The Lady's Maid

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Private Ellis/Gideon, on the other hand, was not very likeable, in my opinion. I found him to be annoying and arrogant. That’s just the way I felt about him and I’m sure that many will find him to be charming and sweet and perfect, etc. Etc. Dilly’s debut novel, called “Mermaids Singing”, was released in the year 2005. She writes family saga and historical fiction novels and also writes as Lily Baxter. I personally felt that he just wasn’t the right person for Lottie (I had someone else in mind and she rejected him, of course).

Dilly Court (born 1940) is an English author of popular historical fiction and family saga novels also writing under the pseudonym of Lily Baxter. [1] She published her first book when she was 65 and, as of 2023 [update], her novels have sold more than four million copies. [1] Early life [ edit ] My Review: The protagonist (Essie) is a strong, caring and hard working female. Throughout the novel I was hooked on her emotional rollercoaster and her life changing transformation. She is a three dimensional character, likeable and relatable. The other main characters such as Sadie are also brilliant. A range of personalities that will make you smile and shout at the awful behaviour. I applaud the author for showing awareness of how alcoholism can be so destructive on the person experiencing it and their loved ones. In addition, the author shows the brutality of how women and the poor classes were treated. There’s a dashing man she was thinking would be the hero all of a sudden develops some unattractive traits and will upset Dilly, along with her heroine. Then there’s times a rough diamond, that looked destined to swing from a noose’s end, winds up being an absolute charmer and she finds herself falling for them, so the heroine’s got zero chance of escaping.

Multibuys

I loved the realism of Dilly Court's multi-faceted, realistic and unforgettable characters like Lottie Lane the clever, capable and kind twenty year old, sent to work at "The Swan" at age twelve only to be browbeaten by the obnoxious Prudence Filby and her husband Shem. The assortment of colourful personalities also includes; Jezebel Pretty the unsociable, gruff but kind-hearted cook; Gideon Ellis the gentle and patient soldier Lottie loves; Codelia Fothergill the controlling, snide troublemaker; and Mary Seacole the motherly, trustworthy and astute nurse. Yet of all the characters that add to the passion, depth and power of the plot it's Lady Aurelia Dashwood who adds a dramatic flair to events as they unfold. Born wealthy, beautiful and restless as well as a self-absorbed, perverse and spirited snob she loves adventure, excitement and the thrill of risk-taking. Yet for all her wild ways Lottie recognizes the underlying good in Aurelia who can also be amiable, good-hearted, generous, and eventually nice. Each day, Dilly begins at 8:30 and writes until lunch time. Some days she’ll get so immersed in her story that she forgets everything and time will pass so fast that, by the time she finally does stop, she can’t believe two to three hours have gone by. She’s been in some other world her characters who make their own story up actually inhabit. I never truly liked Josie, raised as a lady, because she is unthinking, hypercritical, and selfish, but I came to appreciate her flawed but contrite nature. She is often repentant after the fact and occasionally shows flashes of maturity even at her worst though they don’t last. I had high expectations, which weren’t met, and I found the plot and the writing style to be rather boring.

The romance was ever so SLOW to play out and it took 10 of the expected 12 hours of listening to get to the long expected pairings. It was so disappointing to hear Essie say that she looked into his eyes and knew she would want to be the mother of his children - when all along in the story she was driven for sea adventure and was sure that was not the life she wanted.This meeting leads to her eventually meeting Lady Aurelia. I won’t go further into detail because I wouldn’t want to spoil the rest of the story for you. This is the second historical novel I have read by Dilly Court, and once again, she sunk me into the period with all the prejudice and classism endemic in the 1800s. The story begins with an awkward friendship between a spoiled, manipulative lady and her lifelong friend who begins the book as a beleaguered housemaid. One major plot flaw is that it is never really clear why either of the men fall in love with their respective women. There is no relationship development or apparent getting to know each other before they are suddenly smitten. One of the men, despite being smitten, leads another girl on for almost the entire book and although there are suggestions that it's to protect her honour, this is suspect and doesn't quite ring true given the circumstances. If you like historical fiction with strong personalities, tangles built out of society’s expectations, a love story, and a touch of mystery, this is one not to miss. Gostei muito de conhecer Essie, uma jovem, que em pleno século XIX, quer ter a sua independência e quer ser mais do que casar, ter filhos e cuidar da casa.