The River Folk

by Margaret Dickinson

For twelve-year-old Mary Ann Clark life has always been tough. The pretty daughter of a wife-beating drunk, it is no surprise that she has grown up afraid of her own shadow. That is until 'Battling Bessie Ruddick' takes the young girl under her wing and into the heart of her bustling family.

Growing into an attractive young woman, Mary Ann yearns to be loved and when her affection for Bessie's son, Dan, is finally returned she becomes a skipper's wife. But the arduous life aboard ship is clearly not for her and only the arrival of a daughter, Lizzie, seems to hold the marriage together. Yet, tragically, the family is torn apart when Mary Ann is seduced by the promise of a happier life.

Although bewildered by her mother's disappearance, it is now up to Lizzie to help her father. For she, unlike Mary Ann, has inherited Dan's love of the river. But then, disturbingly, her life starts to follow the same pattern as her mother's . . .

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2001

About the author

Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by many further titles including Plough the Furrow, Sow the Seed and Reap the Harvest, which make up her Lincolnshire Fleethaven Trilogy. She is also the author of Fairfield Hall, Jenny's War and The Clippie Girls. Margaret is a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.

Reviews

[Anne Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t find this as easy a read as Margaret Dickinson’s books, maybe because it’s a departure from her usual farming folk. Although this one is still set in Lincolnshire, it’s as the title suggests about the people connected to the river trade, in this case the River Trent, which runs through the fictitious town of Elsborough. The story begins with Bessie, stalwart of Waterman’s Yard, close by the river, and her family of husband Bert and three sons. Following a tragedy, Bessie takes orphan Mary Ann into her home. Mary Ann is obsessed with elder son Dan even though she is only a child and this causes many problems, not least of which is Mary Ann’s ability to manipulate circumstances to her own ends. When Mary Ann starts work as a maid at the local hall, she transfers her obsession to son and heir Randolph. When it becomes obvious that he has no intention of marrying her, she runs back to Bessie and to Dan, whom she cajoles into marrying her, despite his feelings for another girl. Some years later, when daughter Lizzie is a child, Mary Ann, now a skipper’s wife, disappears. Growing up, Lizzie has her own mistakes to make and problems to sort out. Covering a period just after WWI and taking in WWII, this is an absorbing, if not always easy to read, novel.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author cleverly draws together various characters to illustrate the story. In this book we see how class and the barriers between rich and poor, dissatisfaction with one's life and the actions and consequences of them all come together to make a really great read.

[Jennifer Chatten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some things this book does well - it is evocative of a time and place in our history. The time (from just after WW1 until just after WW2) is often covered in fiction, but the place (Lincolnshire) is not and I enjoyed reading about it. The author conjures the working class home and community really successfully and even the upper class homes pretty well. There are a lot of characters and, while many are pure caricatures (the gossiping neighbour, the rakish upper class rogue, the battleaxe but heart of gold matriarch), they are all clearly drawn. There are some places where the book makes us think about difficult issues. Are families cursed by their genes into making the same mistakes over and over? Should the mistakes of the parents be visited on their children?

The main reason for the two stars is that I really dislike the overriding message of the book - settle for the love of a good man, even if you don't love him back with any passion. That will be better for you in the end. Following your heart leads to ruin. Many a life has been destroyed by that advice.

Apart from that, though, there were places where the characters did things so wildly out of line with their previous actions that it left me scratching my head. Mary Ann spends her teenage years obsessing over Dan Ruddick, only to fall for Randolph at first meeting. Dan is instantly forgotten. Despite everything about her earlier life leading us to believe she was madly in love with Dan, fiercely independent and fully aware of what a heartless rake Randolph was, we're expected to believe that u-turn.

Dan is the perfect gent until he randomly forgets that Mary Ann (who he has known since she was 13) has never been on a boat. I mean - how do you forget that??? - and starts being distant and mean to her because she can't instantly pick it all up.

Lizzie is very much in love with Lawrence when they marry. But then she realises she's loved Tolly all along - a boy the author has never shown us Lizzie has any romantic feeling for. I couldn't help wondering why our author couldn't just let Lizzie be in love with Lawrence. Can two young people not know their own minds? Is it not ok to fall passionately in love? Must that be punished?

Overall, I felt like this book had potential. It has a pretty far fetched but somehow predictable storyline (obviously Mary Ann is alive. Of course Tolly isn't dead) but I think the author is good enough to carry that off. The issue for me is that there were so many opportunities to overturn stereotypes here where, instead, they were simply enforced. For instance, I'd have liked to have seen Randolph as a more complex character, not simply the pantomime villain. And to have seen more into Mary Ann's thinking rather than leaving us to conclude that she is simply a manipulative young woman, irreparably damaged from her early life to demand love at any cost. This just didn't quite ring true for me.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story, takes a while to get into the book. Worth reading

[Margaret Egginton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely story. Really enjoyed reading it

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad at all for a 50c book!!

[Sammy Eagleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid Margaret Dickinson fan I could read any book of hers within minutes and come away starry eyed, but The River Folk is definitely my favorite. Margaret offers incredible insight into the lives of people in Lincolnshire, a region of England often ignored in most mainstream literature. She brings to life characters and situations that are gritty and real yet she adds a slight touch of fairytale charm, thus creating stories that are almost operatic in their joy and tragedies!

[Tes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say this is in my top three books of Margargets. Again another excellent book. It was such a good story. I felt sorry for Mary Ann and it was sad she died near the end of the book. I really enjoyed all this story learning about the characters. Sometimes with books it can take me a couple of chapters or pages to get in but I got lost in the book within the first page and it is such a hard book to put down. Even if Randolph was the bad guy, I guess you could call him that, I couldn't help but love him and Mary Ann. I really wanted them to get married but it's a shame what class he's in he couldn't. I truely think he did love her but the way he is, it doesn't seem like it. I was hoping Mary Ann would come back near the end of the book when she ran away from Dan and Lizzie but I was hoping Randolph/Mary would be together. But it was great she came back to ask for forgivenness. Dan/Mary were cute but I think Randolph/Mary were just it for me. Dan was such a nice guy and a great father to Lizzie. Dan was so kind to Mary Ann even giving up Susan for her. Dan was such a sweet heart.I loved who of Dan's family, everything was loveable. :-) The only fault is that it ends. :(

[Gumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books good, It really is. It made me go to a roller coaster of emotions while reading it, a stressful one. While reading I realized that sometimes you will really hate the main characters of the story. I hate the way Mary Ann and Lizzie’s character development is such a waste. Heck I don’t think there’s character development at all. Honestly, I don’t think I like most of the characters anyway. Dan was okay, he is a good man but I didn’t like his reasons for marrying Mary Ann. Randolph, there’s nothing to like about that man. Duggie, he is a good man just like Dan but obviously has some commitment issues. The Lawrence kid, little bit better than his father. The ending was okay, I loved that it ended happily. I just wish there’s more details about Mary Ann’s life when she chose to be with Randolph. Like, I want to know her experience, her realizations, and her regrets.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book as I have read several other books by Margaret Dickinson. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I enjoyed the start of the story but I soon became disappointed. The book has two main characters, Mary Ann and her daughter, Lizzie.. In my view the star of the story is Bessie, she's a strong woman and the matriarch of her family, the parts I enjoyed most involved Bessie and her neighbours. Mary Ann and Lizzie were both fickle and I found myself getting annoyed with them, neither of them knew what they wanted until it was too late. The book is well written as always and conjured up a time long gone. I loved the last few chapters, as I like to have all the ends neatly tied up and I can't help but love a happy ending.

[Pamela Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a plain and simple story told about a time and place the writer obviously knows well. Good for a lazy afternoon, or several.

[Bernie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Family saga set in Humberside and Lincolnshire The River Folk

[Angela Arnold]

Great read, one of my favourites