Pride and Progress

by Rosemary Gemmell

A sweet Victorian romantic novella.

Miss Emily Morton is content with her village life as a teacher in the north east of England in the 1870s, until the new railway arrives along with the handsome Scottish station master, Arthur Muir.

Emily detests the railways, while it is Arthur's passion.
Each is challenged by the other but will pride allow for progress?

Genres: Historical Romance

101 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2019

About the author

Rosemary Gemmell is a Scottish novelist of historical and contemporary romance and intrigue. She also writes tween fiction.

A prize-winning freelance writer, her short stories, articles, and occasional poems have been published in UK magazines, in the US, and online.

Rosemary has a BA (hons) in literature and history and a post-graduate MA in Humanities from the Open University. She is a member of the Society of Authors, the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and the Scottish Association of Writers. Scotland greatly influences her writing. She enjoys sharing writing information, and loves to dance!

Reviews

[Ellen Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet Victorian romantic novella. However, added to the romance between Emily Morton and Arthur Muir is the story of the impact of the railways on the countryside. We take it for granted now and most people would consider railways and trains to be a good thing. Even Queen Victoria embraced the new invention. However, think about idyllic countryside of green pastures and small villages. Granted the railway opened up new opportunity for small towns. However, in the early days of steam trains, not everyone saw them as a positive thing.

Emily Morton is very sceptical of the railways destroying the countryside that she loves, while our hero Arthur Miller is the station master.

To me, Rosemary Gemmell has written an engaging story of this era, but it’s her characters that I loved.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it.

[Claire Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely what the blurb tells you it is: a sweet Victorian romance!

It's a lovely story with some great period details and a few bits of drama to help move the romance plot along. It's very well written and so easy to read - I flew through it in an enjoyable couple of hours.

Highly recommended for those who like Victorian romance.

[Patsy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily thinks she had her heart broken and knows the railway was to blame. It's therefore not surprising that she's not a fan of the large noisy steam trains, and the damage their tracks do to the countryside she loves. It's also understandable that she'd rather not fall in love with the handsome station master. She has no control over the progress of transportation, and maybe not much more over her own heart.

[Ginnine Josete · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet and innocent romance. It takes you back into a simpler time with the flouncy long dresses, the school lady who seems to be destined to never find love and the dashing suitor. Throw in beautiful bouquets of flowers and poetry, both steeped in deeper meaning and you’ve got yourself a really relaxing read. Thank you to this author for sharing their words.