Miss Appleby's Academy Elizabeth Gill

[vodkafan]

Miss Appleby's Academy                   5/6
 

Elizabeth Gill
 

This book came up on the little advert bar on BCF and caught my eye, being of the Victorian/ Edwardian era, and it was set in England so I really couldn't resist!  I suppose it comes under the genre of historical romance like Catherine Cookson (who I haven't read, so apologies if I have her work wrong) and not a million miles away from Jane Eyre. (and I would say is of the same quality)
 

This was extremely well written. It is really about a lone woman fighting the injustices of being female in this era. She is pushed and pushed until she feels she has no choice but to rebel; so she makes a break and takes an orphan child with her .

Returning to the place of her birth  finds then both shunned and unwelcome . But her determination slowly begins to impress one or two people around her and gradually she begins to push the boundaries of what is possible for a single woman to achieve.
 

I didn't even realise I was reading a romance until half way through, I was gripped by her struggle to survive.  This is not a racy book, there is only one bodice ripping scene, for want of a better phrase. It does explore at great length different types of relationships, what love means to different people, and the characters are all believable. Men in general come in for quite a bit of stick. 

 

[gardengirl]

You are unusual VF to be a reader of this kind of book, it shows you are open minded I guess, as most men would never read a book they deemed to be for women.Good on ya!

[vodkafan]

You are unusual VF to be a reader of this kind of book, it shows you are open minded I guess, as most men would never read a book they deemed to be for women.Good on ya!

 

I read everything! Besides women are half the human race. I married two of them and have a bunch of small ones that give me grey hairs

[gardengirl]

I read everything! Besides women are half the human race. I married two of them and have a bunch of small ones that give me grey hairs

Hee-hee! Yes, we can  give as well as we get, can't we?Good to read everything, but I don't think I could read say, a super macho type book, but it would depend on how well it was written in the end, as good writing is all and even overcomes the genre.

[vodkafan]

Hee-hee! Yes, we can  give as well as we get, can't we?Good to read everything, but I don't think I could read say, a super macho type book, but it would depend on how well it was written in the end, as good writing is all and even overcomes the genre.

 

The only books I tend not to read are ones that I have heard so much about ad nauseum that I lose interest. So I will probably never  read LOTR, Harry Potter, Shades Of  Grey or The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe books.

[gardengirl]

The only books I tend not to read are ones that I have heard so much about ad nauseum that I lose interest. So I will probably never  read LOTR, Harry Potter, Shades Of  Grey or The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe books.

My sentiments entirely, what is LOTR ? The next one [Potter] is a childrens and Y/A book anyway, so  I  refuse to read that and say how wonderful it is at my age; there are enough books for adults to read. The Shades book just sounds like rubbish. The C S Lewis

is also for children [enjoyed them when I was a child.]I feel the same with films, if they are talked up too much I never want to see them, so too much hype doesn't always work.

[vodkafan]

LOTR is Lord Of The Rings. I never got past the first film and had no interest in the books.