{CORNISH SAGA 6} THE CORNISH CAPTIVE.

 One of several bloggers who over 7 days will be participating in this Blog Tour {the full schedule for which can be found at the bottom of the post}. Today {the 5th day of the Tour) its my pleasure to be sharing my thoughts on ...

THE CORNISH CAPTIVE by NICOLA PYRCE.

Genre ... Historical Saga

Publication Date ... 6th January 2022

Publisher: Corvus (part of Atlantic Books)

Estimated Page Count ... 464

Standalone Novel in the Cornish Saga Series

Order Link: http://amzn.to/3ASk1xR

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? ... Synopsis 

'Nothing, Citizen. No papers, names addresses. I've searched everywhere.' ... First Sentence, Attrapez-les!

                                                                         

The last time I crossed this ancient bridge I had been gagged and bound, the coach heading to Bristol - to Maddison's Madhouse, where I was to be cured of my rantings. Cured of the blood pouring from my womb. Two days after my husband had drowned. Two days. I was to be cured of my writhing and screaming, cured of my wild accusations that Sir Charles had falsified a dredging company and murdered my husband to lay claim to our estate. Two eminent physicians had certified me mad from grief, and Sir Charles Cavendish had been reluctantly persuaded that medical confinement was in my best interest. ... Memorable Moment, Pg 50

My Thoughts ... Part six in the author's Cornish saga novels but don't let that put you off if, like me, you are new to the series as it is perfectly readable as a standalone novel. Friends who have followed the series from book one, The Cornish Lady, inform me that whilst some of the characters do pop up in more than one of the novels, each of the books tells a different story; the thing that really connects them being not so much any individual but rather the saga's Cornish setting which, an integral part to the story, proved itself to be one of the book's major attractions for me.

From the fashionable attire of the day, to the way in which traditional farmers began to embrace new methods, to the way in which women {at least those of a certain class} were becoming more educated, I enjoyed the insight into what was after all a time of change.

That at the heart of the story there is a look into women forced into lunatic asylums, not always for the reasons that might at first come to mind but as a way of controlling their lives and, perhaps most importantly, their fortunes. That our heroine, former mistress of Pendenning Hall, Madeleine Pelligrew, released after fourteen long years by then unknown benefactor, came out quite as sane as she did ... Hmm! I have my doubts. 

From her husband, a man who as it turns out wasn't the man she thought him to be, to the unknown man {as it turns out its a friend of her brother} who frees her, to her mysterious benefactor, to the French prisoner of war, Captain Pierre de La Croix, who gallantly comes to her aid Madeleine is confused as to who she can trust. Something I could readily relate to when, faced with subterfuge, secrets and lies and yet more subterfuge, secrets and lies, I found myself easily lost off. 

Essentially a book I liked and didn't like quite as much in equal measures. 

Yes, there was the stunning Cornish setting brought to life by the author's evocative writing but then there were the implausible plot developments that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

 

There was a heroine who I couldn't help but find myself rooting for but at the same time it was her maid, Rowan, who, in my opinion, an altogether much more well rounded and interesting character, made the book for me

There were the twists and turns provided by our not knowing who could be trusted. However,, on occasion it was these very same twists and turns that had me scratching my head, totally {if not always irreplaceably} lost off.

Will I be returning to Cornwall to read the other books in the series? 

Never say never ...

About Nicola Pryce ... Nicola Pryce trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. She has always loved literature and completed an Open University degree in Humanities. She is a qualified adult literacy support volunteer and lives with her husband in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset. Together they sail the south coast of Cornwall in search of adventure.

Follow Nicola Pyrce ... ~ Website ~ FaceBook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ 

Blog Tour Schedule ... ~ 23rd February: Jaffareadstoo ~ Confessions of a Bookaholic ~ The bookish hermit ~ 24th February: Kitty McIntosh ~ Jane Hunt Writer ~ Bookish Jottings ~ 25th February: Over 40 and a Mum to One ~ Jera's Jamboree ~ Karen K is reading ~ 26th February: Northernreader ~ @beckii.books.home.and.life ~ mrsbookburnee ~ 27th February: Felicity Grace Terry ~ Lifelong History Lover ~ sharon beyond the books ~ 28th February: QuirkyBookReads ~ Me And My Books ~ ramblingmads.com ~ 1st March: Niki Preston ~ Chez Maximka ~ Over The Rainbow Book Blog ~