The Cornish Captive (Cornish Saga series #6) by Nicola Pryce
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Mystery
Read: 18th February 2022
Published: 6th January 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The sixth novel in a stunning series set in eighteenth-century Cornwall, perfect for fans of Bridgerton
Cornwall, 1800.
Imprisoned on false pretences, Madeleine Pelligrew, former mistress of Pendenning Hall, has spent the last 14 years shuttled between increasingly destitute and decrepit mad houses. When a strange man appears out of the blue to release her, she can't quite believe that her freedom comes without a price. Hiding her identity, Madeleine determines to discover the truth about what happened all those years ago.
Unsure who to trust and alone in the world, Madeleine strikes a tentative friendship with a French prisoner on parole, Captain Pierre de la Croix. But as she learns more about the reasons behind her imprisonment, and about those who schemed to hide her away for so long, she starts to wonder if Pierre is in fact the man he says he is. As Madeleine's past collides with her present, can she find the strength to follow her heart, no matter the personal cost?
MY REVIEW:
Although the sixth novel in the Cornish Saga series, THE CORNISH CAPTIVE is my first by this author. Having said that, the book suffices perfectly as a standalone as each book tells a different story although some recurring characters may appear from time to time throughout. I'm not sure what I expected from this book...maybe something along the lines of Poldark, more in the way of Ross and Demelza although it turned to be like Demelza versus George Warleggan...with him as the silent party (something he most definitely not). That being said, THE CORNISH CAPTIVE turned out to be something else entirely...and nothing at all like Poldark (except maybe with a touch of George Warleggan) with a tangled web of secrets, lies, deception and mystery!
Set in Cornwall 1800, the story follows Madeleine Pelligrew, former mistress of Pendenning Hall, who has spent the past fourteen years incarcerated in and shifted from one madhouse to another. And each time she was moved, her name was changed and her records destroyed so that she could never be found. But the fates have aligned and after seven years of searching her brother's friend, Marcel Rablais, has found Madeleine's true whereabouts and has seen to it to have her discharged into his care. No sooner have they escaped the asylum in which she had been kept, Madeleine and her maid Rowan make haste to Fosse...the place she has not set foot in for fourteen years.
Confused, scared and somewhat frail from the mistreatment and her time in captivity, Madeleine is unsure who to believe or who she can trust. Marcel instills her and Rowan in an inn by the Old Wharf before fleeing into the night to await further instructions from a mysterious benefactor, Cecile Lefevre, who had thus orchestrated Madeleine's release and her forthcoming return to France. But France is currently at war with Britain and as French aristocracy, Madeleine would no longer be safe there under Bonaparte's new regime.
And then she meets Captain Pierre de La Croix who comes to her aid one evening when she was too weak to continue on her way, and rather than return her to the rough inn Marcel had left her in, Captain Pierre takes a room for her at another inn where she is nursed back to health on oranges and broth. But Marcel has urged her not to trust the Captain. And yet he has yet to deliver on his promise to return her to France and to her brother.
But it is a chance encounter with a thief who takes the opportunity to bribe Madeleine and Captain Pierre that Mrs Eva Pengelly witnesses the disturbance outside her home at Coombes House, and hurries the distraught Madeleine inside. It is at this moment, the course of Madeleine's life is about to change drastically. The name by which she is known, Mrs Barnard, is discovered to be a cover when she is recognised as the former mistress of Pendenning Hall, Madeleine Pelligrew.
Can she trust these people with the truth? Or should she embark on her own investigations to uncover the truth behind her husband's death, her involuntary imprisonment in a slurry of madhouses and the man who she believes orchestrated it all? And can she trust Captain Pierre? Or is he just another secret agent spy out to destroy her and hand her over to the enemy? After all, given her horrendous experiences at the hands of men, and by what she uncovers, it's not surprising her current conviction is that "all men lie". Confused and scared, Madeleine isn't sure who can really trust.
Admittedly, it took me a while to get into the story as I found the direction a little confusing at first and what was actually at stake. I was also a little lost as to who was spying on who as that part did get a little tangled but is easily ironed out by the story's end. While I was expecting a Poldark-type of story, this was anything but. The only resemblance being the setting of Cornwall at around the same time, at which point all similarities end.
THE CORNISH CAPTIVE is a compelling read once you get your head around the network of spies, the secrets and who is running or hiding from who, and it soon picks up pace as you endeavour to discover the truth behind Madeleine's imprisonment for such a long period of time and the deceptions following it. There were quite a few twists making this a different kind of historical read.
Having read this rather engaging tale, I would be interested to embark on the rest of the series sometime and delve into the stories of some of the other characters who may have been background in THE CORNISH CAPTIVE but at the forefront in another. As usual, Cornwall is its own atmospheric character with the scenery so vivid in its rugged beauty.
If you like a bit of romance mixed with subterfuge, secrets, lies and deception, then you will love THE CORNISH CAPTIVE...which has this and more! It definitely has all the trimmings you need for an enjoyable historical tale that has been cleverly woven with plenty of mystery.
I would like to thank #NicolaPryce, #CorvusBooks, #AtlanticBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheCornishCaptive in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Nicola's books are set around 1793-1800 amongst the shipbuilders and merchants living on the south coast of Cornwall. With Britain at war, there is the continual threat of invasion and a constant vigil for French spies. Nicola's first novel was Pengelly's Daughter, followed by The Captain's Girl, The Cornish Dressmaker, The Cornish Lady and A Cornish Betrothal with The Cornish Captive published in January 2022.
Nicola is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association and The Historical Writers Association.
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