Review ~ Pengelly's Daughter by Nicola Pryce

Corvus
July 016

A Bit of Blurb..

Cornwall: 1793. Rose Pengelly's father has been ruined - he has lost his boat yard and his fortune, plunging Rose and her mother into poverty and debt. There appears to be only one way out of their terrible circumstances; for Rose to marry Mr Tregellas, a powerful timber merchant and the man Rose believes is responsible for her father's downfall. He has made his terms clear; either she marries him or faces homelessness and destitution.

Desperate, Rose sets out to find evidence of Mr Tregellas's wrongdoing. In her search, she encounters a mysterious young sailor called Jim, who refuses to disclose his identity. Even as she falls in love with him, she questions who he really is. He may help her restore her fortune and her good name, but does he ever tell her the truth?

My thoughts about the book..

Pengelly's Daughter has all the hallmarks of a rollicking good historical adventure, and if you like a feisty heroine who doesn't stand for any nonsense and a ruggedly handsome hero who has just a hint of a secret in his background, then I am sure that this story will appeal.

Set against the sweeping majesty of the Cornish coast, Pengelly's Daughter is a family saga which gives more than a nod towards the massively successful Poldark series by Winston Graham. Does it have the same classic pull as Graham's work? Well, no, it doesn't, but that's no bad thing, as the story is more than capable of standing on its own merits.  I particularly enjoyed getting to know Rose, Pengelly's eponymous daughter, who, as the book opens, finds that she and her mother have to live in almost penury due to some bad decisions made by her father who has since been punished for a crime he may, or may not have done. Meeting a mysterious young man called Jim, who helps to get Rose out of far too many mishaps, forms the basis for this lively story about the prejudices faced by young women in Georgian England, and also of the evil machinations of despicable men who sought only to bring about the downfall of the Pengelly family. 

Do they succeed, well, I’ll leave it for you discover for yourselves, but if you enjoy a lively historical adventure, with a hint of mischance and a dash of romance, then I highly recommend Pengelly's Daughter as a good historical family saga.

Best read with …Glistening pilchards, fresh from the Cornish sea and a robust English ale..

About the Author

Nicola Pryce trained as a chemotherapy nurse before completing an Open University degree in Humanities. She is a qualified adult literacy volunteer and lives with her husband in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

Follow on Twitter @NPryce_Author #Pengelly'sDaughter

My thanks to Alison at Corvus for my review copy of Pengelly's Daughter.

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