Book Review: Wildthorn
Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor’s daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labeled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself – and others – in order to be set free. And love may be the key…
–From Goodreads
First Thoughts:
Louisa seems so bored with her life. I forgot how strict the rules for women were.
***
My Review:
Louisa has always dreamed of being a doctor like her father. Unfortunately for her, she lives in a time when women are expected to be nothing more than well-dressed and well-mannered hostesses. Her pursuit of a higher education is deemed unfitting, and Louisa’s outbursts cause those around her to bristle. Why won’t she just conform? Obviously she must be mad.
Wildthorn brings to light the reality of this Victorian time period that is so often romanticized. Eagland’s research and attention to details really shine through. She is not afraid to address the heinous conditions that mental patients were put through during this time, or the hardships that women were put through in the name of being “respectable”. No schooling for women, whalebone corset, marriages of convenience; it’s all addressed in this historically based novel. It was this setting that really brought this story to life.
Title: Wildthorn
Author: Jane Eagland
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Pages: Paperback; 359
Source: Received through NetGalley
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Final Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart
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