Customer Reviews

The Maiden (Morland Dynasty)

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#8: 1720 to 1761: The South Sea Bubble crisis; Jacobite rebellion

The Maiden covers a period of forty years, from the South Sea Bubble crisis, up through the Jacobite rebellion and beyond. Jemmy Morland is the master of Morland Place, married off to the Lady Mary, even though his heart is elsewhere. Later, his daughter Jemima marries, while Marie-Louise, the Countess of Strathord and the daughter of royalty, entertains delusions of grandeur.

It's always amazing to me how the Morland family can be on the losing side of history, and yet always emerge victorious--I've always found the family's ability to survive anything to be really appealing. This time, the focus is more on the family's story, though history intervenes when certain members of the family becomes embroiled with the Jacobite cause. However, things can become a bit confusing, especially with the difference between the "Morland Place" Morlands, and the "Shawes" Morlands (as with the other books in the series, there's a family tree in the beginning of the book, and I found myself turning back to it often). It's always interesting, too, how strong the Morland women tend to be, and I look forward to reading more about Jemima in later books in the series. In all, this is a very strong addition to the Morland Dynasty saga.

Jemmy Morland is master of Morland Place and is forced to marry Lady Mary, sister to one of the leading lights of the Hanoverian Court, to keep control of the Morland fortune. Mary is an icy, unforgiving woman, jealous of Jemmy's family and friends and though doting on the two sons she gave Jemmy, despises their daughter, Jemima. Jemima grew up knowing that her own mother hated her and so turned to her father and relatives for love. She learned all the ways of the family business in cloth manufacturing so that she was a very capable heir when both sons died of small pox. She married a cousin, so as to keep the family name and became Countess of Chelmsford, only to find that she had married a penniless and debauched man who wanted her only for her money, which he soon squandered. In that era, every single thing that a woman owned became her husband's property upon marriage, leaving her totally dependent upon him..thank the Lord that things changed!!