1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poor shopgirl's adventures in Nineteenth-century Lancashire ., July 26, 2008
A well written, historical Cinderella story.
A young woman battles against the evils of poverty, ignorance and extremely limited opportunity.
Young Jennie works in a cat's meat shop. She lives with her sluttish mother and drunken, abusive stepfather in a dingy terraced house.
When Jenny's employer replaces her with cheaper labor, her stepfather's violent abuse leaves her with no safe alternative but marriage.
The groom is a widowed clerk that she met at Chapel. The marriage is no escape from fear and hardship. Unhappily, Jenny's husband is robbed and murdered. Jenny's spiteful sister-in-law has inherited all, and refuses to house Jenny.
This bad turn becomes a good turn, when Jenny is hired by the nouveau riche, class-conscious Bleasdale family.
Newly engaged, tempetuous Sarah Bleasdale needs a maid. Sarah's betrothed is Paul Tunstall, a wealthy gentleman and soldier turned landowner.
Eventually, Paul finds more to admire and love in steadfast Jenny, than in the vain, childish Sarah.
The story progresses through a marriage, a miscarriage, a tragic injury, sad departures and ultimately a joyous reunion.
We discover who murdered Jenny's husband, the identity of Jenny's biological father and the skewed nature of morality in this society.
Recommended.
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