Review: The Widow's Vow by Rachel Brimble

Today, I'm delighted to welcome back my dear author friend, Rachel Brimble. I'm sharing my review of her compelling romantic novel, The Widow's Vow – a fascinating glimpse over the fence, to the 'other side’ of your usual Victorian romance books.

The Widow's Vow is currently on blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

 

The Widow's Vow

Rachel Brimble

 

Review:

The Widow's Vow was originally released in 2020, and I do remember reading it a few years ago. It was a real pleasure to revisit this gripping tale of two women's struggle for survival – and to meet Jacob, the dashing boxer with a troubled past, again.

 Louisa Hill lives a quiet, respectable life in Bristol, England. Married to Andrew, after having been his whore at a brothel in town, he provided her with a new sense of respectability and acceptance in society.

All seems fine, and their marriage of convenience works well – she has a home to look after, and he regularly gets his husbandly dues.

But when the police knock on her door with news of Andrew's apparent suicide – in a hotel in Bath – she is thrown back into a life of uncertainty. To her surprise, he has left her a house in Bath, and a lot of debts, which she settles with the sale of their home in Bristol.

 When she travels to Bath to take on her new property, together with her longstanding friend, and fellow former whore, Nancy, she gets another surprise – her husband had installed a lover in his house in Bath. With the woman being hostile towards her, Luisa has no choice but to kick her out.

 But the question remains – how are Luisa and Nancy going to make a living? Reluctantly, they realise that they must revisit their past, to stay alive. But this time on their own terms, in Luisa's own house.

Pursuing her plan to open it as a brothel for gentlemen of the upper classes, she realises she needs a strongman to look after the safety of her and any women working there. When she meets boxer Jacob Jackson, she knows she found her man, but what she doesn't know is that he will mean so much more to her than a mere employee.

Will he accept her offer of employment? And will her risky venture succeed? You should definitely read this novel to find out!

 

The Widow's Vow is a thrilling tale of hardship, resilience, and survival. Set in Bath in the 1850s – an era of great fortunes, and great misery – it shows the darker side of polite society, and highlights the fate of many women and girls, who are left to fend for themselves for whatever reasons. Women's Rights were non-existent, and if you had no family or husband to support you, you had little choice, especially if you didn't have a particular skill, such as sewing. You either go into service – or into servicing...

 Luisa is a resilient character, realistic, but with a kind heart. She knows when to be nice, and when to be tough. Nancy is deeply protective of her, and they rely on each other's support and care.

Jacob is a troubled soul, with a rough upbringing. Convinced he will be like his brutal father, he seeks his future in fighting, but as a new boxer arrives in Bath, who doesn't fight fare, Jacob slowly begins to rethink his situation. Falling for Luisa, and wanting to protect her, helps get him on the right path. But he still is full of self-doubt.

 The Widow's Vow is challenging readers with subjects which are usually brushed under the carpet, whispered behind hands and fans only. You rarely read about the tough realities of life as a woman on your own, with no secure means of income or protection. Prostitutes were disapproved of, even though society ladies accepted that their husbands sought their pleasures in brothels. This imbalance – the 'respectable’ gentleman who visits the 'dirty’ whore – still exists today, sadly. But at least these days, women often have more opportunities.

 Back in Victorian times, they didn't. And it's brave of Luisa and Nancy to face reality, and provide for their own future.

I can recommend The Widow's Vow to readers who look for novels with a focus on social injustice, the fight for women's rights, and for an enthralling romance with a different slant. The strong sense of realism and the detailed characterisation help make this at times gritty, blunt read stand out.

 Highly recommended.

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Blurb:

From grieving widow...

1851, England. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath she knew nothing about the only things she has left of him.

To a new life as a madam…

Knowing the debt collectors will arrive any moment, Louisa must leave everything she knows behind, and move to Bath. But left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has little choice but to return to but her old way of life. But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms – by turning her new home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she’s determined the horrors she was forced to endure in the past are not experienced by the girls she saves from the streets.

Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?

Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/TheWidowsVow

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About the Author:

Rachel Brimble is the bestselling author of over thirty works of historical romance and saga fiction. The first book in her series, The Home Front Nurses, is set in Bath.

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