The Lady's Slipper: A sweeping historical novel of orchids and obsession (Westmorland Book 1)

I love historical fiction and the English Civil War/Restoration period is fast becoming one of my favourite settings. I really enjoyed Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily when I read it last year and vowed to read The Lady's Slipper (which is a sort of prequel).The main character in The Lady's Slipper is Alice Ibbetson, a gentlewoman whose family fell on hard times when their home was ransacked by Cromwell's New Model Army. She entered into a marriage with Thomas Ibbetson more for practical and financial reasons than any great desire. With her marriage stale and unrewarding , Alice's turns for solace to her great love of botany and this leads her to steal a rare and fragile orchid from the land of local farmer Richard Wheeler in order to study and preserve it.Wheeler is a very intriguing and beguiling character; a former wealthy landowner who fought for Cromwell during the war and converted to Quakerism after witnessing the horrors of battle. After giving away his large estate and purchasing a small farm, he strives to live a simple and Godly life (but is not always successful). His earnest manner and hardline views bring him into conflict with Alice, until they both realise they have far deadlier enemiesThe Lady's Slipper is packed with fascinating 17th century period detail and insights into the burgeoning Quaker movement (a group which I always enjoy reading about in historical fiction). As mentioned earlier, The Gilded Lily is a sort-of sequel to TLS in that it features the adventures of Alice's maid Ella Appleby and her sister Sadie after they flee to London. I would recommend that you read the books in order if possible as the fate of several key characters from TLS is revealed at the start of TGL, but having said that I read them the other way round it didn't spoil my enjoyment at all. After finishing the book I immediately went to Amazon to see if Deborah was planning a third instalment and was really pleased to see she has another book coming out in October - A Divided Inheritance. From the synopsis it doesn't appear to feature characters from TLS or TGL, but based on how much I've enjoyed her novels so far, I'll be sure to order a copy.

The Lady’s Slipper is historical fiction set in England during 1660. The people are beginning to recover from the Civil War.Alice Ibbetson is an artist and keen horticulturalist. A rare orchid had been discovered in a nearby wood and Alice has plans to cultivate the seeds from the plant and save it from extinction. But the plant grows on land owned by another.Richard has left the army after the war; disillusioned, he has recently become a peace-keeping Quaker. He is disturbed that Alice has taken the orchid from his wood and then lied about her actions, however, there are others also interested in the orchid: Geoffrey Fisk is a rich landowner, he wants to exploit the medicinal benefits of the plant for profit, while local wise-woman, Margaret Poulter, also wants to see the orchid.Taking the plant causes an avalanche of bad luck for Alice, culminating in her wrongful imprisonment for a different crime. Her only friend is Richard, the man she once considered her enemy, and in a daring move, they flee.This is the type of book which draws you in with the rich language and writing style that offers escapism for a few hours. I really enjoyed learning about the Quaker life and ‘The Society Of Friends’. It gave me one of those ‘aha’ moments as a memory of my Grandmother popped into my head, of a group she took me to once. I researched The Lady’s Slipper Orchid and found that it is still very rare today. A fascinating story; I would have happily read more about Alice and Richard’s adventures after fleeing for their lives. In a sequel, The Gilded Lily, there is opportunity to learn more about others from Alice’s earlier life.

An easy read, well written and shot through with genuine 17th Century feeling. Much work by the author I'm sure to place the well characterised folk into very believable surroundings, effective plots and storyline. I enjoyed the build up and cadence leading to a really interesting end. This novel would appeal to most readers but if you enjoy English history then it's an easy choice indeed. Deborah Swift is now firmly on my reading list!

This book is truly incredible and very well written, I was extremely impressed and enjoyed it highly! I was on the edge of my seat through most of the book as the exciting and unexpected story gained momentum. This book has so much to offer, it so a story of how not all is black and white and how sometimes the smallest action can bring about the decline t the life we know. It is about love and the passions which drive us. The story is so very intriguing and kept me turning the page for hours! The characters are rich and full and the plot is very moving and suspenseful. This is truly one of the Best books I have read in quite a while! A masterpiece and I can't wait to dig into more wonders by Deborah Swift! Thank you for the excellent bookl

All of the characters are Looking for something.. convincing depiction of the Social Problems caused by the english civil war, Division in Families on a Personal Level and also the bad feeling cause by the re- introduction of Social Differences and rites.

This book caught my interest right from the beginning and never let go. I finished it in two sittings, which is rare for me. Lots of characters interestingly intertwined, plot twists and fascinating historical storytelling...all in all a great read!

I really enjoyed this book. I felt it was well written, built up slowly to an exciting climax and finished with an expansive epilogue. In other words, you went away satisfied you knew the whole story. The author did the story justice. For those who complained it was slow to start: it was not a thriller, it didn't need to jump straight into the murder scene, it was based on botanical history which might have been too much intellect for those who wanted a quick fix of fiction. I must admit I was shocked by the review (and readers who found the review helpful) by J P LEVI. As a fellow author (she made sure to put that after her name so I Googled her) she was incredibly critical which either points to a lack of knowledge of the subject or jealousy, and if you read the reviews on Goodreads of her only book you will note that readers were disparaging of her work too. Go figure.Getting back to Deborah Swift's work, she told the tale with a raw truth. No-one character was perfect, but everyone acknowledged their flaws. The story had a good strong plot, was true to the historical events of the times and was not embellished with frippery. I wonder why Levi referred to 'the magical use of thee and thou'? Surely she is aware that if you associate closely within a linguistic group you will quickly adopt their speech patterns. One only has to look at teenagers the world over to see even exposure to TV produces this effect.The book was full of love (but not the sort you might expect - this was more visceral and therefore more believable) no sex (it didn't need it which might be a wake up call to a lot of 'historical romance' authors (you can write a really good book without describing genitalia and what is done to them!). There was drama, pathos, adventure, regret, intrigue and hope. Not necessarily in that order but certainly plentiful.The Lady's Slipper may not be everyone's taste but it will appeal to the more discerning reader who is interested in character development, history, botany, and a jolly good read.Overall an excellent book and I will certainly look for more of Ms Swift's work.

最初は自然はそのままにすべきか保護すべきかで対立する二人がやがて結ばれるという筋書きで、当然のごとくその間に色々波乱万丈なことが起きます。宗教問題もからみ、英語のレビューにもありましたが古い言葉が使われていたりなので、読みにくいと思う人もいるかもしれません。無料なので息抜きにダウンロードし、それなりに楽しめました。