The Daughters of Ironbridge (Ironbridge Saga #1) by Mollie Walton
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, General fiction
Read: 11th September 2020
Published: 18th April 2019
★★★★ 4.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Perfect for fans of Maggie Hope and Katie Flynn - the first in a heartwarming new series set against an ironworks in 1830s Shropshire, by debut saga author Mollie Walton.
Anny Woodvine's family has worked at the ironworks for as long as she can remember. The brightest child in her road, Anny has big dreams. So, when she is asked to run messages for the King family, she grabs the opportunity with both hands.
Margaret King is surrounded by privilege and wealth. But behind closed doors, nothing is what it seems. When Anny arrives, Margaret finds her first ally and friend. Together they plan to change their lives.
But as disaster looms over the ironworks, Margaret and Anny find themselves surrounded by secrets and betrayal. Can they hold true to each other and overcome their fate? Or are they destined to repeat the mistakes of the past?
MY REVIEW:
There's nothing I like more than a sweeping historical saga to lose myself in away from the chaos of the world today. It also bears thinking about that if we think WE have problems, then to step back in time to how things were 100 or 200 years ago...when the classes were divided and life was harsh for the working class. And how much harder it was to cross that divide and marry between classes than it is today. Back then, life was black and white and it was harsh.
THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE by Mollie Walton, also known as Rebecca Mascull, is an engaging tale of that class divide and all those caught in the middle, highlighting the contrast between the have and the have nots in mid-19th century Shropshire.
Shropshire, 1830s: A young woman poses a sad and lonely figure as she crosses the iron bridge looming above the village of Ironbridge. Clutched to her breast is a tiny baby, barely days old. She is hungry and tired, her milk long since dried up, leaving her baby starving. In her weakened state she can barely stand...and then a figure of a man appears before her asking if he could be of assistance. She holds out her baby and pleads with him to take her as she is so tired. As soon as the man had hold of the child, the woman collapses in a heap comforted in the knowledge that her baby is safe.
1834: Twelve year old Anny Woodvine assists her mother in taking in washing to help with the family finances. Anny is a bright young girl, her mother having taught her to read and write when she was young, something that is often remiss in the lower classes as they have no need for reading and writing for hard labouring work. But Rachel, Anny's mother, always wanted something more for her daughter and teaching her to read and write would give her far more opportunities than going into service or becoming a washerwoman.
So it brings her family great pleasure when Anny's abilities are recognised by Mr Brotherton, the estate manager for the King family who own the iron works in which Anny's father works, and he offers her a job. Anny is thrilled at the prospects that are now afforded her. Working as a clerical assistant for the Kings will give her the experience for even greater things that will see her move beyond working class village life. And it is while walking through the woods on her way home one afternoon that she meets Margaret King.
The same age as Anny, Margaret King is the only daughter and youngest child of the King family. She spends her life reading her copious amounts of books or wandering the grounds of her family's large estate. But she is bored and incredibly lonely. Her father hates her, blaming her for her mother's demise whilst giving birth to her, her brother Cyril is cruel and violent towards her and unless she is doing something to draw attention to herself, Margaret is largely invisible. Only with her grandmother Queenie does she feel slightly more at ease. Life as a King is not what one deems it to be, for Margaret has no friends and is incredibly lonely.
So when she happens across young Anny one day, the two become firm friends and proof that friendship can bridge the great divide between the classes. Or can it?
Margaret's 15 year old brother Cyril is a horrid and vile young man, who takes pleasure in kicking dogs and forcing himself on the pretty young maids in the family's employ, just like his grandfather before him. But when he sees Anny in the estate office, he discovers a new objective - to make Anny Woodvine his. Not just to bed her, but to marry her. Anny, however, has seen Cyril in action with the maids and his behaviour repulses her. So when he corners her in the woods one day returning home, he declares his devotion to her and proposes marriage. Anny is repulsed by the idea of marriage to such a brute and tells him so, standing her ground when he tries to force her. But Cyril will not be refused and so he plans to take his revenge on Anny...for she will pay for humiliating him.
When artist Jake Ashford arrives in Ironbridge to sketch the iron works and its surrounds, he captures the eye of both Anny and Margaret. Both girls are enamoured with him, but which girl will win his heart?
I thoroughly enjoyed THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE and the sweeping tale of struggles and conflicts between and within the classes. We not only have one leading character but two in Anny and Margaret, whom Anny nicknames Peggy. Both girls are different yet alike in many ways bringing a vibrancy to the story that make both extremely likable. But I have to say I leaned a little more towards Anny, though I did sympathise greatly with Margaret living an empty life at Southover. However, it was Anny with whom I identified mostly with in her struggles and her ability to rise above her station to try and make a better life for herself. But the fact that Margaret came from money and privilege did not automatically make her happy and fulfilled...because she most certainly wasn't. Her story alone shows that while money may bring comfort it doesn't always bring happiness, as she was to find out.
THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE is the first in a new historical saga that is both absorbing and fascinating, rich in historical detail bringing the industrial age to life in the village of Ironbridge. The author has painted a compelling picture of the setting and the characters with the divide between the rich and the poor clearly defined. The characters are well developed, well represented and believable in both classes. While Anny and Margaret are the star attractions, the secondary characters are just as wonderful too. From the wholesome John Woodvine to the evil Cyril King, each character is well developed. But of course, I especially liked Queenie, the matriarch of the King family. She has secrets and there is a mystery about her, believing she sees the ghost of a former maid who was raped and impregnated by her husband...lending something to the whispered story of "the baby on the bridge".
A wonderful journey back in time to the early Victorian era and the industrial age of 1830s Shropshire, THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE takes you on a gentle stroll through the beautiful scenery and into the depth of the story. And when you reach the end, you just want to dive straight into the second book "The Secrets of Ironbridge" so you don't have to leave the story behind, which is exactly what I did. With all the complexities surrounding them, the story of Anny and Peggy is simple and is one that will bring tragedy, heartache, love and friendship.
Perfectly detailed, THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE is filled with love, hatred, friendship, secrets, deception, duplicity, betrayal, heartache...everything one could expect from a well written historical tale.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical sagas. For fans of Dilly Court, Catherine Cookson and Lindsey Hutchinson.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Mollie Walton is the saga pen-name for historical novelist Rebecca Mascull.
Rebecca Mascull is the author of three historical novels. She is currently hard at work on her next trilogy of historical fiction, with the first novel out in April 2019, published by Bonnier Zaffre as The Ironbridge Saga. These are published under the pen-name of Mollie Walton and the first book in the series is set in the dangerous world of the iron industry: THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE.
Her first novel THE VISITORS (2014) tells the story of Adeliza Golding, a deaf-blind child living on her father’s hop farm in Victorian Kent. Her second novel SONG OF THE SEA MAID (2015) is set in the C18th and concerns an orphan girl who becomes a scientist and makes a remarkable discovery. Her third novel, THE WILD AIR (2017) is about a shy Edwardian girl who learns to fly and becomes a celebrated aviatrix but the shadow of war is looming. All are published by Hodder & Stoughton.
She also completed the finishing chapters of her friend and fellow novelist Vanessa Lafaye’s final work, a novella called MISS MARLEY, a prequel to Dickens’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This novella was published in November 2018 by HarperCollins.
Rebecca has previously worked in education, has a Masters in Writing and lives by the sea in the east of England.
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