A Reluctant Bride

Back Cover

 

Living in London's poorest slum, Mercy Wilkins harbors little hope for a better life.  So when she's offered the opportunity to join a bride ship sailing to British Columbia, she agrees.  The journey abroad is her only prospect to escape a bleak future - both for herself and to help her sister, who's suffering in a workhouse.

 

Wealthy and titled Joseph Colville leaves everything behind and takes to the sea to escape the pain of losing his family.  As the ship's surgeon, he's in charge of the passengers' welfare aboard the Tynemouth, including sixty brides-to-be.  He has no immediate intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, the two must fight against a forbidden love.

 

With hundreds of single men congregating along the shore of Vancouver Island, eager to claim a bride from the Tynemouth, will Mercy and Joseph miss their chance at true love, or will they overcome the obstacles that threaten to keep them apart?

 

Review

 

This was a really eye-opening read into the lives of the unfortunate living in London in the 1800s.  It is absolutely sickening the abysmal conditions that they were forced to live in.  I realize poverty has always been a part of society and always will, but it doesn't make it any less shocking.

 

A Reluctant Bride is based on historical events whereby bride ships full of eligible, single women sailed from London to British Columbia to become wives of the single, lonely men who lived on the Island.  For most of the women, it was a symbol of a fresh start, a new beginning, and hope for a better life.  For Mercy Wilkins, who was under the impression that she was going to be finding a new job, not a new husband when the ship docked, she is desperate not to cause any trouble on the voyage in order to ensure safe passage for her sister.  However, the journey quickly becomes one of the unexpected as she partners with ship's handsome doctor to tend to the passengers.  Her emotions become the best of her, and her heart quickly becomes intertwined with that of the doctor's - jeopardizing both of their reputations. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Jody Hedlund's attention to detail in her beautiful telling of the history of the bride ships.  I couldn't imagine having to live in such poverty with the only escape was to marry a complete stranger!  I can't help but have a lot of respect for the women on the bride ships and for the courage they displayed.  Their story is not one to be missed, and I highly recommend A Reluctant Bride to historical fiction lovers.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.