Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Book review and giveaway: The Lady's Slipper, by Deborah Swift

The title of Deborah Swift's eloquent debut novel refers to two things: a beautiful orchid all too rarely found in England, and the delicate embroidered footwear worn by Alice Ibbetson when she sneaks out at night to uproot it from her neighbor’s lands. The losses of both prove to have fateful consequences.

The year is 1660, in the old county of Westmorland in northern England. Although the Civil War is over, and Charles II is restored to his throne, animosity continues to rankle between the country's Royalist and Puritan factions. Mistress Alice, a young wife from the village of Netherbarrow still in mourning for her younger sister, spends her days growing plants in her summerhouse and capturing their beauty in art.

When Richard Wheeler first shows Alice the lady's slipper, growing in an isolated wood on his property, she feels she must remove it for its own protection and paint it before the flower fades. Richard, a former officer in Cromwell's army who found peace among the Quakers, knows she has taken the orchid but can't prove it. As Alice continues to deny the theft, Ella, the Ibbetsons’ crafty maidservant, finds Alice’s discarded slippers, ruined after her late-night expedition, and steals them for herself.

Two others are drawn to the orchid: Sir Geoffrey Fisk, the hard-nosed local squire, who hopes its roots will cure his skin condition, and Margaret Poulter, a pagan wise-woman. "There was an odd scent about it, as if it was half in this world and half in some other darker world," thinks Margaret, knowing Alice’s obsession with the plant will bring her more than she intends.

The plot moves along smoothly as it speaks to universal themes such as honor, redemption, and finding a place to belong in a land marked by class inequities and religious intolerance. In a work that displays such a strong love for its regional setting, perhaps it's no mistake that the most sympathetic and rounded characters are those with their eyes open to nature’s wonders and mysteries. Their surroundings, both outdoors and in, are described with remarkable clarity of detail.

It takes talent to write about characters' spiritual beliefs without sounding preachy. Alice is a skillful creation, and her troubled path to understanding is realistic and heartfelt, but Richard's inner conflicts concerning his faith ring especially true to the time. Those who might be tempted to dismiss this as a women's novel should reconsider, for the novel shifts easily between male and female viewpoints. Only one brief scene towards the end seems oddly out of place.

A dark and gripping tale deeply rooted in rural English history, The Lady's Slipper reads at times like a 17th-century folk ballad come to life. Though neither bawdy nor ostentatious, as novels of the Restoration court in distant London can sometimes be, it stands well on its own merits, a novel as rich and haunting as the setting it evokes.

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The Lady's Slipper was published in late November in the US by St. Martin's Griffin (trade pb, $14.99, 464pp; photo at very top).   My copy, which I'd preordered from Book Depository long before I knew a US edition would be available (this happens a lot), was published by Macmillan New Writing in June in hardcover at £12.99.  St. Martin's has generously provided me two copies for a giveaway.  For a chance to win, leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Friday, December 10th.  International entrants welcome.  Good luck!

26 comments:

  1. I've looking forward to reading this book, and would love a chance to win a copy.

    Thanks!


    confessions(dot)avidreader(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. Sounds like an interesting read. I would love to win a copy.

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  3. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Rachelhwallen@gmail.com

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  4. This sounds like an interesting book - I'd love a chance to read it.

    ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

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  5. No sign of this book yet in my part of the world so would love to win a copy.

    Thanks for the opportunity and making this international.

    catsplace31(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)nz

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  6. Sounds like a great novel!

    CMShelstad (at) gmail (dot) com

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  7. I am thrilled to hear about this book! It sounds fascinating and exciting, and I want to read it, but I have an extra reason for my interest. Some of the readers of this blog may have seen a post of mine back in September/October about Moon in Leo, a novel set in 1678 in Furness in North West England: close both in time and place to The Lady's Slipper! I have come across very few books set in post Civil War England and was beginning to think this was a period that nobody else was interested in, despite the fact that it is a fascinating time of great turmoil,change and drama. Readers of this blog have been incredibly supportive and informative, and it's great to be able to say "thank you" again, and to say that Moon in Leo will be published in the spring of 2011. Perhaps Deborah Swift and Kathleen Herbert will start a new trend for novels set in Restoration England!

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  8. I love all that you feature new and old historical novels on this blog. I have been reading history/historical novels for 49 years now, and you help me find new stuff to feed my addiction.

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  9. I added this novel to my wish list when I first heard about it. Thanks for the giveaway; I'm anxious to read this book.

    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. I know just what you mean about how hard it is to write about spiritual inclinations without being preachy. You have to respect both your character and your reader.

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  11. reads at times like a 17th-century folk ballad - this intrigues me. please count me in.
    vvb32 at yahoo.com

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  12. This has been on my wish list for a while, now. Sign me up!

    runaway84(at)gmail.com

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  13. I love the dual meaning of the title of this book and can't wait to read it. Please enter me for this giveaway.

    dolleygurl[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  14. I've had that book on the wishlist for a while now. Count me in too please!

    nellista at yahoo dot com dot au

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  15. I have had my eye on this book for a while and would love the chance to read it! Thanks for the giveaway Sarah!

    taylor_ward11(at)yahoo(dot)com

    http://allthingshistoricalfiction.blogspot.com/

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  16. I have ordered The Lady's Slipper from Amazon UK so you can take me out of the draw!

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  17. I am a librarian who facilitates a historical fiction discussion group. This book looks like it would be an interesting one for us to read!

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  18. Thanks for making it open to all. Much appreciated.

    mystica123athotmaildotcom

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  19. Sounds very interesting.
    Please enter me.

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  20. Oooo, I would love to read this - add my name pls!
    Thanks!

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  21. Anonymous2:30 PM

    Ooh! Ooh! Another 17th century historical novel dealing with the earthshaking changes wrought by the English Civil War!! Pick me!

    Sarah Other Librarian
    snagl@yahoo.com

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  22. I am looking forward to reading this book...sounds like a wonderful read!

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  23. Valerie L.12:03 PM

    This sounds like a fascinating topic and I would love to read the book. thank you for the chance to do so.

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  24. This sounds different. I'd love to win it.

    When I did a summer program in northern Minnesota, the woods had two or three kinds of ladyslippers. Very beautiful flowers, but oh so delicate. No wonder people are drawn to paint and photograph them and now to write a novel about them.

    ShaunaRoberts [at] nasw [dot] org

    Thanks for hosting the give-away!

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  25. My friend wrote me about this book, because she said it was "right up my alley". She herself likes hard-boiled stuff, with "murder" in the title. I like historical things, and if a little mystery is thrown in, so much the better! I liked your review - it was more specific than most - so I went immediately to my online library site and put myself on the "hold" list. That list is very long *sigh* - so I would LOVE to win one of your extra copies! Either way, thanks for a great review. I can't wait to read "The Lady's Slipper".

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  26. I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit long and drawn out it parts.

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