Kitty McKenzie (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Suddenly left as the head of the family, Kitty McKenzie must find her inner strength to keep her family together against the odds. Evicted from their resplendent home in the fashionable part of York after her parents' deaths, Kitty must fight the legacy of bankruptcy and homelessness to secure a home for her and her siblings. Through sheer willpower and determination she grabs opportunities with both hands from working on a clothes and rag stall in the market to creating a teashop for the wealthy. Her road to happiness is fraught with obstacles of hardship and despair, but she refuses to let her dream of a better life for her family die. She soon learns that love and loyalty brings its own reward.

About the Author

Anne Whitfield is an Australian author, married with three children. Her passions, apart from writing historical fiction and contemporary novels and short stories, are reading medieval novels, collecting Victorian diaries, roaming historical sites, buying books and gardening. Visit Anne's website at www.annewhitfield.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599982625
• ISBN-13: 978-1599982625
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,690,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kitty McKenzie, July 5, 2006

By	Karen Dryden (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

Kitty McKenzie's privilege life comes crashing down when her parents die and she must sell the house and all their possessions to pay off their debts. Now she is the head of her family and has the task of taking care of her six younger brothers and sisters without any possessions and very little money.

She struggles to keep her family together, make a happy home and keep them from the workhouse. Through hard work and sheer determination, she goes from a clerk in a clothes and rags stall to opening her own teashop for the wealthy.

When Benjamin Kingsley meets this lovely woman endeavoring to build a new life for her younger siblings, he admires her. As he watches her develop a life she deserves, he falls in love with her, but he must go to Australia for business.

MS. Whitefield has written a beautifully crafted tale of a determined woman's self-discovery through duty and love. The reader is drawn into the story and goes on an emotional journey from heartbreak to jubilation; of doubt to confidence and falls in love with the characters through the experience.
This is the first book of a series and I look forward to the next chapter of Kitty's life in Australia.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4-1/2* Beautiful Story - Terrific Heroine, July 2, 2006

By	M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Set in York, England, November 1864 you are introduced to the very sad displaced family in which Katherine McKenzine, age 21 has now become the official head of her six siblings. Losing their parents and sister to typhoid was bad. Discovering that because of a total disregard of financial planning they were up to their ears in debt leaving them not only mourning their parents and a life was once filled with comfort and plenty to one of insecurity and hunger was even worse. After selling everything to settle what family debts they could, they now had no home, very little in the way of possessions, and very little money. As the eldest it would be up to Kitty to keep the family together and out of the workhouse. It was a overwhelming task for one so young but one in which this very brave and strong lass would overcome with hard work and ingenuity to rise like a phoenix out of the ashes.

*** This was a short but a well written read that captured me from the very beginning. Kitty McKenzie was a marvelous character that positively glowed by being extremely well developed and one, which the reader will cheer as she struggled to keep her family together with strength and dignity. Her many brothers and sisters were used in the story judiciously giving the story both momentum and balance, but the endearing friendship she made with Max and Connie Spencer as almost surrogate parents added some poignant moments that were endearingly beautiful and emotionally charged. Kitty's struggles overcoming one hurdle after another were inspiring and her eventual love interest with Ben Kingsley was sweet though not without problems considering his witchy mother. Whitfield writes with intelligence, warmth and compassion and while leaving you satisfied with one chapter of Kitty's life completed, makes you hunger for the sequel to see where the next chapter of her journey takes you. This is a lovely story I highly recommend.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, heartwarming story, February 6, 2007

By	Gerri Bowen "Gerri Bowen, author." (Hanover, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Kitty McKenzie is a delightful, heartwarming story which begins in the year 1864. Kitty, as well as her brothers and sisters are left penniless and homeless when their parents die. The family situation, going from servants and large house to hunger and fending for themselves is poignantly portrayed by the author as Kitty takes on the responsibility of caring for all. York, England is the locale--the poor area which is where Kitty and her siblings must now live. How Kitty manages to survive, keeping her family together, being parent and breadwinner engages the reader from the beginning. The author's knowledge of the era and her skill with words made me feel their cold, hunger, and disgust at their surroundings. I kept thinking about Dickens.

What I liked most about the story was Kitty's spirit, how she chose to improve her situation, time and time again, instead of whining and crying against fate. She also reacted realistically to events, family disappointments, love and tragedy.

Anne Whitfield has written a very good story, one I highly recommend. I look forward to the sequel, Kitty McKenzie's Land.