The House at Silvermoor by Tracy Rees
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 1st April 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 2nd April 2020)
★★★★★ 5 stars
I am taking part in the blog tour for THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR by Tracy Rees and published by Quercus on 2nd April 2020.
A rags to riches story in the vein of Catherine Cookson, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is my first book by Tracy Rees and having devoured this one I am eager to read more.
Set in Yorkshire at the turn of the 20th century, Tommy and Josie are little more than children when they meet. Both are from mining communities in neighbouring villages that rival the other with nothing more than the knowledge that their paths had already been mapped out for them by generations of tradition. For Tommy, it's to go underground as a miner - for Josie, it's to be the wife and mother of a miner. Together they form an unlikely friendship, chasing dreams, asking questions and sharing secrets...as we follow their journey from children into young adults.
At the age of 12, Tommy Green leaves school to begin work at the mine where his father and brothers work, and where his brother had died before him. But Tommy yearns for an education, to learn more than just what's expected of him. On his final day of school, he asks the schoolmaster what he may do to further his education, but the schoolmaster just shrugs his queries off as shirking his responsibilities to his family of miners. And so down the mine Tommy goes. But surely there is something more than this life? What's wrong with wanting to better yourself? What's wrong with wanting something different rather than what's expected?
Tommy found himself fascinated with the Sedgewick family who lived at Silvermoor, and who owned the mines in which the village worked. Ever since his 5th birthday when the villagers were invited to attend the christening party of their newest addition Lord Walter, Tommy has felt an affinity to the family. He even secretly imagined that he was the long lost son of the Earl who would take him under his wing and that he would live at Silvermoor. But it was just a dream.
It was on one Sunday afternoon when Tommy was out walking, instead of attending church with his family, that he found himself near the village of Arden and the silent halls of Heston Manor, where the feared Barridges had once lived before the death of their heir. Winthrop Barridge, a cruel and hateful man many feared, owned the mines of Arden and ran them with a brutal hand. He was in a daydream when he came across a pretty young slip of a girl with the blackest eyes and the reddest hair he had ever seen picking bluebells and violets for her sister's wedding. Her name was Josie.
At 11 years old, Josie Westgate knows she is nothing special. Her ma reminds her of that fact daily, should she ever get any ideas above her station. She is one of four daughters and one son, the second youngest with little Tansy the last of them all. On the day she meets Tommy, her ma sent her out to pick violets for her older sister Alice's hair for her wedding. At this time of year there was only one place she knew to find them...and that was in Heston Manor grounds. After collecting the violets she gathered some bluebells for herself until a surprise appearance by the gamekeeper in which he bullies her and tramples on those she held in her shaking hands.
In Tommy, Josie finds a kindred spirit. He comes to her rescue and warns her to steer clear of Heston grounds, for even in the village of Grindley folk knew not to cross paths with the Barridge's gamekeeper. Every Sunday, the two meet in the lanes between their villages to walk, talk and dream of a better life beyond that which is expected of them.
For both Tommy and Josie, life couldn't be more different and yet still be the same. Both are from mining families in mining communities living hand to mouth. And yet that is where the similarities end. Tommy is from a loving family with thirteen mouths to feed but they are happy. Josie is from a bitter and disparate family who have mainly daughters that cannot earn a living down the mines to keep food on their table...and a secret that threatens to destroy everything she has ever known.
One night, Josie is shocked to discover that her parents intend to send her down the mines and her dear friend Miss Embry knocks on Tommy's door in the middle of the night, begging for his help. After her father locks her in the coal shed and the house soon goes off to sleep, Tommy deftly opens the shed to rescue Josie and they run off into the night.
As fate intervenes and a chance encounter with a stranger at Heston Manor, Tommy and Josie find themselves at Silvermoor on a promise from one of the family. They are welcomed with open arms, given food and warmth and a place to sleep as both their stories take on different turns. Although Tommy remains down the pits, Josie is taken into service in York but spends many weeks and months back at Silvermoor with Lady Coralie, for whom she is now a lady's maid.
And all the while, both Tommy and Josie await for his chance at a different life... Will it come? Or will Tommy be destined to remain down the pits forever? And die the same death as his brother before him?
Told solely from Tommy and Josie's perspectives, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is a beautifully written tale weaves both their stories together with an expert hand. As readers we watch those stories unfold as Tommy and Josie overcome heartache, tragedy and loss to find love, happiness and contentment. From Grindley and Arden to Silvermoor, York...and beyond!
Beginning in 1897 through to 1905, THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is a captivating journey at the turn of the century surrounding the South Yorkshire mining community and the house at the centre of it all - Silvermoor. It is a sweeping tale of love, loss and family that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
There is so much to just love about this book with plenty you'll love to hate and even more you'll love to love. A novel to get swept away in, to lose yourself for a day, to just enjoy the journey and to savour it once it's over. THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR is everything and more. It is a must for fans of historical fiction. It is Catherine Cookson of the 21st century.
I would like to thank #TracyRees, #NetGalley and #Quercus for an ARC of #TheHouseAtSilvermoor in exchange for an honest review.
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