Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
An Idle Woman - based on one of the most sensational divorce trials of the nineteenth century - cover

An Idle Woman - based on one of the most sensational divorce trials of the nineteenth century

Wendy Parkins

Publisher: Legend Press

  • 0
  • 1
  • 0

Summary

ONE WOMAN CLAIMS THE POWER TO TAKE CHARGE OF HER OWN DESTINY 
1838, England: When eighteen-year-old Frances Dickinson impulsively marries Lieutenant John Geils, all her hopes for her future are quickly shattered as she finds there is much about her husband she did not know. A cruel and violent man, John keeps Frances in isolation on his family’s estate, while spending her fortune and preying upon their maids. 
Frances yearns to break free from her marriage but the law is not on her side. Only when John’s abuse escalates can she set in motion a daring plan to secure her freedom. 
A story of gaslighting, control and one woman’s fight, An Idle Woman is the true story behind one of the most sensational divorce trials of the nineteenth century. 
‘Remarkable… an engaging and informative read’ Leah Moyes, author of A Polish Nurse 
‘Reading it felt like falling through the cracks of time and witnessing a terrifying fight for freedom first-hand’ Meg Ellis, @megsreadingspot 
‘Powerful, heartfelt and affecting… an important story that demands to be read’ Emma Alvey, @emmas.biblio.treasures
Available since: 06/24/2024.

Other books that might interest you

  • The Defiant Seamstress - cover

    The Defiant Seamstress

    Evelyn Hood

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The penultimate book in Evelyn Hood's The Paisley Women Scottish family saga series. 
    Will one defiant woman's grit and determination prevent her finding happiness? 
    Paisley, Scotland 1784 
    Christian Knox dreams of a life beyond that of a Paisley housewife and at thirteen is determined to further her education. When her disobedience causes her father to withdraw his financial support, she resolves to pay for her education herself by working at her uncle’s weaving business. 
    Headstrong and enterprising Christian soon becomes the manager, representing the local weaver women. But has she taken on too much as problem begin to mount at work and at home? 
    When her hard work and savvy business acumen are recognised, Christian is further promoted but is pursued by her cousin Rab with an unwanted proposal of marriage. 
    Years later, she succumbs to a cossetted marriage to an older husband and is forced to give up work and is torn over her attraction to younger, Benjamin Selbie. 
    Meanwhile, spurned Rab is not prepared to let sleeping dogs lie as he causes further heartache and turmoil for Christian. 
    When Christian finally gets a second shot at success and will her relentless drive to succeed stop her from finding love? 
    The continuation of The Paisley Women saga series from Evelyn Hood, the original bestselling Scottish saga writer. Storytelling at its best. 
    Previously published as The Damask Days 
    PRAISE FOR EVELYN HOOD  'Scotland's Catherine Cookson' - Scots Magazine  ‘Hood is immaculate in her historical detail’ - Scottish Herald  'Quite simply, I couldn't put it down. A rich and rewarding read' - Emma Blair  'Evelyn Hood has been called Scotland's Catherine Cookson. Unfair. She has her own distinctive voice' - Scots Magazine  ‘Touching, romantic and unforgettable’ - Reader Review  ‘Love all her books’ - Reader Review ‘Evelyn Hood produces the best of stories’ - Reader Review  ‘I cannot put her books down’ - Reader Review  ‘Love everything Evelyn Hood writes’ - Reader Review
    Show book
  • Sense and Sensibility - cover

    Sense and Sensibility

    Jane Austen

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    "Sense and Sensibility" is a captivating novel that delves into the lives of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, as they navigate the complexities of coming of age. Alongside their older half-brother, John, and their younger sister, Margaret, the three siblings and their widowed mother are uprooted from their family estate at Norland Park. They relocate to Barton Cottage, a quaint dwelling situated on the grounds of the generous Sir John Middleton, a distant relative. It is within this new setting that Elinor and Marianne encounter the tumultuous journey of love, romance, and heartbreak.
    Show book
  • The White Company - cover

    The White Company

    Conan Doyle

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle is a vivid historical adventure set during the Hundred Years’ War. The story follows Alleyne Edricson, a young novice leaving his sheltered life at a monastery to explore the world. He joins the White Company, a band of mercenaries led by the chivalrous Sir Nigel Loring, alongside the skilled archer Samkin Aylward. Together, they embark on daring exploits in France and Spain, battling enemies while upholding knightly ideals. Alleyne matures through trials of courage, loyalty, and love, as the group encounters treachery, heroism, and medieval pageantry. Doyle masterfully blends action, humor, and romance, painting a rich tapestry of 14th-century life. Part coming-of-age tale, part swashbuckling epic, The White Company celebrates honor, camaraderie, and the timeless allure of adventure, cementing its place as a classic tale of valor and humanity.
    Show book
  • Distant Waters - cover

    Distant Waters

    Andrew Wareham

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The short-lived Peace of Amiens is over. Entered into in bad faith, the Peace has provided both sides with the chance to take a breath and restock their arsenals. 
     
     
     
    Sir Nicholas Turnhouse, Bloody Nick, has recovered from his wound and is ready to go to sea again, supported by his lady. Only at sea will he be able to achieve the promotion in rank and honors that both believe to be his due. He is given Hawke, 44, again and sets out for the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to tidy up the remnants of Napoleon's Army of Egypt, if they should exist, and to make a general nuisance of himself around the Mauritius. 
     
     
     
    It is a long way from home, and the new happiness he has created for himself. It is back at sea, where he truly belongs. He sets sail, torn between domesticity and adventure, and wondering if he has taken the wiser choice.
    Show book
  • Chloé - cover

    Chloé

    Katrina Kell

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Taking the reader from Victoria's wild shipwreck coast to the artists' studios of revolutionary Paris and the bloody battlefields of Flanders, this sweeping novel reimagines the volatile history of the beautiful and enigmatic young woman immortalised in one of Australia's most iconic paintings. Created in Paris in 1875, Chloé, Jules Lefebvre's depiction of a naked water nymph, was brought to Melbourne's Young & Jackson Hotel in 1909, where it has hung ever since. In this passionate, luminous retelling, Katrina Kell seeks to unlock the riddle behind the girl on the canvas, known to history only as Marie. In doing so, she weaves the compelling story of an incandescent spirit - a woman with the strength to defy the boundaries of class and convention in order to survive, and an enduring power to influence the lives of others across time and distance.
    Show book
  • Talmadge Farm - cover

    Talmadge Farm

    Leo Daughtry

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    "An earnest historical novel...a thoughtful meditation on the inexorability of change, and what happens when justice results in a redistribution of success." — Kirkus Reviews 
    “...a classic. This is a story of triumph and tragedy, of good and evil, and finally reconciliation. A true morality play.” — Gene Hoots, former tobacco executive and author of Going Down Tobacco Road 
    A LOVE LETTER TO THE AMERICAN SOUTH 
    A STORY OF RESILIENCE, HOPE, AND FAMILY—BOTH LOST AND FOUND 
    It's 1957, and tobacco is king. Wealthy landowner Gordon Talmadge enjoys the lavish lifestyle he inherited but doesn't like getting his hands dirty; he leaves that to the two sharecroppers - one white, one Black - who farm his tobacco but have bigger dreams for their own children. While Gordon takes no interest in the lives of his tenant farmers, a brutal attack between his son and the sharecropper children sets off a chain of events that leaves no one unscathed. Over the span of a decade, Gordon struggles to hold on to his family's legacy as the old order makes way for a New South. 
    A sweeping drama that follows three unforgettable families navigating the changing culture of North Carolina at a pivotal moment in history, readers have been raving that Talmadge Farm is one they cannot put down. Perfect for fans of Wiley Cash and Amor Towles.
    Show book