were real. I am in awe of the fact it is not yet she crafted a character and story so convincing that I believed every word could be true.
"It seems we imagine there will be a harbinger of those days that come to shatter our lives. Will herald their arrival not with duplicitous blue sky, but a clutch of foreboding clouds. That we will be granted a sign. But the day it happened dawned comforting in its simplicity: sunny, fresh and bright. "
The story is narrated by not only Lotta Rae, but also her barrister, William Linden. I enjoyed these very different perspectives, though it did get a little confusing going back and forth between them in the same chapter at times. And while both sides are equally well written and both characters compelling, Lotta is without a doubt the star of this book. Fierce, feisty, strong and resolute, she leaps from the pages. I could feel her anguish after the attack, her shame during the court case, disbelief at the verdict, and, finally, the desire for revenge that burned in her like fire. She is someone who manages to be sympathetic even when not likeable and I was rooting for her every step of the way. William was someone whose character surprised me, though I don’t want to say much more to avoid spoilers. But I will say he is fantastically written and a very believable character of the time for his class and gender.
An intense and enthralling debut, Lotta and her story is one that will stay with me.
Halloween Night 1906. Lotta Rae, a working-class girl working in a brewery, is attacked by a gentleman in a dark alley. She bravely reports the crime and heads to court with her barrister William Linden by her side. When the devastating verdict is announced it sparks a chain of tragic events that will alter Lotta’s life forever. Years later Lotta still searches for justice. Only this time it won’t be the courts that she trusts to deliver it.
The Trial of Lotta Rae is a story of power, privilege and the fight for justice. I quickly devoured this haunting debut, the air of menace and foreboding that lingers over every page holding me captive. Siobhan MacGowan’s beguiling prose, skilled storytelling and memorable characters are a potent combination that I felt powerless to resist. Steeped in history, the author has set the story against a backdrop of the suffragettes’ struggle, transporting you back to a time when doctors believed that only with consent could you conceive, and any woman who just walks with a man is seen as leading him on. It all combines to create an atmosphere of authenticity that is so well done I actually found myself searching the internet to see if Lotta Rae and her story were real. I am in awe of the fact it is not yet she crafted a character and story so convincing that I believed every word could be true.
"It seems we imagine there will be a harbinger of those days that come to shatter our lives. Will herald their arrival not with duplicitous blue sky, but a clutch of foreboding clouds. That we will be granted a sign. But the day it happened dawned comforting in its simplicity: sunny, fresh and bright. "
The story is narrated by not only Lotta Rae, but also her barrister, William Linden. I enjoyed these very different perspectives, though it did get a little confusing going back and forth between them in the same chapter at times. And while both sides are equally well written and both characters compelling, Lotta is without a doubt the star of this book. Fierce, feisty, strong and resolute, she leaps from the pages. I could feel her anguish after the attack, her shame during the court case, disbelief at the verdict, and, finally, the desire for revenge that burned in her like fire. She is someone who manages to be sympathetic even when not likeable and I was rooting for her every step of the way. William was someone whose character surprised me, though I don’t want to say much more to avoid spoilers. But I will say he is fantastically written and a very believable character of the time for his class and gender.
An intense and enthralling debut, Lotta and her story is one that will stay with me.
June 8, 2022
Often when I blog about historical fiction, I mention how I had no idea about the historical event in question – but to my delight, I knew a little of the period in which The Trial of Lotta Rae is set, having studied this period for A-level history, many years ago and it was a period I particularly loved learning about.
In The Trial of Lotta Rae, we meet 19 year old Lotta, who works at the local brewery. She has loving parents and a comfortable home and is courting a respectable young man. During a Halloween party at the brewery, Lotta is attacked by a wealthy and influential gentleman. Her family are distraught by what has happened to her and take the unusual step of taking him to court so he can be punished for what he has done. She is assigned a barrister, William Linden who becomes a good friend to Lotta an her family and promises to get justice for her.
When the verdict isn’t in her favour, the repercussions are devastating and far reaching for Lotta and her family. Some years later, Lotta meets William’s son Raff and she thinks to punish her barrister for everything she has lost despite his promises and becomes friendly with Raff thinking she can get some sort of revenge on William.
The book starts in 1906, covering events on the run up to World War 1 as well as the political goings on in the United Kingdom with the suffragette movement which both Lotta and Raff become involved with.
The Trial of Lotta Rae will make you furious. The way poor Lotta is treated by the judicial system is atrocious – the blame is for what happened is firmly at her door and the advantages of money and privilege work against her. Her happy life is ripped apart and she struggles to survive but makes good friends along the way. Lotta is a heroine you can’t hep but want to get behind.
Told from the viewpoints of both Lotta and William Linden, it is a moving and memorable tale. I really enjoyed the historical setting but I am thankful for how far we have come! The Trial of Lotta Rae is an engaging debut from Siobhan MacGowan.
In The Trial of Lotta Rae, we meet 19 year old Lotta, who works at the local brewery. She has loving parents and a comfortable home and is courting a respectable young man. During a Halloween party at the brewery, Lotta is attacked by a wealthy and influential gentleman. Her family are distraught by what has happened to her and take the unusual step of taking him to court so he can be punished for what he has done. She is assigned a barrister, William Linden who becomes a good friend to Lotta an her family and promises to get justice for her.
When the verdict isn’t in her favour, the repercussions are devastating and far reaching for Lotta and her family. Some years later, Lotta meets William’s son Raff and she thinks to punish her barrister for everything she has lost despite his promises and becomes friendly with Raff thinking she can get some sort of revenge on William.
The book starts in 1906, covering events on the run up to World War 1 as well as the political goings on in the United Kingdom with the suffragette movement which both Lotta and Raff become involved with.
The Trial of Lotta Rae will make you furious. The way poor Lotta is treated by the judicial system is atrocious – the blame is for what happened is firmly at her door and the advantages of money and privilege work against her. Her happy life is ripped apart and she struggles to survive but makes good friends along the way. Lotta is a heroine you can’t hep but want to get behind.
Told from the viewpoints of both Lotta and William Linden, it is a moving and memorable tale. I really enjoyed the historical setting but I am thankful for how far we have come! The Trial of Lotta Rae is an engaging debut from Siobhan MacGowan.
April 11, 2022
This was difficult to read. I felt sorry for Lotta Rae throughout the whole book. As difficult as it is to read, it is also compelling. Lotta is raped by a drunken wealthy gentleman. Lotta’s family may be working class but they have high morals. Lotta is determined to give evidence in a trial which is tilted against her. The barrister has a lot to lose both professionally and personally if he loses this case. Neither of them knows exactly how their lives will become entangled in the future.
After losing the case, Lotta is forced from her usual employment to a Soho brothel. Her father’s reaction to the case finds him on the wrong side of the law, no longer of any help to his family. Lotta’s experiences make her hardened to the world around her and into the arms of the Suffragette movement. The book details the struggles faced by the movement on their way to make a fairer, more equitable world.
The book is written about a time just before The First World War, when women stayed at home and did what they were told. Women don’t have the vote and the movement to get the vote continued to grow and become more violent. The book is full of research as Siobhan MacGowan seamlessly weaves her narrative with real events. It is really well written, but it won’t do anything to lift you out of a dark mood. Enjoy isn’t the right word, but I did totally understand the amount of effort it must have taken to write this beautiful book.
After losing the case, Lotta is forced from her usual employment to a Soho brothel. Her father’s reaction to the case finds him on the wrong side of the law, no longer of any help to his family. Lotta’s experiences make her hardened to the world around her and into the arms of the Suffragette movement. The book details the struggles faced by the movement on their way to make a fairer, more equitable world.
The book is written about a time just before The First World War, when women stayed at home and did what they were told. Women don’t have the vote and the movement to get the vote continued to grow and become more violent. The book is full of research as Siobhan MacGowan seamlessly weaves her narrative with real events. It is really well written, but it won’t do anything to lift you out of a dark mood. Enjoy isn’t the right word, but I did totally understand the amount of effort it must have taken to write this beautiful book.
May 31, 2022
This book.
Being that I’m a mood reader, I wasn’t ready to pick this up just yet but as I’m on a tour for it soon, it seemed like a good idea ...
It has left me absolutely heartbroken at the injustice and the treatment of Lotta Rae.
The devastation that follows one horrific night for Lotta is truly haunting and I feel like this book will be one I remember for a long time.
The writing is so compelling and completely pulls you into the story, evoking empathy throughout every scene.
Even writing this review now, I feel on the verge of tears. My chest feels right with emotion.
It really brings home the reality of life for a working class woman in the beginning of the twentieth century and the power of a wealthy, influential gentleman.
Not only am I heartbroken at Lotta’s story, I’m also angry.
Angry that this was what life was like for them back then. That they had no rights, no voice, nothing.
I can’t even bear to think of their treatment in prisons and Bedlam. I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it. It was torture for them. There’s no other word for it.
This is by no means a lighthearted read. It’s real and it’s raw. It’s haunting, heartbreaking and totally devastating.
There’s no happy ending.
It’s one tragedy after another for Lotta Rae.
But it packs a punch and pulls at your emotions.
It’s brilliant.
Being that I’m a mood reader, I wasn’t ready to pick this up just yet but as I’m on a tour for it soon, it seemed like a good idea ...
It has left me absolutely heartbroken at the injustice and the treatment of Lotta Rae.
The devastation that follows one horrific night for Lotta is truly haunting and I feel like this book will be one I remember for a long time.
The writing is so compelling and completely pulls you into the story, evoking empathy throughout every scene.
Even writing this review now, I feel on the verge of tears. My chest feels right with emotion.
It really brings home the reality of life for a working class woman in the beginning of the twentieth century and the power of a wealthy, influential gentleman.
Not only am I heartbroken at Lotta’s story, I’m also angry.
Angry that this was what life was like for them back then. That they had no rights, no voice, nothing.
I can’t even bear to think of their treatment in prisons and Bedlam. I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it. It was torture for them. There’s no other word for it.
This is by no means a lighthearted read. It’s real and it’s raw. It’s haunting, heartbreaking and totally devastating.
There’s no happy ending.
It’s one tragedy after another for Lotta Rae.
But it packs a punch and pulls at your emotions.
It’s brilliant.
April 18, 2022
Set in London during the time of the Suffragettes, a 15 year old girl is attacked by an affluent gentleman. The case goes to court in the hands of barrister William Linden. When things don’t go the girl’s way, her life is never the same again and she finds herself in pursuit of vengeance.
This is such a fabulous read and wonderfully written, too. It’s very evocative of the era it’s set in, having a great sense of time and place. It’s quite a dark and harrowing tale but extremely compelling. It combines fact with fiction beautifully with the suffragette movement cleverly woven into the plot. The characters are well written and believable, especially Lotta. I did feel for her plight and I did shed the odd tear or two. A gripping and captivating story which I can thoroughly recommend to historical fiction and thriller readers both!
This is such a fabulous read and wonderfully written, too. It’s very evocative of the era it’s set in, having a great sense of time and place. It’s quite a dark and harrowing tale but extremely compelling. It combines fact with fiction beautifully with the suffragette movement cleverly woven into the plot. The characters are well written and believable, especially Lotta. I did feel for her plight and I did shed the odd tear or two. A gripping and captivating story which I can thoroughly recommend to historical fiction and thriller readers both!
May 27, 2022
An incredibly moving story. Lotta Rae suffers the most despicable crimes against her person, her good name and her family. She is betrayed by ones she trusts. You cannot fail to be emotionally moved by this tale of abuses and her desire for justice. A compelling read that engages until the final line. With thanks to the author, the publisher and The PigeonholeHq for the chance to read.
April 11, 2022
Thanks so much to Pigeonhole and Siobhan MacGowan for an early copy of this truly fantastic read - poignant and beautifully written. I read most of the book across 2 days and was completely captivated by the story and the characters. Highly recommend.
May 1, 2023
What an incredibly powerful and compelling story of a life, I think Lotta will stay with me. It was hard to put down especially the last third or so. So many interesting themes and aspects to the story.
November 9, 2024
I enjoyed this book but felt that especially towards the end, the story could have benefitted from being edited. It was almost as if the writer tries to include every type of ( negative) female experience of the period into one characters life. It did feel a bit contrived and as a result the story lost its way.
September 17, 2024
New favourite!! Even though the prose was sometimes... Kinda hard to understand. The "he" perspective makes it kind of difficult to understand which character in the scene is being referred to.
However: totally worth it, even if you read it just for the plot and plotting!!
However: totally worth it, even if you read it just for the plot and plotting!!
August 3, 2023
Some time in the early nineteen seventies a brother and sister with Irish roots busked for pennies around Kings Cross in London. He went on to become a singer/songwriter who penned the most successful Christmas hit of all time. She became a journalist and has just released her first novel. Set in the early years of the twentieth century, and in the London streets where the siblings grew up in the 1960s, Siobhan MacGowan's masterpiece is no fairy tale. Where her brother's most well known work is a hymn of praise for down and out Irish émigrés in New York, The Trial of Lotta Rae combines an homage to the suffragette movement with a passionate anti-war message and a lament for the absence of justice for those who lack power. Above all, it is a compelling exploration of the corrosive effect of guilt, not only on the guilty but on those they love.
The crime perpetrated against Lotta, a humble clerk in a brewery office, on the night of Halloween 1906, has repercussions, for her and her legal representative, that echo through the next twelve years until her death. Revealing that she is dead by the end of the book is not a spoiler because it soon becomes apparent that her presence beside William Linden on an important journey, during which her story is told, is as a ghost haunting and tormenting him. A clever device which enables the author to reveal both his and her versions of the story side by side, as the two voices alternate.
It is a monumental work, not always easy to read, often harrowing in its descriptions of the brutal treatment meted out to hunger striking women and the horrors of trench warfare. But there are lighter moments, too, not least in the delightful episodes featuring Lotta's child.
It is impossible not to draw parallels with Dickens. Had he lived long enough to experience the fight for voting rights and the futility of the Great War, this is surely how he would have set about documenting them. The two central characters represent the best and worst of human nature. She obsessed with the need, not only for justice but for retribution. He racked with guilt, desperately clinging on to flawed and out dated values, accompanied by an abiding contempt for women and the "weak" men who support them. Woven in and out of their story is a cast of men and women who exhibit varying degrees of kindness and empathy.
Like Dickens's works, and Fairy Tale of New York, MacGowan's debut is an experience that stays with you long after you first encounter it. Although set more than a century ago, it has important messages for today. In Western democracies we take universal suffrage for granted but there are many parts of the world in which it is absent. Current events in Iran being only the most recent reminder of this fact. In many places justice remains hard to achieve for those who do not have the luxury of friends in high places. Despite the lives lost in the "war to end wars", the many conflicts that have taken place since, and the billions of dollars expended on increasingly complex defence systems, war remains an ever present blight on humanity.
We rely on writers like McGowan to remind us of these truths.
The crime perpetrated against Lotta, a humble clerk in a brewery office, on the night of Halloween 1906, has repercussions, for her and her legal representative, that echo through the next twelve years until her death. Revealing that she is dead by the end of the book is not a spoiler because it soon becomes apparent that her presence beside William Linden on an important journey, during which her story is told, is as a ghost haunting and tormenting him. A clever device which enables the author to reveal both his and her versions of the story side by side, as the two voices alternate.
It is a monumental work, not always easy to read, often harrowing in its descriptions of the brutal treatment meted out to hunger striking women and the horrors of trench warfare. But there are lighter moments, too, not least in the delightful episodes featuring Lotta's child.
It is impossible not to draw parallels with Dickens. Had he lived long enough to experience the fight for voting rights and the futility of the Great War, this is surely how he would have set about documenting them. The two central characters represent the best and worst of human nature. She obsessed with the need, not only for justice but for retribution. He racked with guilt, desperately clinging on to flawed and out dated values, accompanied by an abiding contempt for women and the "weak" men who support them. Woven in and out of their story is a cast of men and women who exhibit varying degrees of kindness and empathy.
Like Dickens's works, and Fairy Tale of New York, MacGowan's debut is an experience that stays with you long after you first encounter it. Although set more than a century ago, it has important messages for today. In Western democracies we take universal suffrage for granted but there are many parts of the world in which it is absent. Current events in Iran being only the most recent reminder of this fact. In many places justice remains hard to achieve for those who do not have the luxury of friends in high places. Despite the lives lost in the "war to end wars", the many conflicts that have taken place since, and the billions of dollars expended on increasingly complex defence systems, war remains an ever present blight on humanity.
We rely on writers like McGowan to remind us of these truths.
April 11, 2022
Working class 15-year-old Lotta Rae, having been brutally attacked and assaulted by a man of high standing, an investor at the company where she works, is persuaded to have him prosecuted for rape. In fact it’s her father, Pap, who reports the crime and so the divide between rich and poor becomes obvious.
Because when Lotta is defended by barrister William Linden, little does she know that those in power will simply throw her to the wolves. ‘Evidence’ comes to light that she is not a virgin, so her accusation of rape is dismissed, because she is obviously ‘a woman of ill-repute’ and her attacker walks free, HIS reputation intact. That’s how it was – and I don’t think much changed for many many years, a woman’s sexual history playing against her in court.
Lotta also doesn’t know initially that Linden was told to lose the case or his failing career would be over. Putting his own family first, he uses his wily ways to get Lotta to trust him, drawing her into his web of deceit. The stress and shame of the court case results in Pap taking the law into his own hands and so a series of tragedies begin.
Oh Lotta! How much sadder could your life become? I loved this book, but some mornings I would wake and dread reading the next stave (we read in 10 staves with The Pigeonhole) thinking ‘can things get any worse for her?’ And they did, till by the end I was in floods of tears, but not just for Lotta.
But don’t be put off. Siobhan MacGowan is a poet as well as a novelist, her use of language so lyrical and beautiful that I almost couldn’t bear it at times. And the historical details about World War One and the suffragette movement added to my appreciation of this wonderful, heartfelt read. A true masterpiece.
But in times to come it will be this part that I remember the most vividly. Shortly after another tragedy which I can’t mention because of spoilers, Lotta visits a spiritualist in Camden.
‘…I can see much suffering in your life. You have lost someone dear, perhaps more than one,’ she says. ‘And I see trouble there…perhaps one who….has wronged you greatly.’
‘Perhaps you are finding it hard to forgive….perhaps it is in forgiveness that your suffering will ease.’
‘Forgiveness is not about pardoning the other person their wrongdoings….It is not about forgiving but forgoing. Letting go. In that acceptance you are released. You can banish the wrongdoer from your life, for it is not they but your own feelings of hatred and resentment that keeps you bound to them.’
There is a lot more of what she tells Lotta which tore at my heart. She was so right. But so difficult to believe in and follow the advice.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
Because when Lotta is defended by barrister William Linden, little does she know that those in power will simply throw her to the wolves. ‘Evidence’ comes to light that she is not a virgin, so her accusation of rape is dismissed, because she is obviously ‘a woman of ill-repute’ and her attacker walks free, HIS reputation intact. That’s how it was – and I don’t think much changed for many many years, a woman’s sexual history playing against her in court.
Lotta also doesn’t know initially that Linden was told to lose the case or his failing career would be over. Putting his own family first, he uses his wily ways to get Lotta to trust him, drawing her into his web of deceit. The stress and shame of the court case results in Pap taking the law into his own hands and so a series of tragedies begin.
Oh Lotta! How much sadder could your life become? I loved this book, but some mornings I would wake and dread reading the next stave (we read in 10 staves with The Pigeonhole) thinking ‘can things get any worse for her?’ And they did, till by the end I was in floods of tears, but not just for Lotta.
But don’t be put off. Siobhan MacGowan is a poet as well as a novelist, her use of language so lyrical and beautiful that I almost couldn’t bear it at times. And the historical details about World War One and the suffragette movement added to my appreciation of this wonderful, heartfelt read. A true masterpiece.
But in times to come it will be this part that I remember the most vividly. Shortly after another tragedy which I can’t mention because of spoilers, Lotta visits a spiritualist in Camden.
‘…I can see much suffering in your life. You have lost someone dear, perhaps more than one,’ she says. ‘And I see trouble there…perhaps one who….has wronged you greatly.’
‘Perhaps you are finding it hard to forgive….perhaps it is in forgiveness that your suffering will ease.’
‘Forgiveness is not about pardoning the other person their wrongdoings….It is not about forgiving but forgoing. Letting go. In that acceptance you are released. You can banish the wrongdoer from your life, for it is not they but your own feelings of hatred and resentment that keeps you bound to them.’
There is a lot more of what she tells Lotta which tore at my heart. She was so right. But so difficult to believe in and follow the advice.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.
April 14, 2022
The Trial of Lotta Rae (Charlotte Rae) is a harrowing insight of the tremendous differences that existed in the early 1900’s between the honest, poor, hardworking people and the elite in society not only in monetary terms but justice and respect. At this time Emmeline Pankhurst and her suffragettes were fighting for the emancipation of women, marching through London in the hope that Prime Minister H H Asquith would sign a Bill giving women the right to vote.
Lotta is a happy 19 year old living with her Ma and Pa in Peabody house, Spitalfields she works as a typist at Whitbreads Brewery. Her life was shattered when she attended a works Halloween party with her Pa. During the evening Lotta had a tiff with her colleague and boyfriend Albert and upset she decided to get some fresh air. As she walked outside an older gentleman, Henry Alan Griffiths, who had an interest in Whitbreads Brewery and had previously made lewd remarks to her in the office, followed her outside and walked up to her expressing concern that she was upset, he roughly took her arm and suddenly pushed her against a wall and raped her.
Some colleagues found her crying and at her request took her home to her Ma. When her Pa returned home he was stunned to hear she had been raped by Griffith and went to the Police Station to report the rape.
What follows is nothing short of a travesty of justice, Griffiths is totally cleared of the rape and Lotta is branded a slut. Her devious lawyer Nicholas Linden deliberately mislead the jury so that Griffith was cleared of all charges.
The repercussions of this terrible rape are devastating to not only Lotta but subsequently her family and friends , betrayal, imprisonment, hunger strikes, death and more are some of the consequences.
A beautifully written historical novel set in a very important era for the rights of Women. Thank you Pigeonhole and Siobhan for the opportunity to read The Trial of Lotta Rae.
Lotta is a happy 19 year old living with her Ma and Pa in Peabody house, Spitalfields she works as a typist at Whitbreads Brewery. Her life was shattered when she attended a works Halloween party with her Pa. During the evening Lotta had a tiff with her colleague and boyfriend Albert and upset she decided to get some fresh air. As she walked outside an older gentleman, Henry Alan Griffiths, who had an interest in Whitbreads Brewery and had previously made lewd remarks to her in the office, followed her outside and walked up to her expressing concern that she was upset, he roughly took her arm and suddenly pushed her against a wall and raped her.
Some colleagues found her crying and at her request took her home to her Ma. When her Pa returned home he was stunned to hear she had been raped by Griffith and went to the Police Station to report the rape.
What follows is nothing short of a travesty of justice, Griffiths is totally cleared of the rape and Lotta is branded a slut. Her devious lawyer Nicholas Linden deliberately mislead the jury so that Griffith was cleared of all charges.
The repercussions of this terrible rape are devastating to not only Lotta but subsequently her family and friends , betrayal, imprisonment, hunger strikes, death and more are some of the consequences.
A beautifully written historical novel set in a very important era for the rights of Women. Thank you Pigeonhole and Siobhan for the opportunity to read The Trial of Lotta Rae.
July 30, 2022
"So long, you plagued me, a ghost in my mind until I made you flesh again. For you cannot rid yourself of a ghost. Cannot slay it. Only flesh can be destroyed. Only flesh can bleed."
The Trial of Lotta Rae is an important and yet tragic tale. The way this story is woven is almost magical, the way that as a reader, you know from the first few pages what the devastating conclusion will be, and yet you're helpless. You can't look away. You can't peel your eyes from the page as you storm towards the end. It's intense and all consuming.
This is one of those books where everything just seems to work. The characters, the setting, the storyline itself, it all comes together to create a twisted, enthralling masterpiece. There's something so very haunting and so very beautiful about this novel. Perhaps it comes from how fantastically it's written, maybe it's in how raw it feels, whatever it may be, it's there.
This isn't just another historical fiction novel. This is a moving and poignant tale of the horrific injustice one woman faces at the hands of many. This is Lotta's story.
"There was justice. There was punishment. The punishment of her. The eternity of her. She and he forever bound by what wrong he had done her."
The Trial of Lotta Rae is an important and yet tragic tale. The way this story is woven is almost magical, the way that as a reader, you know from the first few pages what the devastating conclusion will be, and yet you're helpless. You can't look away. You can't peel your eyes from the page as you storm towards the end. It's intense and all consuming.
"If only it were so simple to find rest. Peace. If only your pleas alone could set my spirit free, let me fly, go where I imagine other souls drift easy on a stream of silver light. I yearn to join them, but there is a rot within me that keeps me bound to you. For all the days that came after, every suffering in my life, rose from that solitary act, the soft strokes, the violence of your pen. It is as if my soul is severed by that cruelty. That it cries, drives me to dig my cold dead fingers into your own soul and bury in my ghostly nails."
This is one of those books where everything just seems to work. The characters, the setting, the storyline itself, it all comes together to create a twisted, enthralling masterpiece. There's something so very haunting and so very beautiful about this novel. Perhaps it comes from how fantastically it's written, maybe it's in how raw it feels, whatever it may be, it's there.
This isn't just another historical fiction novel. This is a moving and poignant tale of the horrific injustice one woman faces at the hands of many. This is Lotta's story.
"There was justice. There was punishment. The punishment of her. The eternity of her. She and he forever bound by what wrong he had done her."
May 11, 2023
The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan tells the story of Lotta Rae, a young working class girl who was attacked on Halloween night 1906, and William Linden, the barrister tasked with prosecuting her attacker. However, for both Lotta and William, the ill-fated trial is only the beginning of their story, as Lotta quickly finds herself intent on seeking revenge on those who have wronged her.
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This is a book that was on my Christmas wish list as I had seen a few good reviews on bookstagram and, I'm not going to lie, I liked the shiny cover. Sadly, the book didn't really do it for me. On the one hand, it was easy to read, well-paced, and engaging. It was also full of twists, and it proved me wrong when I thought I had predicted the ending. Unfortunately, I thought that the story itself fell short.
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For a start, there was so much packed into this book - war, suffrage, asylums, bereavement, rape, addiction, the criminal justice system, revenge etc. - that there just wasn't space to do any of it justice. Add into the mix a succession of implausible events, and characters who not only felt too modern for their time but also slightly flat, and the whole thing kind of fell apart. Further, for a protagonist who suffered so much, Lotta really managed to inspire a surprising amount of annoyance in me, hellbent as she was on seeking revenge on people ancillary to the attack rather than her attacker himself.
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This is a book that was on my Christmas wish list as I had seen a few good reviews on bookstagram and, I'm not going to lie, I liked the shiny cover. Sadly, the book didn't really do it for me. On the one hand, it was easy to read, well-paced, and engaging. It was also full of twists, and it proved me wrong when I thought I had predicted the ending. Unfortunately, I thought that the story itself fell short.
📚
For a start, there was so much packed into this book - war, suffrage, asylums, bereavement, rape, addiction, the criminal justice system, revenge etc. - that there just wasn't space to do any of it justice. Add into the mix a succession of implausible events, and characters who not only felt too modern for their time but also slightly flat, and the whole thing kind of fell apart. Further, for a protagonist who suffered so much, Lotta really managed to inspire a surprising amount of annoyance in me, hellbent as she was on seeking revenge on people ancillary to the attack rather than her attacker himself.
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May 31, 2022
This is a fantastic read and wonderfully composed, too. The first part of the book is dedicated to the court trial of Lotta, and for me, it was the most exciting part. After that, the book quickly picks up the pace, and it is full of tragedy and injustice. Suddenly, years start flying by exposing various consequences, transformations, and life stories for all parties involved. The story accurately portrays a society where the rich and powerful can avoid retribution, treat others without any care or mercy, deny women a voice, and believe that sending men to certain death during wartime is an honourable act.
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It's all very evocative of the era it's set in, having an incredible feeling of time and place. It is a pretty gloomy and harrowing tale but highly convincing. It blends fact with fiction beautifully, with the suffragette movement cleverly incorporated into the plot.
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The characters are well developed and believable, especially Lotta. I felt for her while reading about her harsh and brutal experiences.
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I can thoroughly recommend this gripping and captivating story to historical fiction readers!
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It's all very evocative of the era it's set in, having an incredible feeling of time and place. It is a pretty gloomy and harrowing tale but highly convincing. It blends fact with fiction beautifully, with the suffragette movement cleverly incorporated into the plot.
⚖️
The characters are well developed and believable, especially Lotta. I felt for her while reading about her harsh and brutal experiences.
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I can thoroughly recommend this gripping and captivating story to historical fiction readers!
May 26, 2022
The Trial of Lotta Rae captured my imagination as right from the start I was on Lotta's side and yet as we discover justice isn't always on the side of the righteous. Bringing the mean moody streets of the East End of London to life we get to experience Lotta's downfall, her naive trust in authority and her search for justice and retribution.
Beautifully written with such a fine eye for historical detail, I felt immersed in the story and raced through the pages eager to discover more, not just about Lotta's sad life but also about the state of England in the early part of the twentieth century with the stalwart rise of the suffrage movement and the creeping threat of war.
The Trial of Lotta Rae is one of those haunting stories which stays with you long after the last page is turned and even as I closed the book my heart was still heavy at everything Lotta had suffered. It's definitely on my book of the year list.
Beautifully written with such a fine eye for historical detail, I felt immersed in the story and raced through the pages eager to discover more, not just about Lotta's sad life but also about the state of England in the early part of the twentieth century with the stalwart rise of the suffrage movement and the creeping threat of war.
The Trial of Lotta Rae is one of those haunting stories which stays with you long after the last page is turned and even as I closed the book my heart was still heavy at everything Lotta had suffered. It's definitely on my book of the year list.
January 1, 2023
The Trial of Lotta Rae is a devastating novel as it charts the fall of a young woman who was going about her business when a richer more powerful man, decided to have sex with her. The story is almost too awful to read, as it vividly charts the moments before and afterwards which have an impact throughout this woman's life.
The characters, the setting and the plot are all realistically painted which makes it all the harder to set the book aside despite the feeling of awaiting yet another train crash that pervades the whole story.
Powerful and devastating in equal measure.
The characters, the setting and the plot are all realistically painted which makes it all the harder to set the book aside despite the feeling of awaiting yet another train crash that pervades the whole story.
Powerful and devastating in equal measure.
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