Kate, on the other hand, takes charge of every circumstance with her practical hard working personality, overcoming every obstacle except her sense of place. She’s had to work to help support her father ever since her mother died when she was young. Still, rather than being bitter toward her childhood friend, Kate does her best to help Josie come safely through whatever wild plan she’s dragged Kate into. Her loyalty and capacity for forgiveness rivals that of a saint. She takes far too much abuse from those around her, Josie included. Then I liked how in the end all the characters came together though at a point I was skeptical about so many coincidences! Dilly Court (born 1940) is an English author of popular historical fiction and family saga novels also writing under the pseudonym of Lily Baxter. [1] She published her first book when she was 65 and, as of 2023 [update], her novels have sold more than four million copies. [1] Early life [ edit ] Dilly Court grew up in northeast London and resides in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband with whom she has two grown kids and four grandkids. She started her writing career writing scripts for television commercials.

The Christmas Wedding” is the first novel in the “Village Secrets” series and was released in the year 2019. Daisy’s future, as she held the letter in her trembling hands, crumbled right before her, with the words being engraved onto her heart forever. If you like historical fiction with strong personalities, tangles built out of society’s expectations, a love story, and a touch of mystery, this is one not to miss. Despite her impressive sales, her books have largely been ignored by critics. In 2020, Robbie Millen, literary editor for The Times, admitted that he hadn't previously heard of Court and that his paper had never reviewed any of her titles, nor had other major British newspapers. [6] Personal life [ edit ] The romance was ever so SLOW to play out and it took 10 of the expected 12 hours of listening to get to the long expected pairings. It was so disappointing to hear Essie say that she looked into his eyes and knew she would want to be the mother of his children - when all along in the story she was driven for sea adventure and was sure that was not the life she wanted. Gostei muito de conhecer Essie, uma jovem, que em pleno século XIX, quer ter a sua independência e quer ser mais do que casar, ter filhos e cuidar da casa.

Dilly’s debut novel, called “Mermaids Singing”, was released in the year 2005. She writes family saga and historical fiction novels and also writes as Lily Baxter. In the quiet of a warm summer’s evening, two young mothers are forced to give up their babies.As the years have passed, Kate has grown up knowing only poverty and servitude, whilst Josie’s world is one of privilege and luxury.Despite the differences in their circumstances, Kate and Josie have been friends since childhood. But their past binds them together in ways they must never know.Until a chance meeting forces Kate and Josie to confront the truth of that night nearly twenty years before – a truth that turns both worlds upside down and threatens to destroy their friendship forever. . . The Lady’s Maid by Dilly Court – eBook Details

At times the story dragged, I feel parts could have been removed for a smoother read. I was unsure as to why those parts were relevant to the overall story. I had high expectations, which weren’t met, and I found the plot and the writing style to be rather boring. I loved the realism of Dilly Court's multi-faceted, realistic and unforgettable characters like Lottie Lane the clever, capable and kind twenty year old, sent to work at "The Swan" at age twelve only to be browbeaten by the obnoxious Prudence Filby and her husband Shem. The assortment of colourful personalities also includes; Jezebel Pretty the unsociable, gruff but kind-hearted cook; Gideon Ellis the gentle and patient soldier Lottie loves; Codelia Fothergill the controlling, snide troublemaker; and Mary Seacole the motherly, trustworthy and astute nurse. Yet of all the characters that add to the passion, depth and power of the plot it's Lady Aurelia Dashwood who adds a dramatic flair to events as they unfold. Born wealthy, beautiful and restless as well as a self-absorbed, perverse and spirited snob she loves adventure, excitement and the thrill of risk-taking. Yet for all her wild ways Lottie recognizes the underlying good in Aurelia who can also be amiable, good-hearted, generous, and eventually nice.Bottom line, the story is nicely resonant of its historical setting, shedding light on the biases and foul behaviors as much as the strength of bonds even when society would frown on them. I especially appreciated the clear presentation of the way different strata of society lived, demonstrated both in description and simple comments about how only the wealthy have the luxury of not knowing how much coin they possess. By the early afternoon, she’ll have done all her correspondence, paid a few bills, and written out a shopping list. Nothing all that romantic, but entirely necessary. After she’s done that, she’s earned a cup of tea and some custard creams in a biscuit tin. Each day, Dilly begins at 8:30 and writes until lunch time. Some days she’ll get so immersed in her story that she forgets everything and time will pass so fast that, by the time she finally does stop, she can’t believe two to three hours have gone by. She’s been in some other world her characters who make their own story up actually inhabit.

Then this one night, she has to transport this mysterious guy from a foreign ship onto the banks of the Thames. He is a man that ends up renting a room inside of Essie’s house, and only identifies himself as ‘Raven’.This is the second historical novel I have read by Dilly Court, and once again, she sunk me into the period with all the prejudice and classism endemic in the 1800s. The story begins with an awkward friendship between a spoiled, manipulative lady and her lifelong friend who begins the book as a beleaguered housemaid. My Review: The protagonist (Essie) is a strong, caring and hard working female. Throughout the novel I was hooked on her emotional rollercoaster and her life changing transformation. She is a three dimensional character, likeable and relatable. The other main characters such as Sadie are also brilliant. A range of personalities that will make you smile and shout at the awful behaviour.

I personally felt that he just wasn’t the right person for Lottie (I had someone else in mind and she rejected him, of course).I never truly liked Josie, raised as a lady, because she is unthinking, hypercritical, and selfish, but I came to appreciate her flawed but contrite nature. She is often repentant after the fact and occasionally shows flashes of maturity even at her worst though they don’t last. One major plot flaw is that it is never really clear why either of the men fall in love with their respective women. There is no relationship development or apparent getting to know each other before they are suddenly smitten. One of the men, despite being smitten, leads another girl on for almost the entire book and although there are suggestions that it's to protect her honour, this is suspect and doesn't quite ring true given the circumstances. However when one good deed goes sour, a dangerous foe threatens to ruin all of them. Is she going to be able to save her new buddies along with her future? If she’s able to, there’s a Christmas gift that’s waiting sure to change her life forever. There’s a dashing man she was thinking would be the hero all of a sudden develops some unattractive traits and will upset Dilly, along with her heroine. Then there’s times a rough diamond, that looked destined to swing from a noose’s end, winds up being an absolute charmer and she finds herself falling for them, so the heroine’s got zero chance of escaping. Court has been married twice (in 1967, to a sea captain, and in 1995, to a dentist) and has two children. [1] As of 2023 [update] she resides in Dorset. [1] Selected works [ edit ] Standalone novels [ edit ]