Briar Lodge is a work of historical fiction in the series, A Victorian Tale. Set in the 1850s, it follows The Preference and The Entitlement. Continuing the lives of Melissa Fairchild and Melanie Gillis as young married women coping with the expectations of Victorian society while retaining their need for freedom of experience.
Drawn into the era's growing fascination with spiritualism, the two women find information that Melanie's childhood sweetheart is under threat of death, and they enter into darker places of the period for greater discovery.
Melissa's colourfully ambivalent relationship with her husband becomes more intense, and Melanie's - whilst the actions of Melissa's scheming brother-in-law and his flamboyant companion jeopardise her financial future - add to the search for revelation.
Shades of light and dark appear in this third novel in the saga. Deeper dives into serious life areas, but retaining the witty, perceptive, and rich attunement to its period. Briar Lodge explores love, constraint, and quiet rebellion. It is not an historical romance, but a nuanced portrait of women seeking meaning in an age of restraint.
Original, sensual, and lively. For lovers of that period and others who appreciate the unique corners of life.
The next novel in the series, Life Unfolding, is out this spring.
