MY REVIEW
The book begins in Yorkshire in July 1850. Annabelle Wallis lives with Widow Wallis, an elderly woman. We learn that twenty-two years ago, she brought Annabelle home as an orphaned newborn baby from the market and raised her as her daughter.
They live a quiet existence, growing produce to sell at the market, but Widow Wallis is worried what will happen to the girl after she has died. The local shepherd Dickie wants to marry her, but Annabelle would prefer just to remain friends.
John Hartley returns to Hartley Manor after seven years away. He’s now thirty years old and encounters Annabelle in the village, after her horse is scared by a dog. There in an immediate attraction between them, but surely their huge difference in social standing will prevent any kind of romance…
I don’t want to give away any more of the story, because I enjoyed how it all unfolded and hope you will read the book and enjoy it too. It’s perfect for fans of historical fiction and romance, authors like Nadine Dorries and Catherine Cookson.
It was a lovely story, it held my interest all the way through. The characters are really well-written and the settings brilliantly described. I would definitely read more of her books and I think it would make a great film too!
9 out of 10
The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl
Yorkshire Dales 1850
As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl.
When news spreads that Lady Eliza Hartley, sister to wealthy estate owner, John Hartley, has been found dead, Annabelle realises the terrible secret she has stumbled on. Terrified she’ll be blamed for Eliza’s death, Annabelle flees to the filthy slums of York, where she plans to raise the precious orphan as her own.
The cobbled streets of York’s slums are no place for a young woman like Annabelle or a Hartley babe and John Hartley is determined to bring them both home. But Annabelle proves impossible to find.
Annabelle can’t hide forever from the wealthy Hartley family, but can she ever give up the baby she loves?
Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3bvURLt
Author Bio –
AnneMarie Brear is the bestselling historical fiction writer of over twenty novels. She lives in the Southern Highlands in NSW, and has spent many years visiting and working in the UK. Her books are mainly set in Yorkshire, from where her family hails, and Australia, between the nineteenth century and WWI.
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