Sarah is an unwed mother who supports herself and her son in the face of society’s disapproval by running the granite quarry inherited from her father. But malignant forces are conspiring to take away her livelihood and coerce her back into the arms of the man who seduced, impregnated, and abandoned her to marry an heiress. In desperation, Sarah demands help from her neighbor, the reclusive James Crago, formerly of Her Majesty’s Army in India and now, having returned to his ancestral home hideously scarred and embittered, occupying himself and the local craftsmen with restoring his place to its original glory and establishing himself as a gunpowder manufacturer. Both have known society’s rejection and are wary of trusting another, but together they will find an uncommon joy if only they are brave enough to reach out to each other. Jackson’s 1840 Cornish historical romance is peopled with ordinary folk, and her detailed attention to dress, household furnishings, and news of the period feeds the reader’s imagination and enriches the dramatic tale. --Lynne Welch
Review
Sarah is an unwed mother who supports herself and her son in the face of society's disapproval by running the granite quarry inherited from her father. But malignant forces are conspiring to take away her livelihood and coerce her back into the arms of the man who seduced, impregnated, and abandoned her to marry an heiress. In desperation, Sarah demands help from her neighbor, the reclusive James Crago, formerly of Her Majesty's Army in India and now, having returned to his ancestral home hideously scarred and embittered, occupying himself and the local craftsmen with restoring his place to its original glory and establishing himself as a gunpowder manufacturer. Both have known society's rejection and are wary of trusting another, but together they will find an uncommon joy if only they are brave enough to reach out to each other. Jackson's 1840 Cornish historical romance is peopled with ordinary folk, and her detailed attention to dress, household furnishings, and news of the period feeds the reader's imagination and enriches the dramatic tale. --Booklist, 1st January 2010
